Writing Nonfiction: Turning Thoughts into Books
By Dan Poynter
3/5
()
About this ebook
Dan Poynter's definitive guide to writing non-fiction. How to pick your topic, break it down, do research, writing tricks & tips, evaluate your publishing options and get into print faster, easier and cheaper. Preparing your manuscript for an agent, publisher or printer. Sixth revised edition, May 13, 2014.
Dan Poynter
Dan Poynter is a pioneer in book writing, producing and promoting. His New Book Model or “Simultaneous Publishing” is revolutionizing the book industry and information dissemination. He is a frequent speaker, successful publisher and renowned book publishing consultant, who has a unique, pioneering approach to marketing books—which he so generously shares. Since 1969, Dan Poynter has written and published more than 100 books including Writing Nonfiction, The Self-Publishing Manual, The Skydiver's Handbook and The Expert Witness Handbook. He has also created more than 50 reports, nine audio CDs, four video programs, a dozen eBooks and more than 500 magazine articles. He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). Dan is an author and he is a publisher who has experienced every phase of the book publishing process. He has sold his manuscripts to other publishers, he has published other authors, he has published his own books and his books have been translated and published in seven other countries. Dan does not just work in the book publishing business, he studies the book publishing business. He doesn't just talk about book promotion, he teaches book promotion. He is an evangelist for books, an ombudsman for authors, an advocate for publishers and the godfather to thousands of successfully-published books. Dan Poynter's seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been pictured in The Wall Street Journal, and his story has been told in U.S. News & World Report. The media comes to Dan because he is the leading authority on book publishing. A well-known aviation speaker, Dan is a licensed pilot, a skydiver with all the ratings and a Master Parachute Rigger. He has served as vice-president of the Publishers Marketing Association as well as president of the Parachute Industry Association, chairman of the board of the US Parachute Association and president of the international hang gliding commis¬sion. Often described as “Mr. Publishing,” Dan Poynter shows publishers how to sell more books using some surprisingly simple marketing concepts. No one gives away more help, advice and expertise than Dan Poynter. He is a caring, sharing publisher who is dedicated to putting more than just something back into the system. Dan shows people how to make a difference while making a living by coaching them on the writing, publishing and promoting of their book. He has turned thousands of people into successful authors. His mission is to see that people do not die with a book still inside them. Book Writing-Publishing SizzleReel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWl0fnBu7bs Full CV http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Poynter Aviation career in Pictures. http://www.slideshare.net/Dan_Poynter/dan-poynterparachutes-skydiving-aviation
Read more from Dan Poynter
The Expert Witness Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAir Travel Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBooks: Tips, Stories, & Advice on Writing, Publishing, & Promoting Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing Your Book: Cashing in on publishing faster, easier, and cheaper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBook Fairs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuccessful Nonfiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTailwinds: Adventures of a Young Aviator Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Older Cat: Recognizing Decline & Extending Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKDP SelectTM: Navigating Kindle’s Freebie Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Writing Nonfiction
Related ebooks
How To Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge Into Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Write A Book This Weekend, Even If You Flunked English Like I Did Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal, 2nd Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGet the Word Out Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWrite for Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Relaxed Author: Books For Writers, #13 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Write A Book: The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own Paperback or E-book Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Best Memoir: How to Write It When You Don't Know How Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuccessful Nonfiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMake a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How To Win Top Writing Assignments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Write Fast, Write Well: How To Be Prolific, and Sell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Make a Living with Your Writing: Turn Your Words into Multiple Streams Of Income Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Be a Writing Machine: Author Level Up, #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing Articles About the World Around You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Live Writing: Breathing Life into Your Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer's Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Productivity For Authors: Find Time to Write, Organize your Author Life, and Decide what Really Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Article Writer: How To Write And Sell Magazine Articles: The Practical Writer, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStop Worrying; Start Writing: Worried Writer, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Write Starts: Prompts, Quotes, and Exercises to Jumpstart Your Creativity Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Co-writing a book: Collaboration and Co-creation for Authors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Writer's Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing FAST: How to Write Anything with Lightning Speed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Write a Book Fast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Writing Beyond the Self: How to Write Creative Nonfiction That Gets Published Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Finance & Money Management For You
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 15th Anniversary Infographics Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Capitalism and Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Set for Life: An All-Out Approach to Early Financial Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Richest Man in Babylon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Principles: Life and Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Keep Buying: Proven ways to save money and build your wealth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Awakening: Defeating the Globalists and Launching the Next Great Renaissance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey: Summary and Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tax and Legal Playbook: Game-Changing Solutions To Your Small Business Questions Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Freedom Shortcut: How Anyone Can Generate True Passive Income Online, Escape the 9-5, and Live Anywhere Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Financial Words You Should Know: Over 1,000 Essential Investment, Accounting, Real Estate, and Tax Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wealthology: The Science of Smashing Money Blocks Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad, Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Retire Before Mom and Dad: The Simple Numbers Behind A Lifetime of Financial Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book on Advanced Tax Strategies: Cracking the Code for Savvy Real Estate Investors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lifestyle Investor: The 10 Commandments of Cash Flow Investing for Passive Income and Financial Freedom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market P Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Family Trusts: A Guide for Beneficiaries, Trustees, Trust Protectors, and Trust Creators Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Physics of Wall Street: A Brief History of Predicting the Unpredictable Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Writing Nonfiction
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Writing Nonfiction - Dan Poynter
WRITING NONFICTION
TURNING THOUGHTS INTO BOOKS
Sixth Edition, Completely Revised
by
Dan Poynter
Smashwords Edition
Para Publishing
Santa Barbara California
Published on Smashwords by:
PARA PUBLISHING
Post Office Box 8206
Santa Barbara, CA 93118-8206, U.S.A.
info@ParaPublishing.com
ParaPublishing.com
Writing Nonfiction
Turning Thoughts Into Books
Sixth Edition, Completely Revised
Copyright 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2014 by Dan Poynter
Portions of this book previously appeared in Write & Grow Rich
ebook ISBN: 978-1-56860-122-9
softcover ISBN: 978-1-56860-110-6
Some images copyright by ClipArt.com
Digital formatting by Elizabeth Beeton, B10 Mediaworx
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
CONTENTS
About the Author
Foreword
Acknowledgments
A Word from the Author
Disclaimer
Chapter 1: What Your Book Will Do for You
Chapter 2: The New Book Model
Chapter 3: What to Write: Selecting Your Subject
Chapter 4: Researching Your Topic and Checking for Competition
Chapter 5: Your Book’s Title and Subtitle
Chapter 6: Your Book’s Covers
Chapter 7: Getting Organized: Setting Up Your Binder
Chapter 8: Your Writing System
Chapter 9: Finding a Publisher; Finding an Agent
Afterword
Appendix
Colophon
What Others Are Saying About This Book
Read this before you write your next book—it will streamline your activities.
—Travelwriter Marketletter
Creative people are more productive when they have the best tools. Get the best computer you can afford and this book.
—Sandy Whelchel
National Writers Association
Dan shares his experience and insights in a readable, clear, and educational way.
—Ray Newton
National Coordinator
Reader’s Digest Writing Workshops
I find the contents to be a treasury of wisdom, usable suggestions, and resource information that will be of much benefit to would-be authors. Its broad coverage also includes much that will appeal to old hands such as myself. I heartily recommend it.
—Nat Bodian
author
The Joy of Publishing
Dan is a genius in our business. Absorb his brilliance, wisdom, and re-duplicable insights by reading and employing this book. He’ll show your how to profitably break into print and keep the money rollin’ in.
—Mark Victor Hansen
co-creator
Chicken Soup for the Soul series
Busy people have trouble finding time to write. Savvy authors do several things at the same time. Dan Poynter shows you how.
—Hannelore Hahn
Founder and Executive Director
International Women’s Writing Guild
Writing Nonfiction is an invaluable, recommended addition to all personal, creative writing seminar, and public library writer reference collections.
—The Bookwatch
I’d trust Dan’s word, recommendations, and predictions over about any publisher, editor, agent, or book marketing consultant I’ve met
—and I’ve met the supposed
best.
—Jay Abraham
author
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got
This book offers the best tools and the best resources for becoming a successful writer.
—Maryanne Raphael
Writers World
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a story but just can’t imagine how to write it down.
—Bob Holt
Book Forum of San Diego
Dan is extremely generous with his time and the information he shares with his students, fellow authors, and potential writers.
—Alan Rothman
Sparetime Magazine
Poynter is an insider. He knows the publishing business warts and all. He’s practical.
—Curtis Casewit
Books for Mature Adults
Poynter’s talent is to get writers motivated to get words on paper by showing them how to break down the project into palpable chunks, establish a schedule, and then bring all the parts together.
—Laughing Bear Newsletter.
Concentrating on the nonfiction book, Poynter takes you from selection of your subject through research, choosing your title and cover, to publishing choices.
—Write Now! Magazine
Every nonfiction writer needs a roadmap. Whether you are keyboarding or dictating, this book will guide your way.
—Michael Larsen
Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency
Every professional speaker needs to write a book for increased credibility and a passive-income source that keeps on giving. Dan’s system is tailor-made for road-warrior speakers who can’t seem to find the time to write.
—Terry Paulson, Ph.D.
past president
National Speakers Association
If I’d had this approach to writing when I was writing ads for electronic products and BluBlocker sunglasses, my life would have been a lot easier.
—Joe Sugarman
President
JS&A/BluBlocker Corporation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Poynter fell into publishing. He spent eight years researching a labor of love. Realizing that no publisher would be interested in a technical treatise on the parachute, he went directly to a printer. The orders poured in, and the author was suddenly a publisher.
In 1973, he became interested in a new aviation sport but couldn’t find a book on the subject, so the skydiver and pilot sat down and wrote one. So far, Hang Gliding has sold more than 130,000 copies—a best seller!
Continuing to write, Dan has produced more than 120 books and revisions, some of which have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, British English, Russian, and German. His books are loaded with facts and figures and detailed inside information. They are always up to date because he revises them before going back to press.
Dan is a pioneer. He wrote the first book on hang gliding, a circular book on Frisbee play, and the first book on word processors. He published the first laser-typeset book in 1981. He was the first to send a galley to Publishers Weekly electronically in 1983. He embraced the fax in the mid-80s and pioneered fax-on-demand and to sell reports. He has been selling downloadable reports from his web site since 1996.
A consultant to the book industry, the Publishers Marketing Association presented him with the Benjamin Franklin Award for Lifetime Achievement. Dan is a past vice president of the IBPA/PMA.
Dan is a frequent speaker (a Certified Speaking Professional) at writers’ conferences and many other industry events. Dan runs his own publishing company, Para Publishing, in Santa Barbara.
FOREWORD
The book writing and publishing industries are in a state of accelerating evolutionary change. Publishing companies are growing and consolidating; emerging technologies are transporting information at the speed of light; the reservoir of text is growing ever larger; and the thirst for information is enormous.
The need for determined research and superior writing has never been greater. These industries require new ideas, new methods, and new energies.
At the annual Maui Writers Conference, we have managed to bring writers, editors, agents and publishers together in an historic conspiracy to produce better books. Never before have these disparate groups worked together as they do in Maui (and then all year round).
Dan Poynter has subscribed to this new writing/publishing paradigm for years and now he reveals it to you in this book. When it comes to nonfiction, Dan is the top coach for writing, publishing and, most importantly, promoting.
Read this book now; start on your book today, and I look forward to seeing you in Maui.
John Tullius
Founder and Director
Maui Writers Conference
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have not attempted to cite in the text all the authorities and sources consulted in the preparation of this book. To do so would require more space than is available. The list would include departments of the federal government, libraries, industrial institutions, Web sources, and many individuals.
Valuable information (and inspiration) were contributed by David Beswick; Gordon Burgett; Charles Stretch
Harris, Esq.; John Favot; Alan Gadney; Bill Frank; Susan Fulton; Dr. Bud Banis; Michael Kramer; Robin Kinkead; Rebecca Morgan; Stacy Peña of IBM Media Relations; Ellen Reid; Ruth Rose; Dan Seidman; Charles Kent, Esq.; and Joel Gould of Dragon Systems.
Melanie Rigney did the original copyediting; Robert Howard provided another great cover design and Carolyn Porter did the design, typesetting, and layout of the original edition.
Elizabeth Beeton designed the interior of the Sixth Edition, and converted the book to ebook editions and uploaded the ebook to Smashwords.com and to Amazon.com for the Kindle edition.
I sincerely thank all these fine people, and I know they are proud of their contributions to the book community as well as to this work.
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
Forget what you heard about book writing, publishing, and promoting; the model just changed—for the better! Now you may print shorter runs at prices that make sense, publish your books
in other (electronic) ways, sell them automatically and promote them for practically nothing. You will discover how to wring maximum value out of your work. This is an exciting