Do You Have A Nonfiction Book In You? Here’s How To Tell

I believe that most writers have a nonfiction book in them–they’re just not always sure how to pull it out. In situations like this, I share two of my favorite exercises:

1. Uncovering your book idea
2. Finding your angle

If you’re not sure that you have a nonfiction book in you, here’s an exercise you can do to find a potential topic you could write about.

The “Uncovering your nonfiction book idea” exercise:

• Grab your notebook or a piece of paper
• Draw a line down the center of the page, dividing it into two parts
• At the top of the left column, write “Skills I have/things I know how to do really well”
• At the top of the right column, write “Transformations I’ve made/experiences I’ve had”
• Make lists in each column based on the prompt at the top—now you’ll have two lists of potential topics you could write a nonfiction book about
• Go through the lists and circle the topics or ideas that most interest you
• Narrow down the topic/idea and choose one

Once you’ve done this exercise, then complete the exercise below.

The “Find your angle” exercise:

The following exercise will help you find a unique and/or interesting angle for your book topic:

• Grab your notebook or a piece of paper
• At the top of the page, write your book topic (or idea)
• Brainstorm 30 (or more) different angles or approaches you can take on this specific topic
• Go back through the list and circle anything that pops out as something worth writing
• Narrow down your circled choices to one (or combine several if it works)

From doing both of these exercises, you should have a bunch of nonfiction book ideas. You don’t have to write all of them, of course. In fact, most you probably won’t write at all.

But you’ve got a whole bunch of ideas to choose from now. And maybe you’ve even proven to yourself that you do actually have a nonfiction book in you.

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What potential topic are you considering for a nonfiction book?