The Questions People Ask About Writing Niche Non-Fiction Bestsellers
Here is a list of questions that people frequently ask me on the topic of writing bestsellers in the realms of niche non-fiction. Hopefully you will find the answers helpful but if you have any questions of your own please feel free to contact me.
WHAT EXACTLY IS NICHE NON-FICTION?
Simply put, it is the narrow focus a writer employs to position his work above the norm in published produce of a specific non-fiction topic. For example, writing a book on fly fishing as apposed to fishing per se – that’s niche – that’s the route to take to make money writing. Isolate your extra income idea, convert it into an extra income opportunity and progress thereafter to create a residual income stream.
WHY IS THE ‘NICHE’ PART SO IMPORTANT?
Writing in the niche non-fiction mode allows the writer to fine tune the precise identification of (a) the target market and (b) appropriate publishing houses. The target market will comprise devotees and enthusiasts of the topic in question and the appropriate publishing houses will be those who cater for that niche sub-sector of the overall market. Do it this way and you are setting out your stall to earn extra income at home.
ARE YOU SERIOUS WHEN YOU SAY ANYONE CAN WRITE A BESTSELLER?
Yes, I am, and let me give you an illustration from history to prove the point. Wallace D Wattles (what a great name for an author) was a working man who resided in the Mid West of the
CAN YOU REALLY BECOME SUCCESSFUL WRITING BESTSELLERS PART TIME?
I am living proof that you can; I have far too many other commercial interests pressing on me to make a full time career out of writing. Even at that I wouldn’t persist on a part time basis unless it were affording me fulfilment in (a) recognition) and (b) profit from my undertakings. You will recall reading this statement when the first flush of recognition comes your way. It’s addictive!
SURELY THE LEARNING CURVE IS TOO COMPLICATED FOR BEGINNERS?
No, it is simplicity itself and as short as you’d like to make it providing you are prepared to apply yourself to the basics, the signposts and the templates for progression, all of which are clearly laid out in the tutorial: ‘Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers’.
ISN’T ALL THIS JUST FOR LONERS?
We all live in a mind world to varying degrees but authors spend more time there than the average Joe (esphine). They require to if they are to be successful. That however does not mean to imply that they are all necessarily loners by nature. Gregarious people also make good writers because they know instinctively when to cut away from the talk addicted crowd and visit the silent mind to further their aspirations.
HOW DO I KNOW IF WHAT I KNOW IS OF ANY INTEREST TO OTHERS?
If your area of specialist expertise fits neatly into a defined niche (and the majority of topics do just that) then you already have an edge because there’s a 50/50 chance that other like-minded enthusiasts will want to know what you know. But it doesn’t end there. You must consistently add to your perceived knowledge to determine that what you think you know is all there is to know, and more to the point, is valid. Better to find out now than have someone else point it out to you later. The elusive ingredient for all of this you will only find in Chapter 5 of ‘Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers’. It’s painless when you know how…
ARE YOU JUST FOCUSING ON SELF-HELP AND HOW-TO BOOKS?
Not at all; self-help and how-to projects are natural channels for niche non-fiction but there are hundreds of other disparate topics (ways to make extra income) that are equally applicable. Read Chapter 4 of the tutorial and you’ll see what I mean.
YOU TALK ABOUT TESTING FOR LONGEVITY. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
Ah, now that’s a secret which is revealed in Chapter 4 (working well that one…)
HOW DO I CONVERT MY EXPERTISE INTO A TEACHING MODULE?
Read Chapter 4 (what did I just say?)
DON’T YOU NEED TO BE EXPERIENCED TO RESEARCH EFFICIENTLY?
This may have been the case years ago but no longer. Universal access to the Internet makes it ultra easy for anyone to locate targeted information on any subject. ‘Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers’ shows you how and directs you to sources that are of particular value in researching niche topics.
WHAT ABOUT STRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER?
The tutorial demonstrates how you can rapidly sift though your accumulated research data, evaluate, prioritize and position your findings in sequential order.
ISN’T IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET PUBLISHED NOWADAYS?
If you’re talking fiction, yes, most definitely that is the case. But the beauty of writing for profit in the realms of niche non-fiction is that you avail yourself of the facility for accurately pinpointing your marketplace and your publishing options.
CAN YOU REALLY TEST MARKET ONLINE TO GUAGE DEMAND?
Chapter 11 of the tutorial reveals not only how you can do this effectively but why you should do it in order to gauge potential demand before you place your work with a traditional publishing house.
CAN YOU REALLY SELL ONLINE?
In Chapter 12 you will discover how one part time author produced an online bestseller that catapulted to the #1 spot in Amazon.com within a week of its release. Most authors nowadays create a web site for promotion purposes (I have several and they all produce good business.)
YOU MENTION ADDITIONAL INCOME STREAMS. WHAT ARE THEY?
Read about them in Chapter 13 and start to get excited at the prospects.
AM I NOT JUST AS LIKELY TO END UP WITH PILES OF REJECTION SLIPS?
If you go out looking for them you won’t be disappointed; you’ll get them in abundance. Study and stick with the strategies in ‘Secrets To Churning Out Bestsellers’ and you will cut down the incidence of rejection slips to a miniscule minimum.
© Jim Green 2004
Jim Green is an entrepreneur and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction titles to his credit. You can view his range of how-to products at this website