 For Authors: September 26, 2018 Issue [#9144] |
This week: Nonfiction Know-How Edited by: Jeff  
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"Do not over-intellectualize the production process.
Try to keep it simple: tell the darned story."
-- Tom Clancy
Trivia of the Week: Looking for a popular recipe? While some staples of the cookbook genre like Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking or Dr. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook have sold a couple million copies each, the real best sellers in this space are the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and Betty Crocker's Cookbook. Both have been around since the 1950s (the former since the 1930s) and have, combined, sold around 100 million copies. Statistically speaking, a home is more likely to have one of these two cookbooks it in than a hard copy of a dictionary or thesaurus! 
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NONFICTION KNOW-HOW
One of the biggest roadblocks nonfiction writers face is their own perceived inexperience with a topic. After all, there are master chefs out there that trained under Michelin-star mentors in Paris... what makes us qualified to write about food? There are entrepreneurs out there who have made billions of dollars starting and selling companies... what makes us qualified to write about starting a business? There are world-class athletes out there with 12% body fat... what makes us qualified to write about fitness? It's easy to get discouraged when you want to write about a nonfiction topic because there's always someone out there who's doing it better and been at it longer than you.
But I would encourage anyone thinking about writing on nonfiction topics to remember three things:
 Everyone starts somewhere. Even the big names in a particular nonfiction space had to start at the beginning. If you're at the beginning of a journey, don't compare yourself to someone who's miles ahead of you. Take inventory of where you're at in terms of your education and experience level and build from there. If you really want to be an expert in a particular nonfiction area, keep at it until that expertise is a reality.
It's going to take a while. Very few people become household names overnight with one single success. Most people have to build up to the kind of sustained success it takes to break through. That's both bad news and good news. It's bad news because there are no magical shortcuts that will get you there faster... but it's also good news because you can develop your skills at the same time you're developing your audience. If food is your passion, you can start a food blog and develop your cooking skills at the same time you're developing your blogging audience. There's time to get the expertise and audience you're looking for.
There's a market for everyday people. While there will always be interest in the secrets of the super-successful, there's also a huge audience for average people. Yeah, that gorgeous fitness model with the amazing body might enjoy a lot of success... but there are also a ton of people out there who would like to eat more than kale smoothies and steamed chicken three meals a day, and/or don't have time to spend four hours a day at the gym. There are people out there who are looking for what they can do in 15-20 minutes a day that will make a difference. Whether it's exercise, cooking, arts and crafts, religion, or whatever, some people are looking for normal people to help guide them in normal improvements to their routine rather than life-altering changes to their schedules.
Over the years, I've followed a lot of people who have started blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, book series, etc. with the goal of developing themselves into a subject-matter expert. The ones who have been successful are the ones that stick with it and continue to pursue the goal, even on the days when they're feeling uninspired or phony. Slowly, little by little, the mere practice of putting material out there in a particular subject area has led them to the success they're looking for. One friend of mine started out with a YouTube channel about self-publishing with a half-dozen of his friends subscribing. He posts videos nearly every week and isn't shy about sharing his successes and failures. Three years later, he has more than 25,000 subscribers to his channel, is invited to speak at tons of conferences every year, and his books often hit the Amazon bestseller lists when they're released. And yet he started out where most of us do... with a limited audience and a lot of doubt about whether he really knew enough or was enough of an expert to have people listen to him speak on a particular topic.
If you've been wanting to write nonfiction blog posts, books, essays, articles, etc. about a particular topic but have been holding back because you don't feel like you have enough expertise, I'd encourage you to put yourself out there and start. You can build your expertise and your audience at the same time. If your goal is to one day speak or write with authority on a topic you're passionate about, it's going to be a journey to get there... so you might as well get started sooner rather than later. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: I would like to say, “Happy Birthday WdC!”, and in honor of the 18th anniversary, I would like to countdown the top 18 things I learned on my writing journey, whether they’re facts about the writing journey or writing advice I’ve discovered while writing.
EXCERPT: While not ubiquitous, arches are common. They dominate architecture—think of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the many arches incorporated into the Taj Mahal in India, and arches in just about every lengthy bridge. While these are impressive, they pale in comparison to the most famous arch of all—McDonalds golden arches gracing almost 37,000 outlets (as of 2016).
What is an arch? An arch is a vertical curved structure spanning space and may or may not support weight above it. Or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam (think Hoover Dam) the hydrostatic pressure against it.
EXCERPT: I remember as a child, loving our garbage men...or as we are now called, Sanitation Engineers. They were so fun and friendly and I thought they had the greatest job in the world, visiting everyone's homes, not to mention, seeing all the cool stuff they through out. And then there are the cookies and tips at Christmas. Who wouldn't think this was a dream job
EXCERPT: Let me preface this by expressing that I, in no way endorse or support or even like Alex Jones, or Infowars in any capacity, in fact I find them highly detestable. Instead I am merely extrapolating the possible social ramifications of this unprecedented (although not entirely unexpected) action by a handful of corporate executives, living in a small 300 square mile area of San Francisco, and in the process, attempt to raise awareness, and prompt the discussion of what the recent actions of these companies, will mean for the future public discourse.
EXCERPT: When my sister, brother, and I were youngsters and Mother would have had enough of us, she'd send us off on a "camping" trip with Daddy. My father was the son of a farmer - hence, no-frills. Because he grew up quite poor, he was also something of a cheap-skate. His idea of roughing it was REALLY rough.
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