• How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge into Words

  • Books for Writers, Book 9
  • By: Joanna Penn
  • Narrated by: Caroline Holroyd
  • Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (180 ratings)

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How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge into Words  By  cover art

How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge into Words

By: Joanna Penn
Narrated by: Caroline Holroyd
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Publisher's summary

Do you want to write a non-fiction book but don't know where to start? Or perhaps you worry that you're not an expert or have enough authority in your niche to write a book on it? Are you ready to help other people and change your own life with your words? The first non-fiction book I wrote changed my life. Sure, it helped other people, but mostly it altered the course of my life - so much so that 10 years later, I make a living with my writing.

In this book, I'll share everything I've learned along the way and save you time, effort, and frustration on your author journey. This book includes the business models of writing non-fiction, mindset issues around writing, the details of how to research, write and edit your book, dictation and productivity tips, as well as publishing, product creation, and marketing.

©2018 Joanna Penn (P)2018 Joanna Penn

What listeners say about How to Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge into Words

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous resource for all writers of non-fiction

Insightful and inspiring are the words which best describe Joanna Penn’s latest book, How to Write Non-Fiction. It is rich with anecdotes, key learning, recommended tools and services suitable for new and experienced writers.
She has researched the topic widely and is generous in sharing failures, ‘Ah Ha’ moments and tips for being more effective.

Readers will benefit from Joanna’s writing journey. At the time of writing this review she has 27 books. She is herself an avid reader and reflector and we are the beneficiaries of this.

Joanna talks to our concerns from who am I to write this book and the importance of checking in on our mindset. She speaks in a very authentic manner - (even though we hear Carolyn Holoroyd's voice). I appreciated her sharing personal stories around what she wants to do with her life and ‘Why she writes.’.

Joanna has a strong sense of abundance giving generously of her time and experience not only in her books but in her blogs and podcasts and believes that there is room for all to be authors in a global marketplace.

I need to admit that I am one of Joanna’s super fans. I attended a workshop she ran with Orna Ross giving me the motivation to get my nearly finished book across the line. The workshop and speeches are part of her author eco-system and she makes useful observations in the book about what is needed to be a full-time writer and how a book could be a part of a broader product and service offering.

'How to Write Non Fiction' is giving me additional inspiration to get my latest non- fiction book finished. I downloaded Joanna’s book via Audible and was reminded of how valuable a channel this was for absorbing content fast. Joanne mentions this in her book along with many other suggestions for improving efficiency, such as using dictation, which I have hovered around for ages and have now made the decision to use.

Like many authors I read widely about the magic and challenge of getting your ideas down in a book. I was a tad nervous that there would be a lot of content that I already knew. I was wrong as I have identified at least 20 new actions I can take to improve my writing and marketing activities We don’t know what we don’t know.

It took me ages to write my first non-fiction book, 'Engagement Whisperer'. If I had read Joanna’s book first I am sure that I would have produced it in a third of the time. She makes excellent points about how long it should take you to write, setting aside dedicated increments of time if only for 15 minutes, to get the thing written and of our mindsets around how long it should take to write a book versus quality of the final product.

In summary, if you plan to write a non-fiction book (or another one), you will learn from this book.
Easy five stars from me.
Tracy Stanley

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20 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This will male your book possible.

If you wat to get your book done with specific "how to" info....this is it. I highly recommend tje listen and or read.

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8 people found this helpful

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wow!

As a fellow author, she nailed it! I will likely read this book 5 to 10 times over time.

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6 people found this helpful

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Lots of useful information

Includes not just the writing aspect but sales, marketing and building revenue streams. Highly recommend!

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4 people found this helpful

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Better if narrated by author

The content was good and had some helpful ideas and concepts.
Wish Joanna had narrated. I thought narrator read too fast to digest the concepts and did not delineate sections well.
Recommend for content.

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3 people found this helpful

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Straight Forward and to the Point

This isn't a book filled with too much nonsense. It's fast paced, clear, and concise. In fact, it's almost like a rapid fire of information, so you really have to pay attention or her tips can come off as an afterthought. They aren't, so be prepared to take a LOT of notes or opt for a highlighter and buy the physical copy. There's so much information it was leaving me feel overwhelmed and was actually starting to discourage me, but then I remembered I've got nothing but time anyway so why not get to work? The instructions are all laid out in this audiobook. For the points she mentioned but didn't elaborate on, just do a Google search on the topics and you'll be able to get more in-depth info that way. I'm sure people are going to say it's not the best resource available, but I thought it was worth it. We'll see if it helps me in the long run though. Good luck in your endeavors!

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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good information just not my style

not a bad audiobook with not a bad audiobook with some useful information. too many quotes throughout the book felt like filler material rather than content.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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The business of writing

This book has a lot of great information about marketing nonfiction and creating multiple revenue streams from your work. The book is well-organized and the narrator is excellent. My only real issue with the book is that it's not really about writing-- structure , style, voice, flow, etc.-- she sometimes touches on these but the main point of the book is creating a brand and successfully marketing your idea across media and platforms. Super useful for the business side, but I'll find another resource to help hone my writing.

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2 people found this helpful

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Misleading name

Should be titled: How to sell your Non-fiction book. Wealth of knowledge, but nothing about the actual process of writing.

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Mixed Feelings

The book provides some useful information. However, The furthrr I get into the book the more I felt like a cornered visitor at a timeshare sales office. The weight of the self interested advertising outweighs the value of the writing.

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1 person found this helpful