Shall I Write a Fiction Book or a Non-Fiction Book?

Is it Easier to Write a Novel or a Non-Fiction Book?

I am a writer who has had non-fiction books published but my friends mainly write novels. So which is the best bet for someone at the start of their writing career?

It's very much a matter of horses for courses. Trying to get a novel published these days is extremely difficult and many novelists earn very little for a great deal of work, unless they are in the higher echelons of the profession.

What are Your Strengths?

So writing non-fiction might appear to be an easier route to success. But really, it's a matter of what you enjoy writing and what your strengths are, both writing and otherwise.

Why I Chose Non-Fiction?

In my case, I had been an academic researcher and a BBC television researcher. I enjoyed doing research, I knew how to do it, and I could find my way around libraries, including academic libraries and The British Library. Doing research was something that I enjoyed and something I felt very confident about. I had already been involved in writing for education and training, so writing non-fiction was a relatively simple sideways step.

It was still exciting to see my name on the cover of a book for the first time, and my non-fiction book credits coupled with some commissions from the BBC gave me enough professional contracts to earn me membership of The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, one of the organisations for professional writers.

It was good to have a contract and an advance instead of sending things off piecemeal and keeping my fingers crossed that somebody would publish them. Having a contract also meant that I had a deadline to adhere to, which was a great motivating factor for me.

If you have a special skill or specialist knowledge, it is possible to capitalise on that, which is what I did in a way. I wrote biographies for a religious publisher. As a professional researcher, I knew I could cope with the research, and as I had spent many years at university studying religion, I also felt confident that I could understand the religious views of the people I was writing about.

It's possible to write about just about anything - fishing, crafts, local history, health topics. Non-fiction covers a huge range of subjects, so if you have a particular hobby or specialist knowledge because of your job, you will probably be able to think of something you could write a non-fiction book about.

Start Small

Of course, if you're not sure whether you know enough about your subject to write a whole book, you could always dip your toe in the waters by writing some articles about it first, perhaps for newspapers or magazines. This would also help you gain confidence and give you some credentials and a track record that you could mention when you eventually approach a book publisher.

The Joy of Fiction

Other people really live to write fiction and that's what they want to do even if they have to write books for years and years with no contract and no guarantee that any of them will ever get published. The joy of being able to use their imagination and to spend time with characters they have created outweighs the inconvenience of having to send submissions packages out to publisher after publisher at considerable expense and possibly receiving a string of rejections.

Is This What You Really, Really Want?

Ultimately, you'll probably be more successful if you are doing what you enjoy and what you are naturally suited to, so it's important to think about what you really want to achieve. Then go for it, no matter what the current fashions are or what your friends are writing.

There is a niche waiting for you somewhere. It's just a matter of finding it - and having fun along the way.