How to Write a Nonfiction Book if You’re Not a Writer
/
Writing a book is a goal so many of us hope to achieve in our lifetime. But when it comes time to actually write the thing, it’s only natural to feel a bit daunted — especially if you don’t have much (or any!) previous writing experience. The negative self-talk can quickly follow: “Who am I to think I can write a book?”
The truth is that writing a book is a lot easier than you might think, even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer.” The beautiful thing is that the process requires no special training or education. You can start exactly where you are, right now, with writing your memoir, autobiography, self-help, inspirational, or leadership nonfiction book. You can even write a novel.
As a professional book coach, I work primarily with first time authors who are writing a nonfiction book. When I compare the initial paragraphs or chapters they wrote to the final manuscript that they submit to their publishing partner, one thing always stands out: they got better. A lot better. Virtually every one of my clients literally became a writer before my very eyes. So, how did they do it?
The secret is to transfer talents, systems, and habits from your daily life to your book writing. The best part about this approach is that you don’t have to “become” a writer; rather, you should focus on (and lean into) who you already are. All you need to do is transfer what you already know and are comfortable doing to a unique task: writing a book. With this in mind, here are my top five tips for writing a book if you’re not a writer.
1. Don’t write a book. Tell a story.
Which of these sounds easier? “I’m going to write a book.” Or, “I’m going to tell you a story.” I’ll bet that the former makes you break out in a cold sweat while the latter feels completely natural. Telling stories is something everyone can do. It happens all the time. You probably tell stories without even realizing that’s what you’re doing.
You tell your spouse or roommates stories when you come home from work. You tell stories about your personal life when you meet friends for a coffee. You tell your kids stories about “the good old days.” You might even tell a story to the police officer if you get pulled over for rolling through that stop sign at the last intersection.
So, don’t write a book. It’s too daunting. Tell stories. Lots of them. One after another. Don’t worry about the order of the stories. You can deal with that later. Don’t try to tell one big epic story that lasts hundreds of pages. Just tell stories of a length that you might tell a friend or a family member on the phone or in a pub. If you can’t hold the attention of someone who’s there in person—someone who already knows and loves you—how can you expect to keep a complete stranger on the other side of the country or even the world interested in some long and meandering yarn?
Keep your stories short. Make them interesting. Tell a lot of them and they will eventually add up to a book.
2. Address an audience of one.
Before I start working with an author, we have a phone call. Sometimes several. This usually happens before I’ve seen a single sentence of their writing. I’m often struck by the difference between how engaging they are in person and how stodgy their written words become. It can sometimes feel like I’m dealing with a version of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.
When first-time authors decide to write a book, they often adopt a writing persona. For some it’s the dry, authoritarian voice of a college professor rambling on in a history lecture to hundreds of first-year students. For others, it’s the omniscient tone of an almighty being delivering the words of guidance to multitudes of the faithful. Somehow these authors got the idea that they needed to write as if they possessed inalienable truths for the entire universe. And so they write for an audience of millions in a way that is utterly foreign and completely disconnected from who they are.
The secret is to write for an audience of one. Tell your story as if you’re speaking to a best friend, or your grandchild. Share your ideas or experience the same way you would if a younger colleague at work asked for advice. The goal is to be yourself and to be personal. That’s very hard to do if you try to write for thousands of nameless and faceless strangers who might, someday, buy your book. Transfer a style of communication that you’re familiar with from one-on-one conversations. Address an audience of one when you write. It’s a lot easier to do and you’ll end up with a better book in the long run.
3. Be prolific, not perfect.
Write and write and write and write. Then write some more. Keep going until you have at least 15,000 words, or around 50 pages double-spaced. Don’t evaluate what you’ve written. Don’t edit it. Don’t try to make any improvements by rewriting it. And — above all else — don’t even think about showing it to anyone just yet.
Don’t worry if you repeat yourself. The second or third time you say something might be a lot better than the first. Don’t try to organize your writing. Don’t cut and paste anything because it fits better someplace else. Just write as if your life depended on it.
If you’re trying to write a book, you’ve got to write! Produce words, sentences, paragraphs. If waiting for the subway reminds you of standing at the end of your driveway on your first day of school, peering down the unpaved country road at the cloud of dust that plumed from the approaching yellow school bus, write about it. Get out your phone and start tapping out that story. It doesn’t matter if your book is about an entirely different subject. Knock off a few hundred words while you have a few minutes to spare.
As we’ve established, you know how to tell stories. Typing on a laptop or dictating into your phone’s voice memo app is simply a means to collect what’s already in your head. Don’t turn writing your book into an epic adventure that will save a million lives, or stop climate change in its tracks. All you’re doing is getting what’s inside of you outside of you. This is the essence of writing. Keep going until you have 15,000 words down. Be prolific first. Perfection comes much, much later.
4. Get organized your way.
Many of my coaching clients contact me after they’ve completed 15,000–20,000 words. Then, they’re stuck. They’ve done all this writing but they don’t know how to organize it. Floating around in the dusty corners of their brains are half-remembered mantras from high school English classes about opening sentences, thesis statements, and supporting paragraphs. But they don’t really want their book to read like something they wrote in Grade 11.
Even in this unorganized state, I’m always able to see the patterns that exist in their writing. Bringing some order to chaos doesn’t take me a lot of time. But before I impose my own approach, I like to see if the client can perform their own miracle of organization. I’ve learned that virtually every person on earth has a system for arranging something. Even if they haven’t tidied their bedroom in a decade, they probably have a tool shed that looks like it was built, stocked, and managed by NASA — complete with multi-coloured screwdrivers neatly displayed in ascending sizes on a pegboard.
You can transfer organizational systems from other areas of your life to your emerging manuscript, too. If you like to cook, then you need to come up with a recipe. Think of your writing as a pile of ingredients. Stories are one ingredient. Opinion passages are another type. A message or moral drawn from a narrative passage is a separate component of your “cooking.” A self-help or “how-to” tip to solve a problem is an ingredient as well. Colour code each ingredient and use the highlighting feature of your word processing software to identify and organize all of the different types of content. Experiment with different combinations until it “tastes” just right. Once you perfect your recipe stick with it. Keep repeating that combination of ingredients in each section or chapter.
A recent client of mine is a science and math teacher who wrote a memoir. He organized chapters the same way he organized the lessons for his classes. Another one of my authors is a criminal defence lawyer. His writing is structured the same way he builds a court case. Soon, I’ll begin working with a conductor and I fully expect she will arrange her book like it was a symphony.
Once you establish some order to that initial 15,000–20,000 words, you’re going to start feeling more and more like a writer. Of course, you can change your organizational system anytime you want. But don’t be in a big hurry to do so. Your goal should be writing the next 40–50 pages using the recipe that you’ve just cooked up.
5. Never fly solo.
You shouldn’t have any trouble getting your book off the ground by yourself. As long as you temper your expectations and forget about being perfect, you’ll be able to make it most of the way to your final destination. Writing is an inherently solitary journey. But even the greatest writers in history have had help when it comes to landing their projects safely. You, too, would be well-served to imitate this approach.
Stephen King has worked with the same editor for over twenty years. Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe all relied on the same individual — Max Perkins — to polish their masterpieces. Danielle Steele has written 180 novels; you can be sure she hasn’t done that alone. If the best of the best rely on a support team, then so should you.
Once again, let’s look at a transfer of talents or habits you already have, like subcontracting. Maybe you’re undertaking a bathroom renovation. You might feel competent enough to install the cabinets, mirrors, and flooring. And although you’ve never laid tiles before, you’re going to give that a shot as well. But the plumbing is being handled by a pro. And yet, when your friends come to visit, you’ll tell them that you renovated the bathroom. Because you did…with a little help where it was required.
Writing a book requires a team — especially if you’re not a writer by trade. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money on book coaches and professional editors during the writing phase. Maybe your best friend has had a few short stories published online. You could ask her to give your manuscript a look. Are you a regular customer of your local bookstore? Most of the people who own or work at a retail bookshop are very literate individuals with a passion for the written word. Maybe someone like that would give you their thoughts on revising your second draft. Enlisting professional support can wait for when you’re ready to edit and publish your finalized manuscript.
I’m tempted to make this final comparison to being the general contractor of your book. But such an analogy misses out on the deeply personal experience of writing your first nonfiction tome. It’s better to think of your work as your child. The book is your baby and you are its parent. You want your child to succeed when it heads off on its own to make its way in the world. So, it’s only natural to give it the help that it needs to succeed.
So, this last transferrable tip is all about love. By the time you’ve got 30,000–40,000 words written you will have developed a deep bond with the work you’ve produced. You will be very protective of it. Therefore, treat your writing like someone or something you love. Entrust your manuscript to a person (or team) with the skills and experience to help you land the project safely and triumphantly. Then, look at yourself in the mirror and smile — because now you really are a writer!
Steve Donahue is a professional speaker, book coach, and the author of two bestselling nonfiction books. His works have sold over 100,000 copies and have been translated into Korean, Turkish, Russian and Greek. Steve helps new and experienced authors turn their book ideas into well-crafted publications that delight readers and inspire change. To learn more, visit his website at MyBookCoach.ca.
