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Q&A How to write a non-fiction book?

It seems to me you need to answer some more basic questions first. What do you want to write about? Why do you want to write about it? Who is your audience, and why will they read your book? The ...

posted 4y ago by sesquipedalias‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-22T08:51:08Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47605
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:49:27Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47605
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:49:27Z (over 4 years ago)
It seems to me you need to answer some more basic questions first. What do you want to write about? Why do you want to write about it? Who is your audience, and why will they read your book?

The next step is: how will the book I want to write work? How will it be organised, in order to convey information, keep the reader's attention, etc? What material do I need?

And then, you can start collecting and organising the material--at which point, you may well start taking notes rather than immediately writing a first draft. The notes will be answers to questions such as the above: they will outline the material you will include in the book, record ideas about how to structure this material, plan how to keep the reader engaged, etc.

Sometimes, hurrying on and just writing something can be a useful exercise, and you should definitely do so if you feel like it. However, don't expect a great book to result from this exercise, and be prepared to analyse your initial work honestly in order to learn how to improve on it.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-08-27T15:47:40Z (over 4 years ago)
Original score: 2