Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Thoughts on writing and publishing a non-fiction book. This book strongly recommends having a plan for the business and a plan for the book’s content.

I recently finished “Hungry Authors” by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry, Rowan and Littlefield, 2024.

I like the book. It focuses on knowing why you are writing a non-fiction book, knowing who will read it, and how you will meet the needs of the reader.

If you don’t like planning and planning in detail and planning in more detail, you won’t like this book. Plan for the market place. Who will read this book and why will they read it? Focus on those things. The book should serve those readers.

Know the genre of the book. Know comparable books. Study those things. Write accordingly.

Key points:

• I am writing to a person who fill-in-the-blank.
• I can best serve the person who fill-in-the-blank.

And then their is the book map and book plan. If you write by the seat of your pants, forget this method.

It is almost become too mechanical—almost but not quite. I like this book. It helps me focus on the next book and the next half-dozen books which I will probably write. It’s worth the $25 and the time.