A quick tip for nonfiction editing magic, and a little bit about marketing your book
I know it’s been a while since I said “hi” over here on Substack, and I’m looking forward to more of this now that I’m back. I’ve been having lots of great conversations IRL with writers and editors across a range of genres and I’ll be sharing those insights here over the next few weeks and months.
Today I want to touch on two really big ones that keep coming up - the universe is making a point to me right now - the differences between scholarly & general nonfiction writing, and the importance of marketing your book ASAP (even if you haven’t written it yet!)
If there’s any topic you’d love to hear more about regarding nonfiction writing and publication, hit reply or drop a note in the comments and I’ll make sure we cover it.
Over the next few weeks, I want to share some of the issues I’ve been talking about a lot over on LinkedIn (where you can find me more often than on other social media channels these days).
The topic at hand is the difference between academic and general nonfiction.
As you know, I work with powerhouse women turning their ideas, experience, and expertise into books that change lives. This means I work with a lot of writers in the indie press world, right on that line between scholarly and traditional presses. My writers are publishing with both business and university presses and targeting other small and indie presses internationally.
Some of the writers I work with are scholars looking to turn dissertations into books a general audience would like to read (aka, someone besides their advisor); others are general nonfiction authors trying to speak with an authority that resonates beyond their immediate zone of genius.
If you’re a writer (or a reader) trying to navigate the lines between these two types of writing or wondering how they are different at all, I’m going to share one key structural component each week over the next few weeks.
I’ll show you the details you can look for in your own work, and give you easy actions to implement in your own writing as you fine-tune it toward your best audience.
Difference Number 1: The Opening Participial Phrase
This is my go-to tip for my scholar-writers looking to translate their scholarly work for a general nonfiction audience.
Scholars love participial phrases. No, seriously, it’s an obsession.
Open any academic text and I bet you don’t make it a page before you hit at least one sentence (if not half a dozen) that starts with a dependent clause like this:
“Having completed my research,…”
“After accumulating the data,…”
“The announcement having been made,…”
“The tide having turned,…”
We just can’t stop ourselves.
Now go to your favorite general nonfiction book. Like magic, these opening clauses seem to disappear!
Sentences are straightforward, direct… confident. The tide, simply, turns. People make announcements, and no one is quite so worried about reminding you they’ve done the research at the start of every sentence.
Why do scholars do this?
Partly I think it’s so ingrained in the disciplines that we can’t not do it. On the other hand, I think it stems innately from the fear scholars have that everyone reading their work is a critic. Those supporting, opening clauses are a “just in case you need a little extra” crutch.
If you’re a scholar looking to shift from a scholarly to a general audience, my go-to, easiest tip is always to edit out these clauses. It’s such a simple step, and makes an incredible difference!
If you’re a creative nonfiction writer who loves opening clauses, this advice works for you, too. Direct sentences, and clear, direct language, are always the better choice. They read better and you sound more confident.
Try it today!
Do I need to worry about marketing my book already?
Yes.
I feel like I should just leave it there ;-)
This has been the hot topic I’m seeing and talking about with fellow editors lately. And I know too many writers who’ve written all the way to the end of their amazing book, gone to pop that champagne, and discovered that they had a whole new challenge ahead getting people to buy the book!
Most authors I know don’t want to be marketers, too.
But the market is everything, whether you are self-publishing or aiming for a traditional press. You may know who your reader is, and whose life will change, but do you know how to get it into their hands?
This is so important that this Summer, I changed my 1:1 Pre-Proposal Book Strategy plan to focus on your marketing and author platform in Week 5. This means I’m moving marketing up there on the list of things to do before you start writing and revising. I don’t want you surprised and unprepared when you go to pitch your book and your press or agent wants to know your strategy for reaching your audience.
My #1 piece of advice on marketing your book is to do it while you are writing!
Don’t save it for later; don’t tell yourself you need to wait until the book is finished. Start now.
If marketing and building what’s called the “Author Platform” is so essential, but also so overwhelming to us non-marketers, weave it into your process so it’s not some isolated and scary beast. It’s just part of the game.
How do you do this?
The easiest first step is to start talking about your book in public places.
Maybe you want to start a Substack (and be cool like me - ha) where you can talk about your writing process and your goals. #accountability
Bonus: Readers love hearing about what it’s like to write. And you’re now a writer, so even if you don’t have content, you have your process. Share it.
You might want to start a new social media profile or change the focus of one you already have, to give you room to talk about your topic. And, no, you don’t need to be on a particular platform because somebody’s friend’s sister’s second-cousin said all the “real” writers are on…
Tip: If you hate the platform, you’ll hate having to go there to do “work.” Experiment. Find what you like.
One last point I’ll make is that, depending on your goals for your book, there are also incredible professionals out there who just do book marketing. They’re not coaches like me, or publishers or editors. They’re marketers whose sole goal is helping authors go from writer to thought-leader and get their incredible book into the world full-speed.
Some of my colleagues amaze me with their skills, from the fabulous Mary O’Donohue, who helps incredible women nonfiction writers land in incredible media spaces, to the innovative Paige Dungan, who just launched her all-new group marketing program INKED. I follow them and other great folks like Melanie Hershorn and Aryn van Dyke over on LinkedIn. Definitely worth your time to follow for their brilliant advice and insight, doled out free over there.
The one thing they all tell me: they wish writers started sooner.
Now you know!
Final Share
I hope you’re having a great Summer, traveling and reading widely.
I’ve finally found the great Summer read I’ve been looking for but, as much as I’m loving it, my annual Summer guilty pleasure read arrives… today! The newest Daniel Silva - I look forward to it all year long!
How about you? What are you reading?
Is it a guilty pleasure, a classic, or something unexpected?
Share in the comments or over on Instagram and let me know. I love book recommendations and adding great ones to the tbr pile!
Until next week!
