Planning your nonfiction book

As you know, if you have been reading The Writing Life, I teach and coach six steps that take a nonfiction book from concept to completion. It is a huge topic, with much to cover, and there are always questions. I hope to answer as many of them as I can in the upcoming series of blog posts.

What are the three most important questions an author must answer before he or she starts writing?

1. What is my book about (in one sentence)? Why one sentence? Because if you can't clearly and succinctly explain what your book is about in a way that anyone will understand, you don't know. If you don't know, you can't write it.
2. What is my book's purpose? Why are you writing this book? What do you want it to achieve? A book needs a mission, a reason for being. The purpose might be to entertain, to educate, or to inspire. Whatever it is, the mission must include providing a benefit to the reader.
   
3. Who is my ideal reader? Think about this. "Everyone" or "every woman" is too broad. if you were having a conversation with your reader, who would that person be? To whom are you delivering the benefit you promise?

How do I know if my idea for a book is viable?

If you write a book proposal for an agent or publisher, your job is to prove that your book will sell. You do that by answering these ten questions (three of them may look familiar):

1. Why are you writing this book?
   
2. What is your book about?
   
3. How are you qualified to write this book?
   
4. Why is this an appropriate and timely topic?
   
5. Who are your target readers?
   
6. How will they benefit?
   
7. How will you reach them?
   
8. How big is the market? How many potential readers are there?
   
9. What else is out there on this subject? How is this book unique/special/important?
   
10. How will you help to promote your book?
    

Why do I need a proposal if I’m self-publishing my book?

A proposal is your plan. if you can answer the ten questions above, you have the basis for your proposal. If you don't intend to pursue traditional publishing, this may be all you need. Proposals may be organized in various ways, but they must address the basics. When you reread your answers you will know if your book is viable. You will also use all of this information as you write and promote your book.

The Friends of Bobbi Bookshelf

I have a shelf in my bookcase for books written by friends, with a special section for those I played a role in bringing to fruition. In some cases, I was a book coach; in others, an editor; and in a few, a ghostwriter. The number of books on my shelf is growing, which thrills me. When there were only a few, I would pack them all up and take them to my classes to use as examples of everything from great design to self-publishing disasters. These days I have to spend a lot of time choosing the perfect books from my growing stash.

I am so proud of the authors who took their wonderful books from concept to completion and would like to introduce some of them to you.

Kim Wolterman (pictured above at her book launch) is the author of Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed(room)? Researching a St. Louis County Missouri Home*, which is hot off the press. This book is a step-by-step guide to removing the frustration and putting the fun into researching the history of any home. An indefatigable researcher, house historian, and multi-talented quilter and artist, Kim is also an EzineArticles.com expert author on house history research.

Dressing Nifty After Fifty: The Definitive Guide to a Simple, Stylish Wardrobe* is the brainchild of Corinne Richardson, a retired attorney who writes extensively, consults with clients, and hosts workshops on the many ways to simplify and organize one’s life and possessions. Dressing Nifty After Fifty shows women how to create the ideal, quintessential wardrobe that works 24-7.

From Red Star To Spangled Banner: My Journey to Become a True American* by Dale Attila Fogarasi is a 30-year odyssey that takes the author of this moving memoir from Communist-ruled Hungary to Mark Twain’s America. Retired after a 50-year career at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, Dale’s intensely personal saga chronicles his life between the ages of 17 and 47, when he became a citizen of his adopted country.

* Just a coincidence or uniformly good taste? Whatever the reason, these three books were all designed by book designer extraordinaire, Peggy Nehmen.

Pamela J. Vaccaro, MA, CSP, is a professional speaker, former history teacher, and nationally recognized resource on managing time and attention. Beyond The Ice Cream Cone: The Whole Scoop on Food at the 1904 World’s Fair combines Pam's love of food history with culinary memorabilia and showcases her talent as a researcher and writer.

It’s Your Life, Choose Well: Thoughts on living a happier, healthier, saner life now—not someday, by Kathleen Keller Passanisi, is a collection of gentle, mental nudges designed to help readers make simple, pleasurable choices that can improve their physical, mental, emotional, social, vocational, and spiritual health. Kathy is a seasoned health care professional, an internationally recognized speaker and humorist, and a lifetime achievement award winner in therapeutic humor.

There are more books in the works by my friends and favorite writers. As soon as the ink is dry, there will be a follow up to this blog post.

(Not So) Secrets of a Great Website

After years of having what is known as a “billboard in the middle of the Sahara desert”—a website nobody ever saw—I finally did something right. I created a website that does what it’s supposed to do: inform, educate, help, and attract people. I certainly would never claim to have done this alone. I had a great deal of help on the technical and marketing side from an expert who brought me from dark ages into the 21st century.

Change takes place on the Internet faster than the speed of DSL, sound, or light. I am not technologically gifted, to say the least. Nothing about computers, the WWW, RSS, SEO, web design, blogging, podcasting, tweeting, getting around Amazon, or even writing on someone’s wall in FaceBook comes naturally to me. It is not intuitive; it is learned. Then, as soon as I learn something, it becomes obsolete; and I have to learn something newer, more sophisticated, and usually more complicated. It’s a daily battle, but a necessary one if I am to remain competitive in my field.

My website could certainly use improvement, I know. Yet, bells and whistles don’t seem to be the criteria Web surfers demand. The question is what is it that garners good ratings in the search engines; encourages casual visitors to click on links and read articles; e-mail with questions about book coaching, ghost writing, and editing; sign up for a newsletter; or add a book to their shopping carts.

Here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way. An effective website should do the following:

1. Have a clear, consistent theme.
Does your site have a single identifiable message? Will readers get it immediately or feel confused by too much variety? Web surfers have short attentions spans. If they are overwhelmed, they will move on.

2. Be easy to find.
Search engines find your site in many ways, but the most important is keywords. If you want Google or Yahoo to know you can help write or publish books, your site should be liberally sprinkled with keywords, or clues, that lead them right to you.

3. Be easy to get around once someone finds it.
Nothing is as frustrating as being lost in a sea of words and pictures and having no idea how to find the information you want. Your website should not be a scavenger hunt; it should be a transparent map that takes you directly to what you’re looking for.

4. Make sure your links work.
Almost as frustrating as being confused about content is, knowing exactly where you are and where you want to go, clicking on an obvious link, and finding there is no such page, or you ended up on the wrong one. Check your links often.

5. Convey your professionalism, trustworthiness, and credibility.
What does your website say about you? Of course, you would like it to shout out that you are good at what you do, you have experience and expertise, you are the expert the reader has been looking for. How do you do that without actually saying all those things? There is a rule in creative writing classes: show; don’t tell. Make that your mantra.

6. Establish a relationship with the reader.
Web 2.0 is all about relationships. It is no longer a one-way monologue; it is now a dialogue between you and your visitor. Your website is a way to say, “Hi, I’m __________. Let’s get to know each other. What interests you? How can I help? Let’s interact.”

7. Answer the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) question.
This should not be news to you: Your website is not about you; it is about your readers. What do they need and will they find it here? What is the benefit in terms of information, entertainment, enlightenment, or take-aways? Why should they hang around a while?

8. Add new features or update information frequently.
Think about yesterday’s newspaper. It may still have uses, but keeping you up to date on the latest news isn’t one of them. Things are happening in the world and in cyberspace. “Inquiring minds want to know.” So does Google, which thrives on new material.

9. Be packed with useful information.
The Web is the world’s biggest library, the encyclopedia of everything you could possibly want to know. When you stop to think about it, that’s pretty amazing. So, where do you and your little website fit into that enormous picture? You are a source of information someone is looking for. It’s up to you to provide as much as you can.

10. Give stuff away FREE.
Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Let it shine. Then, offer it to your reader. You will make a friend or at least a grateful Web surfer who will return. You cannot give away too much. You know more than you think you know. What good is it if you don’t share it?

11. Avoid being an obvious commercial for products or service.
Few things are more annoying than searching for information and finding, instead, one long ad for something to buy—a training program, a series of videos, books, tricks on how to increase traffic to your blog … you get the idea. These sites have lost sight of rules and 9. Be packed with useful information and 10. Give stuff away FREE.

I didn't learn these common sense rules early or easily. I read them; I heard them; I observed them on other people's websites; and, often, people gave them away for FREE. What a concept.

What do writing coaches do?

I don’t know what makes people search for certain kinds of help on the Internet, but it would seem that book coaching is a pretty popular topic. I get a lot of inquiries about coaching, probably because I’m near the top of Google’s site under that heading. If you doubt that such positioning helps, let me assure you that it’s like magic.

What’s interesting is that people search for a book coach, find my website, and then e-mail me to ask what services I offer. I suppose that is because every writing coach is different. I have one colleague who is very scientific about her process. She does certain things in a certain order and doesn’t waste any time. I admire her technique, but, quite honestly, it doesn’t work for me. There simply is no one-size-fits-all in my approach to coaching.

In fact, my method can only be described as customized because it is based entirely on what each client wants or needs from me. Every potential author who contacts me is at a different stage in the planning, writing, publishing, or promotional stages of a book. Some have no idea what to do and need guidance from start to finish. Others have written a book and suddenly ask themselves, what do I do now? Those people need an editor more than a coach. A few discover, after they begin, that the whole process is overwhelming and what they really want is someone else to write their book for them. They need a ghostwriter. And then there are writers at increments in between the ones I’ve just described.

That first conversation with a potential client is a two-way interview. The client wants to know what I can do for him, and I want to know what he needs. Usually, I ask these questions:

• What is your book about?
• What is your purpose for writing it?
• Where are you in the process?
• Have you written an outline?
• Have you written the book or any part of it?
• Have you written a book proposal?
• What kind of help are you looking for?

On the other hand, the client may ask me:
• What exactly do you do?
• How does this process work?
• How much do you charge?
• How long does it usually take?
• Can I send you what I’ve written so far?

These conversations vary in length and detail. Both of us are trying to get information but also to determine if we can relate to each other. I want to know if this person is serious about the project and looking for the right partner or just surfing the Web to pass the time. He wants to know if I am interested, experienced, and trustworthy. We are engaged in a dance of strangers, each of whom has an agenda.

The client usually wants me to read what he has written; I want him to have a better idea of what coaches do. He offers to send a sample; I promise to send links to articles. We agree to talk again. I follow through and follow up at least once. Occasionally, this dance becomes a working partnership, but not always. Establishing trust and rapport, conveying information, and deciding whether to commit to spending hundreds of dollars is a lot to ask of a single conversation. It usually takes more chat to create that bond.

That’s why when people ask me, “What do writing coaches do?” it takes more than 500 words to provide a coherent answer.