Category Archives: Non-Fiction

Setting writing goals isn’t as challenging as it first appears when substantially provided with the right tools, and backed by the right mindset.

Most writers shy away from the thought of setting writing goals because they fear the likelihood of not accomplishing them. Becoming a writer requires patience and consistency, thus the need to set the right goals in place to guide you through your journey.

Achieving set goals requires the art of looking inwards, an in-depth evaluation of your writing life, your current situation and the height you want to attain in our career. It also needs an evaluation of how best you work (the pace for each project completion).

Finding time from your everyday busy life to polish and improve on your writing can be quite difficult, thus the pressing question; how do you set writing goals and meticulously work towards achieving them to become a better writer?

In this article, we share practical tips that can guide you through your goal-setting process.

Tips on Setting Effective Writing Goals

1. Observe your writing habit

Every individual responds differently to the thought of goal-setting. Before you set your writing goals, you should first determine how you react psychologically to goal-setting. Setting goals that align with your individual values is very important. Ask yourself the following questions to get clarity about the type of writer you are:

• How do you react emotionally when faced with the goals?
• What type of writer do you consider yourself to be?
• Can you make out time for your goals in your everyday life?

Someone with a detailed outline will evidently approach their goals differently from another who chooses to go with the tide when writing.

• Establish long-term writing ambitions

As a writer intending to achieve long-lasting goals, it is important that you properly establish them. When setting goals (whatever they may be or how silly you think they sound), you should be mentally prepared to accomplish them and meticulously tick them off your to-do list. Focus on setting realistic goals and set aside time for honing your skills.

• Break the big goals into smaller milestones

Sometimes, big can look scary, and this also affects our goal-setting. When the goals appear too big, we opt to settle for the lesser goals or just quit the entire process. Most writing processes have various phases, you should learn to break each writing project phase by phase.

To do this, outline all the milestones you will likely pass on your way to the finish line. Then, tackle them one by one, instead of trying to do them all at once.

• Turn each milestone into a realistic task

Your milestones encountered along the way should be realistic and achievable. While breaking your large goals into smaller tasks is a good idea, ensure that each task is realistic.

Ensure that your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. These five criteria guarantee you a plausible goal. They guide you through the how and when of achieving your goals with certainty.

• Be flexible  

Flexibility is an important factor to consider when setting goals. A smart goal-setter should be prepared for any unexpected occurrences, and be willing to adapt their goals to meet them. Life happens to the best of us, and being guided by this realisation will make you willing to adjust your goals to fit any circumstance and most importantly, re-orient the focus of your goal.

• Celebrate your wins

It is never an easy thing to set goals and try to achieve them. Most people throw in the towel even before take-off. Humans who withstand pressure are the strongest of us. Be open to celebrating whatever wins or achievements you have on your writing journey.

Conclusion

Your writing journey will not be smooth, don’t expect it to be. The process will be challenged by adversity and struggles, these are inevitable and play their own role in shaping your success. However, remember that your choice to begin is a win on its own and should be celebrated.

One of the most exciting moments for nonfiction writers is sending in a book proposal for approval. This moment is usually a ‘ go big or go home’ moment for writers. It determines if your book gets to ever see the light of day (particularly for traditional book publishers).

Undoubtedly, every writer wants to have the perfect book proposal that impresses their book agents and ‘snags’ them a good deal. However, it is probably best not to overthink the process, to avoid being consumed by anxiety.

Knowing what a book proposal is takes you a step ahead in writing a good book proposal.

And in this article, we explore this as well as seven essential elements of book proposals.

So, let’s take a brief look at what a book proposal entails, to gear you up for the ride.

What is a book proposal?

A book proposal is typically a document, usually 10-15 pages long, sent by a nonfiction author to pitch his book idea to publishing agents. This is a very important process for traditionally published authors who seek to land a juicy book deal.  However, to even catch the attention of a publishing agent, your proposal must stand out.

A good book proposal should contain a brief overview of the book, an author bio, a chapter outline, marketing strategies, and a sample chapter.

Most authors often mistake a book proposal for a manuscript; however, they are not the same. Book proposal instead, is an author’s chance at impressing their publisher, it is a means to pique your publisher’s interest to consider your book worthwhile.

There’s no need to worry about the right kind of format for a book proposal as most publishing houses have their preferred formats. However, there’s a similar structure guiding the process.

Let’s take a quick look at seven common and essential elements of a book proposal.

Elements of a Book Proposal

1. Overview of the Proposed Book

Your book overview is the first and most important part of your book proposal. Here, you give it your best shot at captivating the attention of your publisher. Overviews are tagged “elevator pitch” because this is where you sell your book idea to your publisher and get them interested in your book project.

Your book overview is essentially the coverage of your book theme, key factors of your book, and your intended target audience. It is a two-page long document explaining the significance of your book, what makes your book unique, the information value that your book holds, and how important your book is to the market.

The overview provides an insight into the subject matter of your book alongside comparable titles, and what problems your book intends to solve.

An author is expected to properly pitch their book idea in the overview to avoid having their book rejected.

• Market analysis

This section of your book proposal is where you are expected to extensively analyse your target audience. Here, you highlight those that would possibly be interested in your book.

Would it be children, parents, single parents, cooperate, professionals or educators?

In your quest to give a detailed market analysis, it would be the best score in your favour to attempt quantifying your market research; showing how many people that could be interested in your book. Quantifying your market analysis gives you an advantage – the inclusion of the demand for your book or your book idea should make its notice here – as this plays a large role in validating your book idea.

Additionally, it would do your book a huge favour to also include what makes your book different from existing books in the same niche.

• Author bio

Every author needs to have an author bio handy and ready to go. Your author bio gives you credibility and a more professional look. The segment for an author bio is usually a page long but should shed you in a very professional and poised light. The things to include in your author bio are;

• Educational and professional background
• Any awards or accolades received
• Social media presence (handles to your social media pages)
• Inclusion of previous publications (if any)
• Speaking engagements (if any)
• Any previous press releases
• Endorsement and recommendation from industry experts/leaders
• A photograph

Lastly, your author bio should be brief and concise, as well as appealing.

• Marketing Plan

It’s time to get practical.

Here, you are expected to give a detailed outline of actionable steps they intend to take in the marketing processes of their book. All processes involved to create the right engaging publicity for your book should be looked into thoroughly. This ranges from speaking engagements you intend to secure, interview appearances, and all the media rounds put into your book’s publicity.

In drafting a marketing plan, most authors seek out the help of a marketer for proper market insights. You are expected to also make an inclusion of how you intend to leverage any existing audience you may have, in ensuring a successful book launch.

• Chapter Outline

This segment is dedicated to your chapters and the general structure of your book. You are expected to be as detailed as possible, providing an in-depth chapter-by-chapter breakdown. The breakdown should comprise all that concerns your book chaptesr, taking into cognizance each chapter title, summary, word count, and the subject matter discussed.

To pass the right message to your publisher, don’t play the game of ambiguity – be as concise as possible. Specificity matters a lot in your chapter outline. This is needed for your publisher to know and understand what your book entails, thus making them feel assured about your book.

• Sample chapter

A sample chapter is the provision of a well-written chapter, deeply expressing the tone of your book, and should be of high quality. It is safe to not hold back when writing your sample chapter as this is not a draft and shouldn’t be treated in such light.

Your sample chapter needs to be as close as possible to the final product of a published book. It is advisable to work with a professional editor when writing your sample chapters, to look out for all grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, giving your piece a professional look.

• Conclusion

This segment should be brief.

Your conclusion is a brief insight into the estimated timeline of your project. It contains the current stage of your writing process (how many chapters were written, the completion of your manuscript, word count already written, or simply the stage of your drafting).

With these tips, we hope you have a better understanding of how to write a proposal for your next book project.

Pay attention to the aforementioned guidelines so you can get it right. The writing market is saturated with many creative and competitive authors vying for the same attention of publishing agents, so you have to do what will make you stand out. With the pool of writers seeking to get their books published, your book proposal should stand out and be unique.

Every writer has a unique writing style. While some are aware of theirs, others are not. If you fall into the latter category, this article is your guide to discovering your writing style.

What is your writing style?

Your writing style is your writing identity. It is your distinct writing voice that makes people recognise your writing at a glance. Having a writing style helps you stay true to your art while conveying your message.

So, how do you discover your writing style?

Here are some practical tips to help you discover yours:

• Let someone review your previous writings

The first step to discovering your writing style is to identify what your style is. To achieve this, you should have a friend, a professional editor, or a more experienced writer review your writing and tell you what they notice.

You can also review your previous writings and notice the things that stand out – your tone, favourite words, and others.

This helps you identify your style.

• Sharpen your writing style

After identifying your writing style, you should hone it.

However, ensure your style doesn’t become so personalised that it no longer fits in the genre you write in. This is because writing professionally also requires that your writing serves the target audience and satisfies the requirements of the genre. And sometimes, your writing style might contradict what is required.

You can achieve a balance by infusing bits of your writing style into your professional writing while avoiding passive words and self-references.

• Trim the fat

Once your writing style is clear, you want to be rid of the bad writing habits that may affect your style and overall writing. This requires that you know general writing rules as well as rules specific to the genres or fields you write in.

Things to avoid in general writing include filler words, typos, grammatical errors, etc. To do this efficiently, you can use free tools like Grammarly to check for spelling and grammar errors. It also has a paid version that does an in-depth review of your writing.

• Keep writing

You don’t want to lose your writing style right after you discover it. So, you should keep writing, but with the awareness of your style.

However, bear in mind that while your writing style is unique to you, you should make it adapt in appropriate situations. For instance, a technical article and a social media post cannot be written in the same tone. The former requires in-depth research and analysis, and has a more serious tone, unlike the latter, which can be fun and casual.

Your writing style shouldn’t be rigid but flexible enough to adapt to relevant scenarios. This also improves your overall writing skills.

Discovering and owning your writing style is a gradual process but with the tips highlighted above, you should master your writing in no time.

Did you know that most readers make the decision to read your article based on its topic and the introduction?

That is why you need to write introductions that will have them glued till the last word in the article.

Everyone can write a blog introduction, but not everyone can write a captivating introduction. To make your content stand out from the millions of others on the internet, you need an introduction that compels readers to read your content to the end.

Your introduction should also tell your audience what to expect from the article.

There are several ways to hook your reader’s attention with the perfect blog introduction, and we explore them in this article.  

Below are some tips that can guide you in writing blog introductions like a pro:

1. Ask a question

Never underestimate the effect of questions in your introduction. They intrigue your reader’s minds and make them think deeply. Well-crafted and relevant queries are excellent approaches to capturing readers’ interest and keeping them engaged. It is a trick to take your audience on a journey of reading and engaging with your content.

However, ensure the inquiries are open-minded and straightforward. Also, it must be relevant to your message.

• Share a quote or anecdote

Anecdotes are exciting incidents, rumours, or short stories usually revolving around a theme. The tone can be lighthearted without complexities to ease your audience into your blog post.

Having a relevant quote or anecdote elevates your blog introduction. Quotes help audiences to capture vital messages. It also establishes writing from a position of authority while capturing your audience’s attention.

Nonetheless, an irrelevant quote can turn off your audience’s interest. 

• Highlight a shared problem

Convenience is the one thing everyone seeks. We are all in search of a solution to one problem or the other. It could be solving a complex project, cooking hacks, or even how to review a book.

The first step is to find out a problem that most of your readers are facing and ensure that it is relevant to the blog post.

By highlighting a shared problem, it shows you understand the challenges your audience face while being ready to provide helpful information. Readers are interested in content that solves their problems, and you can leverage this.

• Let your reader know what to expect

As mentioned earlier, an excellent introduction helps engage your audience and keeps them reading. Most people are on the internet to search for swift answers. Nobody wants to read a lengthy write-up before finding what they need at the bottom of the page. So, to avoid wasting your reader’s time, don’t keep them in the dark.

This is not to say that you should squeeze the entire message into two or three sentences. Instead, you want to give them a quick insight into what your article is about but just enough to keep them wanting more.

• Ensure your opinion is unique

When you type a query on Google, there are millions of results for such a problem. To attract readers to your post, your content must stand out. One way to achieve this is to have a unique perspective.

When your article begins with a different approach to solving a problem or discussing a topic, it grabs the readers’ attention. Even with generic or repetitive topics, you can simply change your writing style to give them a fresh tone.

With these tips, you are well on your way to not only improving your writing but also attracting more readers and increasing traffic to your blog.

At Sabi Writers, we write quality, captivating blog posts that will leave your readers wanting more. To engage our services, contact us at hello@sabiwriters.com or call  +234-810-375-1847.

Every writer, regardless of their genre, hopes to write books that become bestsellers after publishing. But these hopes are usually dashed when the books don’t perform well.

Nonfiction writing isn’t a walk in the park. From the planning to the publishing and promotion stage, many creative and strategic processes are involved.

It can be quite challenging but rest assured, you can write a best-selling nonfiction.

So, if you are writing a nonfiction book already and hope to write one that will become a bestseller, this article is for you.

In this article, you will find a step-by-step guide on how to write a best-selling nonfiction book.

What Does ‘Nonfiction’ Entail?

Before diving into the steps, it’s important to understand what nonfiction writing covers and what it doesn’t.

Nonfiction is majorly a genre of writing based on facts and realities. Nonfiction books focus on biological and historical events. The genre is not make-believe like fiction is; rather, it is based on real experiences. It covers a broad range of sub-categories, from autobiographies to memoirs and self-help books.

Thus, a nonfiction book covers not only real-life events but also covers practical solutions to real-life situations.

A nonfiction book can cover any topic of interest. It could be a technical book on wild animals or anything that happened or exists. Aside from books, you’ll find nonfiction writing in blogs, newspapers, websites, magazines, and social media platforms.

What Makes a Best-Selling Nonfiction?

Publishing a bestseller is not just about fame and money but more about the impact and influence your book has on society.

So, what makes a best-selling nonfiction is its originality. Any writer who dreams of becoming a bestselling author needs to publish a book that is authentic.

The second point that makes a nonfiction book is the depths the book carries. And, of course, your book must be relatable. It has to offer fresh ideas and opinions to any situation your readers find themselves in.

How to Write a Best-Selling Nonfiction Book

Writing a bestseller doesn’t happen instantly. But your book can attain the bestseller status if you put in the required effort.

Take this as a guide to successfully writing and publishing your book this year.

1. Map out your book’s outline: Mapping out your outline gives you a clear direction to your destination. It prevents you from getting anxious about what to write and what not to include in your book. Before mapping out your outline, ensure you know whom you’re writing for.Your book will hardly get any publicity if you don’t know whom you’re writing for and address their pain points since nonfiction is all about facts.

• Don’t be in haste: We understand the eagerness to publish your book and start selling. But quality is what you need to make your dream come true. Therefore, the process shouldn’t be rushed. Take a cue from some bestsellers. It could take one or two years or more for them to write and publish their book. Set out some time to write at least one chapter daily or in two days.

Nonfiction requires excellent research, and that takes time.

• Hire a professional designer: The saying, ‘First impression matters’, is true when it comes to becoming a best-selling author. When you’ve led your audience to buy your book, the first thing they see is your book’s cover. So, you need an attention-grabbing cover design that will make your book irresistible to readers. Hire a professional designer and get your book rolling to the top level of becoming a bestseller.

• Edit and proofread your book: While it is good for you to self-edit, it could be very exhausting to go over your manuscript again. There will be things you’ll miss out on as the writer, which a more qualified person, an editor, would recognise. Hire a professional editor and proofreader to do a perfect job for you.

• Have a marketing plan: Do you plan to publish your book on Amazon? That’s fine, but not enough. A marketing plan helps your audience find, buy, and refer others to buy the book. A marketing plan would also focus on the appropriate keywords, articles, or nuggets from your book, increasing your book’s publicity.

These five steps should be modified and expanded to suit your publishing goals.

You can write a best-selling nonfiction book as long as you put in the work.

Need help writing your nonfiction book?

Reach out to us today at hello@sabiwriters.com to begin your journey of becoming a bestselling author.