Tonight ends the official, original 18-diary series that I promised you - and begins the ongoing, less formal, more chatty series on non-fiction writing.
Below the fold is a quick and sassy review of what we've talked about so far, and a challenge that will help some of our Orange to Blue candidates.
To Tell the Truth is a weekly series exploring the practical side of non-fiction writing and publishing. The original 18-week series follows the outline located here, and previous episodes may be found here. To Tell the Truth is published Monday evenings and is crossed posted at MélangePress.
For more writing and book diaries, visit Write On! on Thursdays, Bookflurries and What Are You Reading on Wednesdays, and Books by Kossacks. Also, don't miss the new front page Book Club, hosted by Mark Sumner.
Why I Did This...
At the start of this series, I talked about the importance of getting our progressive, reality-based ideas out onto the shelves. It is what drove me to start the series, and what keeps me going with it. I am past my feet-on-the-ground activist days, and I am not able to bankroll the causes I support. And I'm not an expert on many of the issues that are important to get right. What I can do is arm you with the best tips possible to get your non-fiction out on paper and into the world.
What amazes me when I do searches for 'writing non-fiction' is the lack of information that appears. The Google quickly switches from non-fiction writing in general to a few books on non-fiction writing and into non-fiction books before the first page is through. What this means is one of two things: either writers of writing books don't think non-fiction needs serious concentration, or they think the rules of fiction apply. An Amazon search of 'writing non-fiction' can't help but deliver fiction-writing results as well. And even a search at Writer's Digest produces less than two dozen hits for this category. ARGH! But there is hope: there are books on non-fiction writing out there, and if you search for particular genres you are more likely to find stuff.
I do not think that a dearth of books on on-fiction writing means that the craft isn't important - as I hope I've shown in this series, the craft may be more important in non-fiction because you are representing facts for public consumption. But know that you're not going to be overwhelmed by the choices when you stand in the writing/reference aisle at Borders.
...and Why I Am Continuing
I think that there's more to say, more perspectives to offer. I think, if we mix our coming weeks and month with interviews of Kossack non-fiction writers, discussions of non-fiction books that have something important to say, and helpful tips/analysis for better non-fiction writing, then we're doing something positive for ourselves, our communities, and our world.
Eighteen Diaries in Five Hundred Words
So what did we talk about? Lots of stuff... in a 500-word nutshell:
If you want to write a book, make sure you have something new to say. Make sure your topic has timeliness and timelessness.
Your competition is out there; use them as support and research – and if they are wrong, use them as your antagonist.
There are many strategies for getting it down on paper: outlining, recording lectures, harvesting from previous writing, doing 10 pages a day for a month, or hiring collaborators and ghost writers. Just get it down. And remember, after you get the first draft down, you still don’t have a book. You have a first draft.
Know your genre:
-- Procedurals require attention to the steps, testing, and clarity.
-- Informative books require an attention to the whole truth (don’t cherry pick), but remember that they can be graceful and dramatic.
-- Criticism works best when you avoid the ad hominem attacks, are calm, and give credit where credit is due.
-- If you are going to turn your blog into a book, beware of meta information, timelessness, and stripping out the interweb speak.
-- There are many miscellaneous genres too – from memoir to essay collections, humor, spiritual writing, and travelogues. They all have some peccadilloes and pitfalls, so know your genre.
If you are going to turn your presentation/lecture/workshop/class into a book, make sure you get rid of the hallmarks of good presentations that make for lousy reading. Avoid those repetitions of topic, overview, and summary that help a listener but annoy a reader.
Non-fiction doesn’t have to be dry.Style is important. Create a persona that fits the subject and genre, beware of jargon and acronyms, and moderate the formality in favor of readability.
Images – the use of or the lack of – can make or break a book. Make sure they are useful and accurate.
Whatever it is you put in the front of the book, make sure they are helpful roadmaps and credibility enhancers.
Same goes for the stuff you put in the back.
Whoever edits his own book has a fool for an author. A good editor is going to make you look the best you can on paper. Thus, you must shower him or her with praise, money, cars, jewelry, houses, cars...
Cover your ass. Copyrights, fair use, contracts, libel – be careful around this stuff, and get an attorney.
There are many options for publishing. Do your research and choose the best model for you (and hope you get chosen!).
Writing and editing is only part of the game – the rest is publicity. Hire good people, and know that you’re going to spend as much time marketing as you did writing.
The Challenge: Support the Non-Fiction Candidates!
I've already given some money to Orange to Blue candidates, but I have some more to give. So here's my promise to you: for every tip (up to 25) I will donate $5 to one of our Orange to Blue candidates. I will do it by Wednesday night to be sure the money gets to the campaigns. And if you're up for it, why don't you donate too? These worthy progressive candidates need all the help they can get - after all, they are truth-tellers battling a wildly well-funded fiction machine.
And finally... the first 18 weeks were a blast! I look forward to the next weeks and months.
Cheers!