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Lauren Bingham
User reviews
LibraryThing member buttsy1
I received my copy of this book through the Early Reviewers Program.
This is an easy book to read, as the processes the author suggests are clear and she has her audience in mind. This is, in fact, one of the important elements of non-fiction writing that she emphasises: know your audience, and
I was interested to read this book, as I have now completed two local histories, both on request, and for two very different organisations. I certainly did consider who might read these as I worked.
Her discussion of "rabbit holes" in researching a topic was particularly relevant for me. In the work I have done, it has been so easy to fall into one of these and spend too much time discovering details which, although interesting, are clearly not going to have a place in the finished work. But they do add to the overall picture in your head as a writer.
The book comes with a series of downloadable exercises for getting started. These could be very useful for some people.
One piece of advice which I would add to all Lauren Bingham's suggestions would be to be well-organised with your notes. In the process of writing both books that I have completed, I thought my organisation was sufficient (colour-coded manilla folders for printed bits and pieces, online collections in Evernote etc) and both times I discovered "lost" information after I was done. Oh well, that can be a starting point for second editions I suppose.
This is an easy book to read, as the processes the author suggests are clear and she has her audience in mind. This is, in fact, one of the important elements of non-fiction writing that she emphasises: know your audience, and
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adapt your voice to suit. It seems so obvious, and yet it's worth re-stating: if the biography you're working on is for teenagers, its probably going to be a bit different from one for scholars wanting to deeply research the person.I was interested to read this book, as I have now completed two local histories, both on request, and for two very different organisations. I certainly did consider who might read these as I worked.
Her discussion of "rabbit holes" in researching a topic was particularly relevant for me. In the work I have done, it has been so easy to fall into one of these and spend too much time discovering details which, although interesting, are clearly not going to have a place in the finished work. But they do add to the overall picture in your head as a writer.
The book comes with a series of downloadable exercises for getting started. These could be very useful for some people.
One piece of advice which I would add to all Lauren Bingham's suggestions would be to be well-organised with your notes. In the process of writing both books that I have completed, I thought my organisation was sufficient (colour-coded manilla folders for printed bits and pieces, online collections in Evernote etc) and both times I discovered "lost" information after I was done. Oh well, that can be a starting point for second editions I suppose.
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LibraryThing member WriteNowCoach
A super helpful book for nonfiction authors!
LibraryThing member Rwcwcollection
As an experienced writer, I am always looking for ideas to improve my craft and I found this book to be helpful. The author has a delightful conversational style, like a mentor giving you ideas and suggestions over a cup of tea, rather than dictating what you “MUST” do. She often talks about
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going down rabbit holes while writing and it was reassuring to learn I’m not the only one to do that. I often research and write about obscure historical subjects, which often leads down rabbit holds about all kinds of interesting topics, but not the ones I’m supposed to be working on. My solitary criticism is that all Non-fiction relies on solid research and I wish the author went into the research process in more detail, although that topic could rate its own volume. I loved the writing exercises, which I took the time to complete. I loved the fact that the author shared her own excercise prose so you could have an idea of how simple it was to write something meaningful in the 15 minute time frame. I found several helpful ideas that will make me a better writer, but more importantly I frequently found myself nodding my head and thinking, yes, I do that! What a comfortable affirmation that I DO know what I’m doing, just what you’d expect from a helpful mentor. Show Less
LibraryThing member MichaelGlenn
This book isn't super long but is a well written and well organized instructional book to do exactly as advertised, write non-fiction. The no nonsense approach with good coaching for the budding author provides a good program for a writer with a very nice set of resources at the end.
LibraryThing member AnnieKMD
This is a short book that provides guidance for people in the very early stage of writing a non-fiction book. The author uses a casual tone and provides examples from her own writing experience. Some sections were more useful than others, such as how to go about choosing a topic and the section on
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.
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resources. But a few sections were dull, and it was hard to keep my attention, like the sections on writing self-help and philosophical works. Overall it should provide you with a few things to think about as you approach the writing stages.I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.
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LibraryThing member amindy_2000
This is a great book for those aspiring to write or relatively new to writing non-fiction. The author's conversational tone makes this an easy read. She gives a brief overview of the different genres of non-fiction and consideration for each. As she puts it, this is more of a "ramp" approach rather
The and of each chapter also includes 15 minute writing exercises to help motivate one to just practice writing without judgement or overthinking the process.
The only critique I had was a small formatting one. Throughout the book, I kept noticing italicized "author's notes" and was a little confused by them since they came within a paragraph rather than being set off by a line break. In one of the last chapters, the author did mention these notes and how she uses them in her personal process that may not be applicable to everyone. They were goal notes to include, and I would ever give them their own subheading when formatting the chapter.
* I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
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than a "step-by-step".The and of each chapter also includes 15 minute writing exercises to help motivate one to just practice writing without judgement or overthinking the process.
The only critique I had was a small formatting one. Throughout the book, I kept noticing italicized "author's notes" and was a little confused by them since they came within a paragraph rather than being set off by a line break. In one of the last chapters, the author did mention these notes and how she uses them in her personal process that may not be applicable to everyone. They were goal notes to include, and I would ever give them their own subheading when formatting the chapter.
* I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
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LibraryThing member dlathrop
A great addition that showcases how to write a non-fiction book. As a writer who mainly publishes non-fiction this is the type of book I wish my professors had shown me, rather than focusing on books that tell how to write and market poetry or fiction books.
LibraryThing member NilouF
A wonderful book on how to get started writing non-fiction books; tips on how to select the topic, what are the key factors to consider, and useful tips and methodologies to brush up on to ensure a chance at successful outcome. Thought-provoking and engaging narrative - dispels any notion that it's
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an easy endeavor for non-writers! Show Less
LibraryThing member Poopy
This book is a book that tells you how to write books. Non-fiction books, in particular, but it's definitely not a textbook on writing! It's not terribly long at 124 pages, but I do think it is well-organized (with categories of non-fiction such as auto- and biographies, memoirs, how-to/self-help,
Having said all that, I don't really think I learned anything from this book- maybe because I didn't do the exercises? Or maybe because I research and write for a living and so am already quite familiar with much of the processes described. Or, it might be that this book is very much an elementary introduction/bird's eye view to factual writing, and not really anything that gets too much into the weeds/specificity. The most helpful sections for me, personally, were "how to recognize rabbit holes" - i.e., how to include what needs to be included without spending too much time or effort on extraneous details, and the resources section, along with the discussions on editing and publishing - your mileage may vary.
I would definitely recommend this book to novice writers or to people who want to write a book but are stuck with regard to how to get started. It is written in a conversational style that is easy to read and completely un-stuffy/"textbook-y" and I really appreciated that about it. Realize, though, that it's more about concrete ideas like structure, content, and process than it is about anything subjective like quality or effectiveness.
I would give this book a solid 4-stars.
I received an ARC and the preceding opinion is my own, given without compensation.
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history, and travel all represented.) The common characteristics of each type of non-fiction text are described, along with formats and pitfalls common to each. The author provides a few different suggested methodologies for getting from the "idea" phase to the actual writing and publishing phases, and even provides a list of resources for such things. She also provides her own method/preferences, where applicable, and some exercises to help illustrate the various points she makes. I confess I did not do the exercises, however. Having said all that, I don't really think I learned anything from this book- maybe because I didn't do the exercises? Or maybe because I research and write for a living and so am already quite familiar with much of the processes described. Or, it might be that this book is very much an elementary introduction/bird's eye view to factual writing, and not really anything that gets too much into the weeds/specificity. The most helpful sections for me, personally, were "how to recognize rabbit holes" - i.e., how to include what needs to be included without spending too much time or effort on extraneous details, and the resources section, along with the discussions on editing and publishing - your mileage may vary.
I would definitely recommend this book to novice writers or to people who want to write a book but are stuck with regard to how to get started. It is written in a conversational style that is easy to read and completely un-stuffy/"textbook-y" and I really appreciated that about it. Realize, though, that it's more about concrete ideas like structure, content, and process than it is about anything subjective like quality or effectiveness.
I would give this book a solid 4-stars.
I received an ARC and the preceding opinion is my own, given without compensation.
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LibraryThing member LadyLast
I received a copy of this ebook as part of Library Thing Early Reviewers.
This book is an excellent resource for writing non-fiction which, as the book very accurately points out at the offset, is NOT easier than writing works of fiction. This book acknowledges many of the anxieties of writing (in
I personally will definitely be re-referring to this book in the coming years as I write my for my PhD and beyond into academia.
This book is an excellent resource for writing non-fiction which, as the book very accurately points out at the offset, is NOT easier than writing works of fiction. This book acknowledges many of the anxieties of writing (in
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any genre as well as some specific to non-fiction) and offers a nice encouragement to break through such mental blocks. The breakdown of steps does appear to make things less daunting. Advice is practical and does not drone on too much. There are some good prompts to get you going in a few different sub-sets of non-fiction and a continual emphasis on an examination of your motivations (be sure you really want to write the particular book you are writing and so not lose track of what drives).I personally will definitely be re-referring to this book in the coming years as I write my for my PhD and beyond into academia.
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