What's your book subject?

dsw

The nonfiction book that I currently have [published 2004] is in the self-help category. Research for this 5 CD audio book was an ongoing exercise that began 30 years ago. So I can't really say that the research was exactly the most difficult aspect. Rather, pulling it all together and deciding what to include and what to leave out was the hardest part.
 

TashaGoddard

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Hi dsw, and welcome to the non-fiction room and to AW.

Goodness, your audio book sounds like it was a mammouth project! It's interesting that it was an audio book. I usually think of audio book as coming out after the paper ones, though I imagine I may be jumping to conclusions here. I'd be very interested to hear why it came out as an audio book and what process you went through to get it published.
 

theinkslinger

I have one that would fit the "How To" category. It's in the final editing process. It will be out hopefully by June when I teach a writing workshop. The title of that one is Pumping Your Muse.

The one that's more in the raw stage is historical. The biggest time consumer is typing up the interviews. I love actually conducting the interview but it's tedious typing them up. The last one was 11 pages single spaced.

Donna
 

dsw

Tasha,
Yes, the audio books usually do come out after the hard cover. However, in the self-help genre, it seems that so many people like to listen to them in the car. So we bucked the system and did it backwards! Of course, that upsets a lot of people in the industry because it's just not "the way it's done," but hey, that's always been my problem...

Yes, it was a mammoth project. We went to two studios and discovered in the process that spoken word is much more difficult than music from a recording standpoint. It requires much more extensive editing. Finally, after watching the sound engineers mess with it for one year (!), I decided that I could do as good a job as they could. We bought the necessary software, set up a sound room in our house, and began recording. From start to finish (ready for the mfr), it took 3.5 months. We received a review from Midwest Book Review (James Cox) who remarked on the "technically flawless CD production values". That meant a lot to me since he did not know that we produced it ourselves because we set up a recording company separate from the publishing co.

We published it ourselves (www.networxpublishing.com). I designed the graphics for the cover and all the marketing materials. I chose the packaging and then found a manufacturer and worked with them to provide the electronic files they needed. It was a lot of hard work, but I enjoyed it. My biggest problem is marketing. The actual "go out there and get in their face" is not my thing. I'm working on it.

I did find out recently that it is a finalist in the ForeWord Magazine's 2004 Book of the Year Awards for Audio Nonfiction.
 

TashaGoddard

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Wow! As tri said, that really is some accomplishment. I was involved to a small extent in some spoken-word recording myself (for an audio-typing book), so I know what a huge job that must have been.
 

dsw

It was. My husband performed and I was the sound engineer, editor, producer, etc.
The one thing I noticed was that being an Aries, I tend to want to move quickly, and editing written material allows you to feel like you are in control. However, with audio, you feel sometimes like it is in control because you can't scan like you can with written words. You can only listen at one speed.
After you work with words and passages enough, you find yourself recognizing the wave formation for those phrases. It's kind of weird.
 

ResearchGuy

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triceretops said:
...WHAT KIND OF NON-FICTION BOOK DO YOU HAVE IN THE WORKS? WHAT CATEGORY?
...
Mine for which I have started the query process as of today is tentatively titled Policy and Data Resources on the Web: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians, an expansion of my column in Knowledge Quest, a sample of which is http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqarchives/v33/33n2_umbach.pdf

I suppose the category would be "academic."

Last summer I got about 150 pages completed of a draft of a business book, when I decided that it was not likely to have real commercial possibilities (regional + too many topics lacking a compelling central theme). I can mine that for articles, and have started doing so with one article in process (it may take a while to find a home, but then I can rewrite for several different publications).

--Ken
 

triceretops

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Hi Researchguy. Sometimes we can't sell the whole lemonade stand like we want and must forge ahead a glass at a time. Your idea to farm out articles on your subject is a pretty good. You'll aquire a nice little platform, and at the same time, expose your material to a publisher who might suggest you expand it into a book and furnish subject/chapter suggestions. Then again, you might gain a referal from a slick mag, to a pub who might consider your full-length project.

My local dino discovery is very regional, but I'm considering breaking it up into (academic) articles for inclusions in smaller pubs such as Smith and Nat'l Geo. Non-fic sells hotter than ever right now, so hang in there, and let us know what's happening.

I've followed your many other posts, and find you to be very astute and knowledgeable. Very informative on the Beware's thread!

Triceratops
 

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triceretops said:
Hi Researchguy. Sometimes we can't sell the whole lemonade stand like we want and must forge ahead a glass at a time. Your idea to farm out articles on your subject is a pretty good. You'll aquire a nice little platform, and at the same time, expose your material to a publisher who might suggest you expand it into a book and furnish subject/chapter suggestions. Then again, you might gain a referal from a slick mag, to a pub who might consider your full-length project.

My local dino discovery is very regional, but I'm considering breaking it up into (academic) articles for inclusions in smaller pubs such as Smith and Nat'l Geo. Non-fic sells hotter than ever right now, so hang in there, and let us know what's happening.

I've followed your many other posts, and find you to be very astute and knowledgeable. Very informative on the Beware's thread!

Triceratops
Thanks for the kind words, Triceratops. Much appreciated.

The Policy and Data Resources book started as a simple column for Knowledge Quest, which the editor suggested expanding into a book. I am finally moving on that front. It is a specialized topic, so there are few appropriate publishers, which simplifies things a bit.

The other item was my own brainchild, to be a comprehensive guide to starting a small business in my metro area. It became apparent that it was too much of a grab bag to make sense as a book, and it never will make sense as a book, not as I had designed it. (If you are curious, see http://almanac.umbachconsulting.com/ -- no longer linked to my home page, but still on the server.) I can pull out chunks, such as "How to Get a Business License" or "Networking Opportunities for the Business Startup" or "Free Consulting Resources for New Entrepreneurs," and make articles of them. The one I have in process is of that type. It will probably be rejected, but there are other target publications. The trick with an article like that is to change the slant and rewrite for different markets (maybe for different professional groups' trade pubs, for instance) or to adapt for regional pubs in different geographic areas. (Might not even need to rewrite in that case, but rather just sell repub rights.) Some folks do very well at that, and I believe that is standard advice for freelancers.

I'll let y'all know when something comes to pass.

--Ken
 
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TashaGoddard

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As tri says, that's a great idea to pull out bits from a non-selling written or partially written book to make into articles. I'm sure there are quite a few people here who would find that idea useful.
 

triceretops

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Thanks, Tasha, that is good advice.

First I want to welcome all non-fiction writers to this forum, and extend my wishes for your success. I started out here from the very begining having my own frustrations, and have since moved on from the dino discovery to a nearly completed novel. But my heart resides here and always will. My success lies with my past non-fiction pursuits, and Jenna will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that hers was with non-fiction also. So it is an extremely rewarding and profitable pursuit.

Remember that non-fiction books outsell fiction nearly three to one, and they can be sold to non-agented venues, on partials only, and for substantially more up front in terms of an advance. If that is not motivation, I don't know what is! I had twelve novels lanquish with agents and publishers until I collapsed with exhaustion. But the day I sent in my non-fiction books,(on a dare) was the day I was picked up, and I mean, immediately picked up. The information age is upon us--the public is chewing at the bit for great non-fiction categories. Health, fitness, self-help, history, nostagia, name it, it sells. I can't begin to tell you how many small and medium press markets eagarly scoop this stuff up.

My first book, Garage Sale Mania, was contracted by two different small press publishers at the same time. So I declined one, but let a good writing friend use my galleys as a format to write her own version of a garage sale book, and she was snapped up too! Double win-win!

So don't get discouraged. Your market is so huge, you'll never have enough submissions to saturate it. The odds are in your favor. If you need any advice, I'll offer what I can. Old subject=new slant. New subject=good marketing savvy and sound platform. Give em' hell.

Triceratops:Thumbs:
 

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triceretops said:
...WHAT KIND OF NON-FICTION BOOK DO YOU HAVE IN THE WORKS? WHAT CATEGORY?


I'm a third done with a collection of essays tentatively called Flummoxing in the Hamlet about growing up middle class in the midwest in the 1970s.
 

alleywaygirl

I'm writing a non fiction memoir about some time I spent in the islamic world. Each chapter is based around an islamic woman i got to know. woven throughout these chapters is the story of my relationship with an iranian man. i've got an agent, but i'm still working on the latest revision she's asked for.

i've have never published anything before, but have been working on this project for nearly five years.
 

demonandmonk

my subject

My book, the demon and the monk, is about my favorite subject - me! It is an autobography with elements of true crime and self help. Check it out at www.demonandmonk.com

dave
 

Kree Atv Khurz

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Subject of My Non-Fiction Book

My book is largely memoir, partly how-to and survival, partly cultural-political-economic criticism. I started it 1999 as a guide to economical and interesting travel and retirement in Third World Countries, expanded it the next year as I entered treatment and clinical trials for Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma, describing it all, expanded it again following 9/11, and expanded it finally after returning in Oct., 2003, from a 9-months round the world trip. I've used at least a dozen titles, from RE-INVENTING LIFE to the current WHISTLING MARCHES. It now totals about 120,000 words, 400 double-spaced pages.

I've never interested a bonafide publisher, agent, friend, or stranger in my tales, except for the few Melanoma patients and caregivers who responded to my announcement in the Summer of 2002 on a Melanoma bulletin board about excerpts posted in iPublish dot com. I guess the reasons for my failure to find an agent or publisher could include my advanced age (1-book wonder), lack of a central focus in the book, unpleasant and boring subjects, perception of self-pity, my critical and politically incorrect views, and/or bad writing. I'm now just sitting on it and waiting, now into the third month, for responses to a half-dozen mailed or e-mailed agent queries. I'm now reading other memoirs and thinking about new moves to re-kindle my life. I doubt that I will send out anymore queries until Fall. They're all involved with Summer recreation, I fear.

If I do re-activate my agent search, I'm thinking about breaking it into three or four books. Has anybody out there tried that? Did it help? I would appreciate your views.

Thanks, Kree
 

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I'm a brand new member here. What I've seen of this place is very encouraging!

My NF is about third wave feminism. The most difficult part of the research is wading through all the other titles that have been published about feminism. I'm also having a trying time tyring to decide how extreme I want to get. In many ways, I'm very critical of the direction feminism is moving in. But at the same time, I don't want to alienate my readership. I'm not an 'expert' so I'm hoping I can sell this because I am part of the third wave, being twenty years old. We'll see what happens!
 

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SnowOwl said:
I'm a brand new member here. What I've seen of this place is very encouraging!

My NF is about third wave feminism. The most difficult part of the research is wading through all the other titles that have been published about feminism. I'm also having a trying time tyring to decide how extreme I want to get. In many ways, I'm very critical of the direction feminism is moving in. But at the same time, I don't want to alienate my readership. I'm not an 'expert' so I'm hoping I can sell this because I am part of the third wave, being twenty years old. We'll see what happens!
Welcome aboard!

It sounds like a promising project. Where there are many books, there is an audience. Fresh insights and a new view of a changing subject crafted with excellent writing should have potential. Seems to me that speaking truthfully AND in excellent prose trumps the need not to rub some readers the wrong way. You cannot please everyone, so write your truth.

You are an expert in your own experience and direct observations, and you can BECOME an expert in the previous literature. Go for it.

--Ken
 

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Biography/celeb.... with a twist....
 

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I write inspirational nonfiction. I have two books out already. The first was sixty stories (humorous, poignant, everyday chit-chat) about life and Coffee. The follow-up was sixty stories (same as above) but the thread that ran through all the stories was Chocolate. The hardest part about the research was eating all that chocolate. LOL :ROFL:

Seriously, the research wasn't that difficult because they were stories came about naturally in my life.

My next book is proving to be more difficult. I'm working on a book about six women who all accomplished extraordinary things with less than extraordinary talents. These are just everyday women who were thrown into unusal circumstances where they chose to persevere and overcome extreme challenges. The hard part is that they live all around the country and I'm having trouble getting a handle on their environments with actually being there.
 

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The NF bk I write now is about spirituality and meditation, actually called so, w a sub-title to it.

I guess it falls into the "spirituality" category.

Once it's done, and the hard part is to put in edited words what I used to lecture about for a few yrs in these two fields, I intend to make a spin-off for the religious category, mainly Christian, so it may be two religious bks - one gen and the other Christian.

In the process of writing, I found that I didn't know, nor suspected how much I didn't know about what I thought I knew. The writing process made me to revise and review ALL of my knowledge, assumptions, principles, you name it, but from various witnesses, small and big, I understand that this is normal in NF, and it's really logical to be so. Struggling w the need to define, you end up redefining the notions and clarifying them to yourself and this is a blessing in disguise.

I have notes for another NF bk, totally unrelated to the one mentioned, something about office workspace, but this is a remote project, at the most, now.

Dan
 

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Interesting...

I've always written fiction. However, I'm nearly completed with a non-fiction book regarding modern etiquette. Don't really know that much about the non-fiction world, and I have no clue as to whether or not my little, non-fiction attempt has any audience whatsoever, but I've been threatening to write this rant for years, and, go figure, I'm almost done.

Kevin
www.kevacho.com
 

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Kevacho--The non-fiction world is wide open for unique and different approaches. Do some proper research, chapter that baby up, and let it fly. Pay particular attention to non-fiction guidelines--sometimes they are very different from house to house. Don't be afraid. Check out other books with the same subject and see what's been done on it. Good luck

Triceratops
 

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse

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triceretops said:
3. Historical

6. Academic/science

7. Biography (celebrity)

Its a mini work on Soviet montage cinema theory and the disputes among the theorists. So its historical, academic and biographical too.

WHAT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF RESEARCH FOR YOUR BOOK?

It has to be the interviews with scholars who refuse to speak to me in anything but Russian. I don't speak Russian by the way.......
 

Taxiday

The title of my book is, "How I made a Living Playing Slot Machines and Why I'm Driving a Taxi Now."
That's the "working" title but I'm sure my publisher will change it to something like, "An Insider's View of Las Vegas Slot Teams."

In any case, it was fun to write (although I'm still making changes?revisions) and has led to other opportunities to get Las Vegas oriented stuff published.