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.

Read All About It! My Adventures in Internet Publishing

I'm still very excited today about having my work published by Triond. I've now got two poems in Authspot and two articles in Writinghood and I've earned my first cent - so that's me on my way to my first internet million pounds!

It's inspired me to dig out my old files of work that I'd finished but not submitted and things that I'd left half done, so I'm working my way through those at the moment, getting short stories fit for publication.

I was also delighted to hear that one of my students has followed my example and has had his first article published on Triond too. I've started a trend. I hope they'll give me commission for getting them new recruits.

Why not have a look at the pieces I've had published there? Here are the links:

www.authspot.com/Poetry/Evensong-at-Kings-College-Cambridge.144909

www.authspot.com/Poetry/My-House-is-Five.145677

http://www.writinghood.com/Writing-Business/Opportunities/How-to-Write-a-Review.144107

http://www.writinghood.com/Style/How-To/How-to-Write-an-Acrostic%20Poem.144101

It's a fantastic opportunity for writers to share their work with other like-minded people and to earn money at the same time.

Happy surfing!

What Makes a Good Writer?

Different Tastes in Writing

As anyone who has ever entered a writing competition will know, whether or not you like someone's writing is intensely personal. A lot of it depends on the temperament of the reader.

For example, someone who is a go-getting daredevil will probably prefer action stories, adventures, something fast-paced that will keep them turning the pages. They're probably not going to be a big fan of Joanna Trollope's aga-sagas.

Having seen The Apprentice, I don't imagine that Sir Alan Sugar buys many Barbara Cartland romances, but you never know!

I myself love crime books, but I wouldn't dream of reading Agatha Christie's cosy crime novels. The whole point of these whodunnits is to try to work out who did it - but to me, the enjoyment of a crime novel lies in its realism, atmosphere, setting, characters, and often the inner turmoils and troubled personal lives of the detectives, as well.

Lots of people adore Tolkien, but I have had three attempts at trying to read The Hobbit in my life and never made it past the first quarter. I wouldn't even attempt to read The Lord of the Rings, but I enjoyed the films.

And there are some books that I have had to give up on, like Vanity Fair. I tried reading it when I was young, but I couldn't get into it. I felt I ought to read it because it was a classic, but I just didn't like it. Maybe I was just too young when I tried it.

I think what you enjoy reading will also depend on what sort of mood you are in and how tired you are. You might hate a book one day, but enjoy it a couple of months later when you are feeling a bit fresher.

The Characteristics of a Successful Writer

So it's just about impossible to come up with an ideal book that will please everybody. What sort of talents should a writer have, though, if they are to make it as a writer?

Being able to tell a rattling good story is an obvious one. This is an area in which Catherine Cookson, former queen of the library listings, excelled. She was a born story teller. I do think that some people are more natural story tellers than others.

Being good with words is another obvious trait. Some people love words and have a feel for language. But there is quite a lot you can do to develop this side of your writing. Reading extensively and studying poetry will definitely help a writer to improve as a wordsmith.

Originality is a controversial one. Obviously, it's boring to read a book which is too predictable, a clone of loads of other books. Unfortunately it's all too easy for writers to jump on the bandwagon too, hence the plethora of Da Vinci Files look-alikes these days.

On the other hand, readers often like to know where they are with a book, so it can be unsettling if a writer departs too far from the conventions of the genre. And books that are startlingly original may be clever and admirable, but they won't always hit the best-seller lists.

No, it would be quite hard to come up with a painting-by-numbers identikit picture of the ideal writer. What's more, the qualities that a good writer really needs to succeed aren't ones that will necessarily show up in the pages of their books. But they are ones they will need if they are to get their book published in the first place.

A Successful Writer's Unseen Qualities

The unseen qualities are the strengths of character which enable writers to risk trying to write and to persevere till they get published, in spite of setbacks and rejections. The ability to receive crushing rejection letters, yet pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again. The tenacity to keep plugging away, writing and submitting books or stories, possibly for years, before they have any tangible success, any money to show for it.

The sheer bloody-mindedness to believe that they have something worth saying and to keep on saying it, even though nobody seems in the slightest bit interested. That, and a very, very thick skin!

It's ironic that many writers are sensitive souls who take rejection hard. It's that sensitivity which often goes hand in hand with a vivid imagination, that sensitivity which makes them fascinated by people, but also that sensitivity which can make life so hard for them when things aren't going well.

So if you want to be a good, successful writer, you'll need to be a good storyteller with a feel for words, the ability of Zebedee to bounce back, and the hide of a rhinoceros.

Oh, and there's one more factor which can determine whether or not a writer is successful, whether or not they are good at what they do - luck! Being in the right place at the right time, producing a certain sort of book just when it is coming into fashion. Meeting an editor who you click with, who loves your work, even though twenty others hated it.

Yes, luck can play a part. Though as someone once said, 'It's funny. The harder I work, the luckier I get.'

Work hard on your writing! But I wish you luck as well. Just in case!