Non-fiction?

[Acinonyx]

I wondered if anyone out there is also writing a non-fiction book. Alas there is no home for me so I have crept in here.

I'm just getting started. I'm working with an agent and he has suggested a different focus which means reworking what I have rather a lot. So I'm hoping to submit the new version sample & plan in Jan.

Did you get published in the end? Were you pleased with it - did it sell? I have visions of dusty tomes in back rooms with maybe fewer actual readers than I have fingers....

are you doing more writing?

I'm writing a book on cycling and one on gardening (which one I add to on a particular day depends on where my inspiration lies)
I'm also writing a book of gory tales and the sequel to the ebook I self-pubbed in the summer.
Keeping busy, but life keeps getting in the way!

That does sound bus. And life certainly does keep getting in the way. I think one book at a time is more than enough for me!

busy, even

They're only little books, 100 chapters of 100 words, but they take a fair bit of research to get them right.
I work best with smaller chunks of varied work than bigger, more focused writing.

I think one of the pitfalls of non-fiction can be getting stuck on the research rather than the writing. I know I find that happening. At some point you have to stop making notes and get on with it.

My topic is usually quite niche too and the challenge is to make it a bit less niche - otherwise who's going to buy it and keep me in printer ink? It's so time consuming it's only fair to the family that it makes a minimum amount (thinking small potatoes though) otherwise I might be compelled to get a proper boring job

I do love the research - but people don't buy your research and that part can easily go on indefinitely. Sticking to the Actual Topic is another pitfall.

I did approach the agent myself - I researched that carefully and chose one that focuses on this kind of nf.

I've got quite a few parts of fiction in folders and drawers . I thought the nf might be something I would find easier to actually finish (hopefully).

Is your fiction with a different publisher - how did you connect with them?

Ah yes - I'm already looking at recycling the now sadly redundant first chapter as blog posts. What platform did you use to blog for the book and when did that start? I currently blog on a related topic with an official site but I wouldn't say I have a massive readership!

I am absolutely hopeless with social media. I'm not on FB and never use my twitter account. I've been looking into it all I'm going to have get with it at some point.

I think eventually I will just have to choose one medium and get to grips with it. I don't think it will be twitter - I just don't get twitter at all. I gather that all authors are expected to maintain a social media presence these days . Gone are the days when you could hide away behind a pseudonym and not deal with any of it.

You don't have to be opinionated on Twitter. Just retweet the odd interesting thing, have some pleasant chats to friends (either real or online ones) and reply politely to anyone who tweets at you personally, and you'll be fine.
I think a lot of writers do it in a very low-key way but they still benefit a lot from it - you don't have to be constantly self-promoting and have 50000 followers for it to be worth it.

Ah yes, I'm not short of opinions myself

I will wait until further along the road before really committing to Twitter as I think that's going to be a tough one for me to get the hang of.

Is your FB page just for your writing-related persona or is it normal FB stuff combined?

I'm not using either FB or Twitter at the moment . I know that I Should Be. I was on FB for about 2 years in the past and I honestly think it wasn't good for my mental health. I found it very addictive but at the same time it was making me miserable and I wasn't writing anything. I thought I'd get on better with Twitter but then all of that rape threat stuff started happening (not to me) and I was just like, I cannot spend all day in this state of rage, I just can't! So I left Twitter too.

Sometimes I feel that social media has a detrimental effect on writers' voices. I feel that everyone adopts the same voice on Twitter and Facebook and it puzzles me. I'm just crap at playing the game though.

I do have my own website, it's fairly new but I'm hoping to put a bit more work into it as the weeks go on. I feel more comfortable with that.

OP a close writer friend of mine has just published a non-fiction book. It's been a long road for her but the end result is a gorgeous book that's a pleasure to read. Niche, obviously, but still a pleasure!

Argh. Just read over what I posted and I didn't mean for it to sound so supercilious. Don't want to be an anti-social media bore. I think it takes real skill to have the discipline to be able to take control of the necessary self-promotion that comes with being a writer while also maintaining a daily writing routine. I'm really very introverted and I haven't yet perfected this skill!

It's all about the balance, isn't it.

' I feel that everyone adopts the same voice on Twitter and Facebook and it puzzles me.'

I have really noticed this on Twitter.
There's a Twitter personality revolving around childlike enthusiasm. I catch myself doing it too. People think they're being themselves but really, they're not.

I have a FB page for my writing persona, I use it to share stuff about what I'm writing and build a following.
I find it frustrating that my most "popular" posts are generally off-the-cuff crap,while writing I've worked hard on is seen by relatively few people.
I have a Wordpress site which drives book sales and brings a fair bit of business my way, but I don't spend time on Social Media unless I'm uninspired writing-wise.

Yep, I was told the same Toomuchtea. It's a funny old situation.

Tunip, your 'childlike enthusiasm' description wrt Twitter is so spot on . I found myself doing it too when I was briefly using Twitter.

InMySpareTime - that's really interesting what you say about your popular posts. Frustrating for you. I've heard from someone in the publishing industry that lots of Facebook likes do not necessarily translate into sales.

Jonathan Franzen and Zadie Smith on the subject.

But Franzen and Smith are well-established, of course...!