Tips on How to Get Your Nonfiction Book Self-Published Online

You’ve found a topic you’re really passionate about and decided you’re going to finally write that book. You know the pitfalls of traditional publishing and want to self-publish your book online. You scour the Internet for guides on how to get your book self-published and find several. But here’s the thing—they’re all for fiction books, while the book you want to write is nonfiction. It’s funny that there’s such a lack of material about how to get your nonfiction book self-published online out there since there are arguably even greater advantages to self-publishing for a nonfiction author than a fiction one.

While all indie authors enjoy publishing on a quicker schedule than they would get with a traditional publisher, a faster timeline can be much more essential when it comes to nonfiction books. In many categories, you want to be able to get your book out while the information it provides is still cutting-edge. Or perhaps you want to publish your book on a date that has historical significance to the content of your book, like the anniversary of a battle or a president’s birthday.

Here are some tips to help you self-publish your nonfiction book so you can share your passion and expertise with the world.

Research Your Genre

Once you’ve made the decision to write a book, you may be tempted to start typing away. But it’s important to do some research before you even start—and I’m not talking about the research related to your book’s subject matter. You need to figure out exactly which genre your book fits into.

Just like with fiction, nonfiction consists of a variety of genres, including history, self-help, how-to manuals, and more. It is a very common mistake for new nonfiction authors to place their books in the wrong genres. These categories are how the right readers will find your book, so it is crucial that you pick the one(s) that is most applicable to your nonfiction book.

Narrow Your Audience

Speaking of readers, your target audience is something else you should deeply consider before you type a word of the book itself. If your answer to the question, “Who is this book for?” is “Everyone”, then you need to think harder. You may think that targeting the broadest audience possible is the way to sell the most books, but if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up appealing to no one.

Instead, you should go after the specific type of reader who will truly appreciate your message. Conjure up this ideal reader in your mind (it may be someone you know in real life), and write directly to them. The result will be a book that may only appeal to 10% of readers, but it will appeal to them 100%.

Edit Your Manuscript

Once you’ve researched your genre and target audience, you have the all-clear to start writing your book. You won’t be confined by a publisher’s rigid deadlines, so you’ll be free to spend weeks, months, or years diving deep into your favorite subject in the world. When you finally hit the finish line, a big part of you will want to upload it to a site like Amazon KDP or Fictionate.Me as soon as possible. But you owe it to yourself and the book you spent so many hours slaving over to spend time on revision.

Take a week or two away from your book—ideally longer—and come back to it with fresh eyes. You may be surprised by the errors and inconsistencies you find. Try to find a critique partner, beta readers, or even a few friends interested in your topic to look the book over. Hire a professional editor if you can afford it. No matter what, you should do all that you can to ensure that typos or other mistakes don’t get in the way of your book finding its audience.

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Created on Nov 5th 2021 12:16. Viewed 229 times.

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