I spent the last three months hanging out with the good folks at Indie Author Training, talking about one of my favorite things: how to write nonfiction that people actually can’t put down.
When I pitched IAT’s training host Karen Guyler about doing a webinar for nonfiction authors, I presented three possible ideas. Her response? Let’s do them all!
This three-part series covered the reader promise, the book structure, and—my favorite part—stealing fiction techniques to make your nonfiction sing. It was a whole lot of fun to teach, and Karen was a delight to talk shop with.
And now, all three sessions are up for free.
Here’s what we covered.
1. What’s Your Book’s Job? Writing Nonfiction as a Tool to Grow Your Business
Every decision you’ll make about your book—content, structure, voice, even how you publish it—gets shaped by the answer to one question: what’s your book’s job?
In this webinar, we dig into how to get clear on what you want from your book, as well as what your readers need to read. And, of course, how to meld that into a book that’s personally fulfilling to you, while being wildly recommendable by your readers.
We also talk about the many ways a book can earn its keep for your business even if it’s never a bestseller—because book sales are just one line item on a much longer list.
👉 Watch “What’s Your Book’s Job?”
2. What’s Your Reader Journey? Writing a Nonfiction Book that Changes Lives
If you want your book to make real impact in the world, you’ve got to take your reader on an unforgettable journey—not just hand them a stack of information and wish them luck.
This session gets into the nonfiction-specific reader journeys I use with my ghostwriting clients, and how to set up, deliver, and integrate reader transformation all the way through your book.
In it, I detail four different types of potential nonfiction book journeys and give you a lot of examples to help you understand what I’m talking about.
I had a ton of fun making these slides, FYI.
👉 Watch “What’s Your Reader Journey?”
3. Unputdownable: Captivate Nonfiction Readers with Fiction Storytelling Techniques
Just because it’s nonfiction doesn’t mean it can’t be a page-turner.
This is the one where we get to raid the fiction toolbox—cliffhangers, foreshadowing, pacing, the works. It was especially fun for me because I write both fiction and nonfiction, and I love them both equally.
We talk pacing, plotting, dialogue, description, use of details…. It was a total blast.
All three are free to watch! Plus, if you haven’t spent time in Indie Author Training’s course library yet, do yourself a favor and poke around once you’re signed up. There’s a ton of great stuff in there beyond my three sessions—it’s well worth the exploring.
P.S. If you watch all three and find yourself thinking “okay but how do I actually do this for my book,” that’s usually the point where a book coach comes in handy. Just saying. 😉