An Easy (And Clever) Way to Write a Non-Fiction Book

27 Dec 2024 #writing

Writing a book is a sign of prestige and a synonym of expertise.

A book brings interviews, talks, consulting gigs, and more opportunities. Sales don’t bring the most money, but the doors it opens do. That’s what I’ve heard.

If you think of publishers, pitching, and rejection when you think of publishing a book, there’s the self-publishing route. Amazon, Gumroad, or your own site are good options.

Writing a book can seem daunting.

But in an interview for Self Publishing TV on YouTube, James Altucher shared a simpler way to write a non-fiction book:

1. Find a topic you’re interested in.
2. Look up 10 scientific papers about it.
3. Explain each paper in simple words and share a story.

Et voilà! You have a book: “10 Scientifically Proven Ways to …”

The thing is, scientific papers aren’t written for normal people. They’re impossible to read. Full of technical jargon and long paragraphs. Arrggg! I tried it when I wanted to understand phones reducing our cognitive capacities. I said, why they write like this?

Even if you don’t write a book, this is a great idea for a newsletter, series of posts, or email course.