Write (and Publish) Your First Non-Fiction Book: 5 Easy Steps (Writing Skills, #1)

By Nancy Hendrickson

Start and Finish the Book You Were Born to Write

Newly updated for 2015, Write (and Publish) Your First Non-Fiction Book is an intuitive, invaluable, and inspirational guide to writing with over 125 five-star Amazon reviews!

Author Nancy Hendrickson knows non-fiction. After all, she's written 29 books on a variety of topics and hundreds of magazine articles. Using her immense experience, follow Nancy's five-step blueprint to quickly write your own non-fiction book, publish it, and immediately begin selling it on Amazon's Kindle platform.

In the latest edition of this writer's cornucopia, you'll learn:

• Why you need to go indie
• How to write up to 2,000 words per hour
• What strategies to follow to go from outline to published in just 72 hours
• Which free, high-value marketing strategies work the best
• How to use a wide variety of tools for writing, publishing, and promotion

Featuring Nancy's five-step blueprint for quickly outlining, researching, writing, polishing, and publishing in as little as 72 hours, readers called the no-nonsense book a direct, comprehensive, much-needed guide for self-publishing.

Since its first publication, Nancy has gone above and beyond to supplement the book with sections on the latest topics, including:

• Kindle Unlimited
• Kindle Pre-Orders
• Marketing Podcasts
• Email Autoresponder Sequences
• Writing Killer Book Descriptions
• The Best Keywords For Your Niche
• Real-Life Marketing Case Studies
• And Much, Much More!

Are you ready to make more money, create a great book, and finally live out your dream?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Green Pony Press, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516301454

Book preview

WHY THIS BOOK?

I wrote this book because I know you have something important to say and I can help you say it. Over the years I developed my own blueprint for quickly writing and researching non-fiction books – and that’s the blueprint you’ll learn in this book. It’s worked for me through 29 books (both traditionally and self-published) so I know it will work for you.

On top of that – and this is the primary reason for doing a 7th edition of this book – is the changing landscape of indie publishing. To that end, I’ve added new sections on getting your book on Kindle, including formatting, editing, book covers, and outsourcing. Along with that you’ll find additional information on Amazon’s very latest programs that will help you make more money with your books – Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Pre-Order.

Lastly, I’ve included information that’s not in any previous edition of this book about starting your mailing list. Today. Immediately.

JOIN MY MERRY BAND OF CREATIVES

Be sure to get on my mailing list as my newsletter readers are the first to know about new books, writing and publishing tips, and discounts on books and courses. Sign up at NancyHendrickson.com to receive your copy of Creativity Unleashed.

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WRITING?

Pop over to the Writer’s Academy and learn more about my video training courses for authors. There are more than 4,000 successful students currently enrolled in my courses. I hope you’ll join in. Email [e-mail] if you have questions or need more information.

EDITION NOTES

You’re reading the 7th edition of this book. There have been so many changes, additions, revisions, and updates to this book that what started life as How to Write a Kindle Book in 72 Hours or Less has become a whole new animal. Due to the many changes in the book (and in Amazon’s programs) that I’ve changed the cover and given the book a title that better reflects the contents. Lastly, I’ve added information about other-than-Amazon digital publishing platforms.

CONTENTS

WHY THIS BOOK?

JOIN MY MERRY BAND OF CREATIVES

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WRITING?

EDITION NOTES

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

WHY WRITE AND THEN SELF-PUBLISH? A QUICK LOOK BACKWARDS

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

SECTION I WRITE THE BOOK

STEP #1: CREATE AN OUTLINE

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

FREE COURSE

STEP #2: RESEARCH AND COMPILE

WHERE TO SEARCH FOR IMAGES & INFORMATION

DO YOU NEED TO INTERVIEW?

INTERVIEW TIPS

BEING, KNOWING, OR FINDING AN EXPERT

MY SECRET TIP FOR A GREAT INTERVIEW

COMPILE YOUR NOTES

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

STEP #3: WRITE

HOW LONG DOES YOUR BOOK NEED TO BE?

GRAB YOUR CALCULATOR

START WRITING

HOME, OFFICE, COFFEEHOUSE?

IGNORE THE EDITOR MIND

METHODS AND TOOLS FOR DISTRACTION-FREE WRITING

A SIMPLE TRICK TO KEEP YOU WRITING

TRACK YOUR WORD-COUNT

TAKE BREAKS, DRINK WATER, WALK

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

STEP #4: REVISE & POLISH

GRAMMAR GRAMMAR GRAMMAR

POLISH

PERMISSIONS

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

STEP #5: FINALIZE

CREATE OR PURCHASE A BOOK COVER

OUTSOURCING

CAN YOU REALLY WRITE A NON-FICTION KINDLE BOOK IN 72 HOURS OR LESS?

SECTION II PUBLISHING & SELLING

OPEN YOUR ACCOUNT & ADD YOUR FIRST BOOK

AMAZON KDP SELECT PROGRAM

AMAZON PRIME

KINDLE UNLIMITED

PAY PER PAGE READ

FREE BOOK PROMOTION

KINDLE COUNTDOWN

KINDLE MATCHBOOK

KINDLE PRE-ORDER

QUICK NOTE ON KDP SELECT:

ADDING A NEW TITLE

TITLE, SUB-TITLE, EDITION, EDITOR, CONTRIBUTOR, ISBN

THE BOOK DESCRIPTION

WHICH CATEGORY?

KEYWORDS

UPLOAD YOUR COVER AND MANUSCRIPT

PREVIEW YOUR BOOK

ROYALTIES & PRICING

REPORTING

AUTHOR CENTRAL

KINDLE BOOK LAUNCH STRATEGIES

THE $0.99-FREE-FULL PRICE LAUNCH

THE NICK LOPER 20,000 BOOK DOWNLOAD LAUNCH

2 MUST-READ ARTICLES: A KDP LAUNCH WITH 40,000+ DOWNLOADS AND PROMOTING ON 24 FACEBOOK GROUPS

KINDLE BOOK LAUNCH SUGGESTIONS

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SLIDESHARE

A NOTE ON FREE KDP DOWNLOADS

WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON’T WANT TO USE KDP SELECT AT LAUNCH?

KINDLE PROMOTIONS

TWITTER AND #AMAZONCART

USING FIVERR TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS ON KDP FREE DAYS

HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK REVIEWED

USE YOUR EMAIL LIST

EMAIL LIST BASICS

WRITE YOUR NEXT BOOK

OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORMS

NANCY’S FAVORITE RESOURCES

PODCASTS

TOOLS

AUTHOR NOTES

DID YOU LIKE  WRITE (and Publish) YOUR FIRST NON-FICTION BOOK?

CONNECT WITH NANCY ONLINE

WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS?

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

I heard a fabulous podcast by Wool author Hugh Howey. He said if a writer claims it takes 24 months to write a book, they’re probably only writing for two of those months and thinking about their book the other 22. Although Hugh was talking about writing a novel, I think the same holds true for writing a non-fiction book.

In all honesty, if I put myself in a chair and focus, I can produce a 10,000 word short non-fiction book in 72 hours or less. I’m not suggesting that this should be your goal, but I do want you to realize that you really don’t have to slog through months of muck to get your non-fiction book out the door and selling.

Section I – I’ll introduce you to my personal five-step blueprint for quickly creating your non-fiction book, including:

Organizing

Researching

Compiling information

Writing

Polishing

Section II – Publishing & Selling

Outsourcing

Setting up your Kindle account

Writing your book description

Choosing keywords

Choosing categories

Pricing

Royalties

Joining KDP Select

Kindle countdowns

Kindle free days

Kindle Matchbook

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle pre-orders

Other digital publishing platforms

I’ll also share book launch strategies to give you an idea of what’s possible once your book is completed.

WHY WRITE AND THEN SELF-PUBLISH? A QUICK LOOK BACKWARDS

Since you’re reading this book, I probably don’t have to convince you to go the self-publishing route. But, just in case . . .

Amazon’s Kindle platform turned the publishing world on its ear and the fallout is still reverberating throughout the industry. Instead of big publishing houses controlling an author’s work (and income), Amazon’s Kindle makes it possible for authors to have a hand in their own destiny – and their own sustainable income.

The upside is that authors can write a book and quickly get it out to a reading audience. The downside is that the ease of

Reviews for Write (and Publish) Your First Non-Fiction Book

[Ramanan Ramadoss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

it was simple and to the point. I finished it in one reading and am all pumped up to write my book.

[j s hill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Easy read, set up foundational information to author a book; then offered in-depth info regarding KDP. Ms. Hendrickson offered common-sense strategies about authoring a book while providing a sequence to follow. My first write and publish book read to write a non-fiction book. Informative and encouraging. I would recommend it.