How to Write a Short Nonfiction eBook in 30 days or Less

Writing short nonfiction books is easy if you have a plan

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 How to Write a Short Nonfiction eBook in a Month

Many people, especially independent teachers and knowledge-based entrepreneurs, can build credibility and name recognition in a particular field by having a publishing presence on Amazon.

However, they think about writing a book and get overwhelmed by the process. It seems like a huge project. For many decades that has been the case, but about 15 years ago, that changed as eBooks began to take off. Combine with that the way Kindle Direct Publishing simplified the process of bringing your book to market in the world’s largest bookstore.

In the past, a “book” for anything other than the children’s market meant a tome of 50 – 100,000 words or more. If it wasn’t 200 pages long, it wasn’t worth a company to take on publishing it. The upfront costs of typesetting, printing, and distribution to brick-and-mortar bookstores made it economically infeasible to create short, focused books of 5,000 – 20,000 words.

But today, many successful books are being published in that range. My personal best seller is an 8,000-word Bible Study on the Names of God. It didn’t cost me a dime to publish.

In this article, I’m going to give you an overview of how to write and publish a short nonfiction eBook. Obviously, this is just fairly shallow, but It can help you create a personal workflow.

Step One: Choose a Marketable Topic

Now, when I say “marketable,” I’m not referring to broad topic areas. With the reach of Amazon (and other online venues) just about any topic area can find people interested in the field.

When I speak about marketability, I’m talking about creating a narrowly defined topic. Something that can be covered in 5-20,000 words. So, a book about herbal remedies would be too broad. However, a book on herbal teas to support emotional well-being would probably be about the right size.

Step Two: Do the research.

You may already have a great deal of knowledge about the field based on experience. However, sometimes our knowledge is dated. Also, what has worked for us may not work for everyone. Additionally, if you are not a recognized authority, you can build credibility by quoting others who have more name recognition. Also, sometimes even if we have some existing knowledge, some of that knowledge could be false or unverifiable. One fact error can destroy your credibility. So, take the time to verify your facts.

Step Three: Create a Preliminary Chapter Outline

Start by creating a thesis statement. I know it sounds like I’m taking you back to high school composition classes, but I have found a lot of the things I thought were a waste of time when I was in school, turned out to be more valuable than I thought at the time.

A thesis statement is simply a simple declarative sentence that summarizes the basic idea of the book in 25 words or less.

For instance, I published a book on this subject. My thesis statement was something like: “Anyone can write a short nonfiction book and publish it on Amazon in under a month.”

There’s not a lot of nuance there, but I’ll add the nuance in the book. That statement will likely appear nowhere in the final draft. It is for me. It’s my anchor. If something in my book does not advance toward that thesis, it doesn't belong in the book.

Once you have your thesis statement, begin brainstorming topics to be covered in the book. You can do it simply by making a list of those topics. Don’t think about chapters at this point, just topics. You might end up with chapters that have only one of those topics but you might have others that have more than one.

Another method is topic speaking. Write your topic in the middle of a page of paper. Draw lines out from that topic like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Write a topic on each line. If you have a topic comes to mind, which should be a sub-topic of something else, just draw a line under that main topic. None of this has to be perfect or follow a specific pattern. It is just a different form of brainstorming. If you are thinking too much about formatting, you probably won’t be as creative.

One final one is something I call card stacking. Take a pack of file cards and write a topic on each card as it comes to mind. Don’t evaluate, just write one on each card. It could be a main topic or sub-topic. Just write them down as you go through them.

Once you have your list of topics (and possible sub-topics), eliminate any ones that on reflection are not really on topic or irrelevant to this particular book. Then arrange them in order, placing the possible subtopics under the main topics.

This gives you a rough preliminary outline.

Step Four: Create a Full Chapter Outline

Decide which topics and sub-topics belong in each chapter. This is a matter of judgment. Don’t worry about chapter length. Some of my chapters are only two or three pages long. Others are much longer. They need to be short enough that they can be read easily in a single sitting but long enough to cover the subject adequately.

Start by making a list of chapter titles. Then add the topics and subtopics under that. They don’t have to be completely detailed at this point.

Step Five: Outline the Individual Chapters

Now, you have a list of chapters and a few notes about what belongs in each one, create a more detailed outline for each chapter. Again, don’t worry about the format. You are not going to have to turn this in to a teacher who will mark you down if you use a capital letter instead of a Roman numeral for the main points.

You want to include in this outline the following:

·       Each topic and subtopic covered in the chapter described in a few words

·       Some ideas about the introduction, again just a few words. For instance, if you are beginning your chapter with a personal story, you just need to write: Story about Larry and his dog.

·       Research references. Include statistics, studies, quotes, etc. You might have these listed simply as references to URLs, books, etc. You don’t have to write them out completely.

Step Six: Write the first draft.

Now, sit down and start writing. The first draft should be done quick and dirty. Write fast, get the ideas on the paper. Don’t worry that much about the spelling, punctuation, and grammar. If it helps, set a timer and a goal to write X number of words before the timer runs out. If you are stuck for a word or you forget some bit of research just leave a blank and come back to that part when you edit.

Step Seven: Rewrite and Edit.

If writing the first draft is like a race car, editing is like a horse and buggy. You now have something to edit. Take your time. Now you can check for the wording, the style, the organization, fact-check your information, and add the polish. I usually do a three-step editing process, but you can create your own. For me, I start by doing quick overview looking at big picture items like organization, glaring errors, parts that are running too long, or where I digressed from the main topic.

Then, I do some more detailed style editing. I go through looking at what things need some extra polish. I look for awkward phrasing, filling in those words I just couldn’t figure out during the first draft, filling in the blanks, and making the prose clear and easy to read.

Finally, I do proofreading. This is the tedious part where I check spelling, punctuation and grammar. First, I read through and correct all the errors I notice. Then I run my MS Word editor. Next, I run Grammarly. Then I do another personal check.

That’s it. Now, my book is ready to publish.

So, what’s holding you back? Get out there and write that book!