How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 7 Steps

A great nonfiction book can inspire and educate, influence, and heal — but the process of crafting your own nonfiction work can seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before (and sometimes even if you have!). Luckily, there are tried and true steps to guide you from first inspiration to final publication. And when it comes to sharing your work with the world, BookBaby is your one-stop-shop for everything from cover design to book distribution. Read on to discover the seven easy steps to creating your own nonfiction book.

Step 1: Find your niche

New nonfiction books are published every day, so before you start writing, focus on a very important question: What do you have to say that’s new and different?

A big part of this is being honest with yourself about your interests, hobbies, and areas of expertise. If you can hone in on a focused topic that you feel you could talk about and explain for hours on end, that’s a good indication that you might have a winner. Another important aspect is making sure that there’s going to be an audience for the book you’re preparing to write. Is the area of theoretical mathematics you’re looking at so obscure that only three other people in the world will know what you’re talking about? Is your love of green tea so broad that it will get lost amidst every other book about green tea published in the last century?

There’s no perfect answer here — just try to focus in on a niche that you’re truly excited and knowledgeable about, and one where you think there’s at least a small population of potential readers who are as intrigued by it as you are. Identifying your book’s target audience before you start writing can be very helpful.

Step 2: Do your research

When it comes to most nonfiction writing, it’s rare that you’ll be able to just write off the top of your head and have your book become a success. Instead, thorough and diligent research can lay the foundation for a strong and well-received nonfiction work. A few tips to get you started:

Look at every available medium

Sources can range from magazine clippings to reference books, podcasts to infographics, hand-written letters to personal interviews. Don’t limit yourself to only one type of research resource. Gather the information you need from wherever you can find it.

Use dependable sources

News stories or history books published by organizations that at least try to be thorough and unbiased, for example, are a better bet than websites you’ve never heard of (ones that clearly exist to advance a certain agenda).

Use multiple sources

It’s best to gather information and perspectives from several different sources you trust, then draw your own conclusions from there. When writing nonfiction, research in books should look at both sides of the coin to gain valuable insight.
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Always fact-check

Even the most reputable sources and experts get things wrong every now and then, and sometimes inaccuracies that are shared in one place can be echoed elsewhere. Stay vigilant to make sure you’ll craft your book atop solid ground.

Step 3: Develop a robust outline

You may think of book or chapter outlines as something your teacher makes you do in middle school, but countless great nonfiction writers rely on detailed outlines to guide them to success. A strong and detailed book outline can help you:

• Organize your thoughts
• Budget your writing time effectively
• Focus in on what you’re really trying to say
• Structure your content in a logical and engaging way
• Make sure you’re not leaving anything important out

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A key part of forming your outline is making sure that your goals and deadlines are realistic and achievable. The last thing you want is to set the bar unfeasibly high, get discouraged, and burn yourself out before you’ve even started gaining writing momentum.

To start, try breaking down your writing process into small tasks that you know how to do, and can accomplish in a predictable amount of time. The more you see the act of crafting your nonfiction book as a series of manageable challenges — rather than a huge, daunting monolith — the more likely you’ll be to complete the project with grace.

Step 4: Craft your first draft

Sometimes the first words are the hardest when it comes to book-writing. If you find yourself intimidated by the blank white page, start by giving yourself permission to write something that could be amazing, could be horrible, but will most likely fall somewhere in the middle.

The goal of a first draft is to get everything that’s in your head out and in writing so you can see what your book idea actually looks like fully formed, then revise your draft to perfection from there. The main way to get there? Just keep writing. Even if you’re not thrilled with a particular turn of phrase or feel that one transition isn’t as smooth as the next, don’t let yourself get caught on relatively minor hiccups. There’s always the revision process, where you can iron out issues. Remember: your first draft is beautiful (even if it is a beautiful mess).

Staying focused can be tricky, as can bouts of writer’s block, but developing a consistent routine can help. Through trial and error, try to figure out how many hours each day you can devote to writing without starting to feel wiped out or distracted, and try to make your writing into a consistent practice every day. That way, even if you only get one or two sentences done, you’ve still shown up and moved your project incrementally forward. And chances are, the next day will be much more productive.

Remember that nonfiction books don’t have to be words alone. Illustrations, graphs, and diagrams can help you communicate complex ideas to your readers. If you’re not sure where to start integrating graphics into your first draft, BookBaby’s design team can help with book formatting.

Step 5: Enter the revision phase

Revisions are a key part of writing a book. Writers of all sorts regularly tweak and revisit their work multiple times until it’s just right. To get a fresh perspective on your work, try giving your brain a break by taking a walk, taking a vacation, getting exercise, reading a work that’s completely different from yours, or doing anything else that breaks you out of writing mode. Then, when you return to your manuscript, you may be able to see fresh solutions to old problems — and new issues you might have previously missed.

It can be helpful to keep a log of the areas or subjects you feel need the most attention, so you can stay on track and make your revision as efficient as possible. Make sure to stay mindful of using clear and consistent language from your first page to the last.

As you revise, keep in mind that there’s no shame in asking for help. BookBaby offers comprehensive book editing services that include line editing, copy editing, and proofreading. If you hit a wall in your revisions and need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional book editor.

Above all else, remember that you’re not a failure if you find yourself having to revise several times. To the contrary, you’re doing the hard work needed to make sure your book is tight, accurate, compelling, and ready to share with the world.

Step 6: Get feedback

Writers rarely go from inspiration to publication in a vacuum, and even the most prolific and talented nonfiction authors ask for help when they need it. Seeking feedback from people you trust is a key part of the process, and one you shouldn’t overlook. Outside readers can help you:

• Gain perspective on whether your book is as educational, convincing, or inspiring as you want it to be — and if not, what needs to be done to get it there
• Identify parts that may be obvious to you as the writer, but need to be made clearer for your audience
• Figure out if there are errors in your writing or overall storytelling that need to be addressed
• Make your final revision and editing processes as focused, efficient, and effective as possible

First, think about who your target reader is before seeking out beta readers. If you’re writing about the history of goldfish, for example, you may want to search for people who love marine biology. Or if you’re making an argument about the future of public transit in rural areas, you might want to look for folks whose lives would be affected by the changes you’re proposing. It can also be helpful to seek out other authors and offer to critique their drafts in exchange for them reviewing yours.

Step 7: Publish and promote

Many writers will choose to research and chase agents, send dozens of book proposals and pitch letters, wait weeks or months for a response, and then sign away their independence to a publishing house for a fraction of the proceeds. And for some nonfiction authors, the reach and prestige of traditional publishing houses can be worth it.

But for more independently minded authors, BookBaby is here to help. Self-publishing lets you keep control over the distribution, marketing, design, timeline, and editing processes — plus, you get a much larger royalty percentage of every book sold. No matter what you need to bring your nonfiction book to reality, it’s all right here at BookBaby.