Bobbi Linkemer

There is more to a nonfiction book than a catchy cover and table of contents... much more. Wherever you are in the process of writing your book, if the chapters adequately convey your message, everything else you write must attract, inform, clarify, or sell.

If you are writing a nonfiction book, chances are you will have to do a fair amount of research. Here are seven of the most effective ways to go about it.

There are 53,524 books on writing skills listed on Amazon, which tells you this is a very popular subject. However, you can read all 53,524 books and still not get your book written if you don’t apply your seat to the chair and your fingers to the keys.

[This article was written by guest contributor Bobbi Linkemer.]

1.  Why do you want to write a nonfiction book?

There are as many reasons to write a book as there are books. To establish your authority in a subject? To make money? To more deeply explore your field of interest? When you know your topic and want to share what you know with others, a book is one of the best ways to do it.  High-profile CEOs often write books to pass along their business philosophies and practices to the next generation of leaders in their organizations; to articulate their personal visions for their companies to significant stakeholders; or to apply the hard-won lessons of their lives to the broader context of business, society, academia, or government.

2.  What’s holding you back from writing it?

Is it that writing a book is an overwhelming project? Perhaps you feel...

[This article was written by guest contributor Bobbi Linkemer. Check out part 1 of her series ("5 Mistakes New Authors Often Make") by clicking HERE.]

If you are a new author, the whole process of taking your book from planning to promotion may feel like an obstacle course. But it needn’t be. To avoid some of the common book promotion obstacles, follow these five basic rules (plus one “bonus” rule to make everything even easier).

Rule #1: You must be able to explain your book and its main benefit in a single sentence.

Think of that sentence as the foundation of a house you are building. If it is not strong and solid, the house won’t stand up. Everything depends on how well you construct that foundation or, in this case, your sentence. I won’t kid you; it is hard to do. For one thing, writing it forces you to focus on your