Scene: A lively conversation between an expert on tomato gardening and an enthusiastic new tomato gardener.
New gardener: Wow. You know a lot about tomato plants and diseases—and you explain in a way I understand. You should write a gardening book!
Expert gardener: Oh, there’s plenty online. No one needs another gardening book. I don’t really have anything new to add.
New gardener: I know someone who just had a tomato book published, but it was too advanced for me. I need a book that describes things like you do.
Ever been there? Telling someone, or being told, “You should write a book”?
When I hear “I don’t really have anything new to add,” I frequently respond: “The audience is always turning over—we age, our interests change, and no one lives forever—so our set of readers is always evolving. The right audience needs the right book at the right time. If you don’t write your book, they’ll never have a chance to read it.”
Someone needs and wants your book.
There is room for more voices
Over the weekend I found my response affirmed as I listened to two speakers at a Jane Austen conference.
Sonali Dev and Nikki Payne write modern romances, some of which are riffs on Austen’s work. The two authors discussed their choice to use Austen as a springboard. After all, her novels are known for romance, humor, and social critique, and there is a demand for books that offer just that, so why not use her as a guide?
Dev said her novels are homages to Austen’s work and to what she learned from it—lessons she now shares with her own readers. Payne said she likes to use Austen as a way to play with ideas. Readers have different lived experiences based on gender, culture, and ability. What happens when a well-known character’s gender, culture, or ability changes—and what does that shift offer the reader?
An overarching point they made: You don’t have to have something brand new and fresh to say. You can build on others’ thinking. In fact, you are. It is impossible not to be influenced by others—other writers, artists, thinkers, and, yes, even “influencers.” We are always building on others. We are always “in conversation with” others.
And there is always room for new voices—even if their messages echo existing messages. Different audiences respond to different presentations.
What this looks like in nonfiction
“Oh, but they write fiction,” you object. “It’s much easier to riff off plots and characters. I have to offer something new for nonfiction.”
Well, it is true that if you are writing a knowledge-sharing book, you can’t steal someone else’s work and present it as your own (that’s not what we’re suggesting). However, you can learn from other authors how to add your voice to the conversation.
Here are three ways to get started:
1. Read comparable titles.
On the topic you are writing about, find 3 to 5 books published in the past three years. Read them.
If you plan to write a book proposal, these might end up being comp titles for you, but more importantly, they give you an idea about what people are already saying in the space. What’s the gap you can fill? What’s the angle that they don’t cover? This might become your core message or “hook.”
2. Analyze TOCs.
Analyze the table of contents in each book. How is the book structured? Do you find a pattern across books? What do you notice about the chapter titles?
For instance, a few years ago I worked on a nutrition-book project and read numerous nutrition books. Most started with theory, then got into the specifics of the eating plan, then offered tools and recipes. If there is a common organizational structure in your genre or topic, use it. It puts your writing effort into a specific context, one that will feel familiar to your readers.
3. Analyze chapter structures.
Finally, look at the chapter structure in each book. Is there a pattern?
A common structure for nonfiction knowledge-sharing is to start with a story, give the high-level theory, go into details and examples about the theory, come back to the story (or another story), and end with a reflection exercise or chapter summary.
Would any of the structures you observe in your 3 to 5 books work for you? Maybe, maybe not, but they can give you a starting place and spark ideas.
“You should write a book”
To reiterate: Your readers need your book when they need it. Evolving needs and interests mean the “right moment” is always happening for someone.
When you have knowledge to share, even if it is not brand new, and even if you are building on others’ wisdom, don’t you have a responsibility to the reader who needs your message?
If you’ve been told “you should write a book,” do it—and enter the conversation in your own voice. If you never put your work out there, no one will ever be in conversation with you.
And you have a voice that others need to hear.
Ready to add your voice to the conversation? I help nonfiction authors develop and shape their books. Get in touch at karin@clearsightbooks.com and we’ll see if I can help.