How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000…Or More Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too!
"The beauty of nonfiction book writing is that the field truly is wide open to anyone, regardless of race, sex, age, education, financial background or personal appearance."
Ideas overflow and tips abound in this interesting book by Marc McCutcheon. Whether you are a fulltime writer, a doctor, a pilot, a social worker, a dancer or a stay-at-home mom, if you read this book, you will be motivated to start writing something. Whether you end up writing just a paragraph or a chapter or a whole book depends on your skills and dedication. But you will write something for sure. That is the power of “Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That?”
The book’s title is not just an eye-catcher. Read it and you will see “How ordinary people are raking in $100,000.00…or more writing nonfiction books & How you can too!” Once you publish a bestseller and earn a hundred thousand dollars, you are not ordinary anymore. And if you write like Marc McCutcheon, you are definitely not ordinary. But, in his opinion talent is overrated; Competence and perseverance are more important than talent. Think you too might have a nonfiction book in you? Read this book to bring it out in the best way possible.
Have a look at some of the titles below.
How to live with a Neurotic dog, Stephen Baker, 60,000 copies sold.
Wonderful ways to love a child, Judy Ford 79,772 copies sold.
Are you Normal? Bernice Kanner, 100,000 copies sold.
97 Ways to Make a Baby Laugh, Jack Moore, 81,000 copies sold.
Everyone Poops, Taro Gomi, 500,000 copies sold.
How to Shit in the Woods, Kathleen Myer, 1,500,000 copies sold.
Do you think any of the above titles and sales figures are a bit incredulous? Do you envy the authors who came up with these titles and made themselves a fortune? Do you want to kick yourself for not thinking of something seemingly absurd and attention-grabbing at the same time? Let’s say you are a nurse. Why couldn’t you have written something like “E.R. episodes that changed my life”? It might have sold half-a-million copies. You never know.
Non- fiction books can come in all sorts of subjects, from the outright practical to the seemingly unexciting. What sounds like a bizarre subject for a book can easily become tomorrow’s best- seller with the right title, the right level of perseverance, and a lucky break (Marc McCutcheon or anyone for that matter unfortunately cannot help you there). This book discusses the art known as non- fiction book writing and explains how you too can find a niche market to tap, submit a proposal, and get the publishing deal you’ve always dreamed about getting.
Someone who has written thirteen successful books must know what he is talking about. Marc McCutcheon does. Drawing on his wealth of experience as a writer, editor and agent, the author tells you how to 'do it right', right from the beginning. You will find this 261-page book scattered with useful tips for writers in every aspect of writing. The ideas are easy to absorb and are presented in a quick read format. The book tells you how to determine if your book proposal will be appealing to a publisher and how to modify it so that it will be. You'll find helpful information regarding agents, actual examples of cover letters, and a detailed book proposal. You'll learn how to research your topic thoroughly, using both the public library system and internet resources. You will get tips on promoting your book (Yes, you cannot leave this aspect entirely to your publisher). Marc McCutcheon knows what works, and more important, what doesn't. You will obtain great ideas for your own books, learn how to make them materialize on paper, and begin your journey towards publishing a bestseller.
Marc McCutcheon makes no secret of the fact that he is a high school dropout to illustrate that if he can, then anyone can write a great book. At times, this idea makes the book sound overtly optimistic. After all, there are some skills which cannot be learnt from a book. Merely reading, “Damn! Why didn’t I write that” may not shoot up your basic writing skills but it will definitely guide you in the whole process of writing the book that you always wanted to (or never thought of writing).
Once you put down this book, make sure you don’t dilly-dally and shelve your ideas anymore (however silly they might appear to you). Compile your thoughts and start writing your book…..before someone else does!
Book summary:
“The Don’t Skip This Introduction” Introduction is one of the best chapters of the book. It offers lot of inspiration for anyone who may or may not be considering writing a book. The author definitely has the ability to make you sit up and think “Damn! Why didn’t I write that?”
Chapter One- Could You Have Written Any of These?
This chapter is mostly examples of nonfiction niche books. It lists the titles, authors, and the sales information. It is worth going through this list to get some ideas. You might be surprised how many of the titles you recognize.
Chapter Two-Nonfiction Success Stories
This chapter shows how average people are making a good living writing nonfiction books. McCutcheon gives specific examples of people who have published bestsellers. From the chronic alcoholic’s battle with drink to the fired executive who wrote a book about his joblessness, each case helps the author prove his point- Anyone can write a book. You just need the right amount of dedication and some innovative ideas.
Chapter Three-What Kind of Nonfiction Book Should You Write?
This chapter suggests different categories of nonfiction books one can think about writing. It tells you the pros and cons of each category to help you make an informed decision to choose one. The topics may range from baby care to memoirs to self-help. This chapter basically helps you decide what you might be good at and organize your ideas into one category of writing.
Chapter Four-How to Know if Your Book Idea Will Fly
So you have an idea. This chapter will help you find out if it will work. Use the "Great Book Idea Checklist" to see if your idea will sell, before you even start contemplating on it. It is obvious that if your idea is insipid and unoriginal, no publisher will touch it with a ten-foot pole. Check out the checklist to see if your idea is as bright as you thought it is.
Chapter Five-Why You Don't Need a College Degree
You want to write a book on buying and selling stocks, but you don't have a degree in finance. Don’t worry. If Marc McCutcheon without a high school diploma can write the best thesaurus out there, you may get away with something like that too. What you need is collaboration with some experts- a quote or two from them, maybe a foreword, and you are half way there. This chapter is about enhancing your research with a little help from the experts in your chosen topic. It also lists some great resources to help you find these experts.
Chapter Six-Do You Need an Agent
This chapter tells you what an agent can do for you and what he can’t. It helps you decide if you need one. Marc McCutcheon is in favor of using an agent at least initially to give a little push to novices in the field of publishing.
Chapter Seven-Toughen Yourself to Rejection
If you receive a rejection letter, you are most likely to be upset. This chapter will tell you why you should not be. It gives you some possible reasons for rejection. It is a useful chapter because every writer will encounter rejection at some point of time, and some of us more than the others.
Chapter Eight-The Query Letter
The query letter is the first level of contact with your publisher and hence an important aspect of writing. It can determine whether your book idea will be accepted or not. This chapter is about how to go about writing one. It gives some examples of query letters, as well as some do's and don'ts for writing your queries. Definitely a helpful chapter for new writers.
Chapter Nine-The Proposal
This chapter explains what a proposal while providing an example of one. It goes into a lot of details which is good, especially if you have never written a proposal for a book.
(Note from our editor: If you think that publishing a book is one of the toughest things you will ever do in your life, you might want to consider ebooks. Epublishing offers you a simpler option. You can self-publish your manuscript on your site (but then marketing your book becomes a herculean task) or you could contact an online epublisher like Chillibreeze who will edit your manuscript, refine it, design the layout and publish your book on their site. You will receive royalty from the sales of your ebook).
Chapter Ten-Negotiating Your Book Contract
Once everything has gone your way and you have landed a great deal, you may be on cloud nine. But you still need to look at your contract very carefully. This chapter tells you what to watch out for, what to expect and what not to accept in your contract. It also discusses the payment negotiation process and gives a sample contract with some commonly found clauses.
Chapter Eleven-Promotion
Your book release is scheduled in few weeks. How do you make sure it sells? How do you get your targeted readers to notice your book? This chapter tells you why you can't rely solely on the publisher's publicity department to handle everything for you. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands, and use some publicity ideas from this book. That will ensure that your book is seen- the first step to creating a bestseller.
Chapter Twelve-Lean and Mean: The Secrets to Full-Time Writing Success
Let’s go backwards in time now. You have a great idea, you are researching it and getting the required information. But finally, it will be time to actually write. Do you have it in you to write a full-fledged book? Follow some of Marc McCutcheon’s advice and use his "writer's checklist for success" to help you in those difficult times.
Chapter Thirteen-A Grab Bag of Tips
This chapter provides some wonderful tips that you can use irrespective of whether you are a novice or a bestselling author. Whether you are facing the infamous writer's block, or running out of good words to use, you'll find something for you in this chapter.
The last sections are some resources you may find useful. There's a listing of rights (what you are trying to sell to the publisher when they buy your book), a standard format for manuscript or proposal, and books, websites, and addresses you may find helpful. Once you have absorbed the contents of the book, this section will still prove useful, saving you a lot of trips to libraries. The resources section makes sure that “Damn! Why didn’t I write that” stays on your bookshelves as a reference at least for a few years to come.
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Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan,
“Live life by the day.” Born in Hyderabad, brought up in Mumbai, settled in Bangalore after a brief stint in the US, Dr. Roopa Nishi Viswanathan is a doctor-turned-biotechnologist-turned writer. Nishi loves reading anything and everything, travel, watching movies with her husband, exotic food, .....let’s simply say she loves living.
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