Nonfiction Ideas

Is there an aspect of your favorite hobby that you could write about?  One great thing about writing about your hobbies is it is easy to find and reach the market through magazines, mailing lists, etc.  If you’re new to a hobby and are learning about it, this could be a good opportunity to write a beginner’s guide to a certain hobby.  Then, once you are finished you will not only have the basics down, but will have a finished book ready to sell and told from the perspective of a beginner.

Is there a hobby you have always wanted to get into but haven’t found or couldn’t justify the time?  Now you don’t have to feel guilty.  Get into the hobby and write about it.

Study the market of the hobby you are interested in.  Check the Internet newsgroups and message boards.  Is there a recurring demand, need, help or want?  Get a feel for the market.  What kind of book do you think they would want?  What problem needs solving?

Here is a partial list of hobbies you might consider writing about, getting into and studying further: astronomy, birding, candle making, dumpster diving, gardening, home brewing, kites, remote control airplanes, magic, photography, rockets, trains, woodworking, rocks, models, soap making, treasure hunting, sewing, beading, ceramics, painting, leather work, wine making.

When you read, take notes of any ideas that pop into your mind.  It is a good idea to get into the habit of reading something every day if possible.  One idea or concept you read in one book might apply to another idea you have been working on.  What you read in one place might trigger the much sought after “Aha” experience.

Read on many different and diverse subjects and you will have a more creative outlook on things.  Don’t stick to reading just one subject.  Try to read at least thirty minutes or more a day and read on different subjects as well as subjects you specialize in.

TV and Radio are other good areas to listen and watch for ideas for your nonfiction books.  There are tons of talk shows on the radio where listeners can call in to ask questions, comment or voice their opinions.  Usually the shows are focused on a specific area of interest.  Take note of what questions are asked most.  What information does the audience seem to want?  There’s Oprah, Dr. Phil, Tech TV and many more.  For a listing of various television talk shows, go to:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Television_Shows/Talk_Shows

For a listing of radio shows to listen to on a variety of subjects, go to:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Politics/News_and_Media/Radio_Programs

If you can’t listen to a show in your area, but have Internet access you can listen to almost any talk radio show online.  Go to http://www.radiotower.com as one example or search Google for “online radio” or “Internet radio” for other ways to listen to radio online.

Find some shows that you are interested in and try to get an idea of common themes that show up.  Topics will change with the times, but listen and take notes.  You might even try calling in with your own topic, question or comment to see what kind of reaction you get from it.

Ask experts to help you find book ideas.  Ask librarians and book buyers at specialist book stores.  Ask if they know in which fields new books might be needed.  Do you know of experts that might live near you or someone you are interested in interviewing?

Perhaps they can give you more advice on what topics to write about and what topics not to write about.  If you have already decided on your topic, interview experts to get more specialized information you might not find by researching.

Keep your ears open to conversation between you and others as well as conversations you might overhear at work, at play or wherever you may be.  You may hear remarks from friends, neighbors or social gatherings that will lead to an idea.

Where have you traveled in your life?  Are you planning to travel in the future?  Does your job require you to travel?  Could you give advice to people traveling to the same destination that would improve the quality of their trip, save them money or maximize the quality of their trip in some other or combination of ways?  If your job requires that you travel frequently, perhaps you could write a book on your time off and kill two birds with one stone?

Is there a more specific aspect of a place you like to travel frequently that hasn’t been covered?  Is there a good selling book on a specific aspect of a travel destination that hasn’t been covered in a different travel destination that you could cover?  Take a look online and in the bookstores to see what travel books are offered.

One thing you might notice when traveling somewhere else is how people do things differently there than where you live.  It is amazing in the age of computers and the Internet how long it can take ideas from one area to reach another.  This is something to consider when writing a travel book.  Are there any ideas from one location that you can borrow to use in another place you are writing about?

Are there local travel books sold where you are visiting that are unique from ones you might find in a bigger chain book store?  What ideas can you borrow from where you are visiting?

Use speeches to predict future topics and see present ones.  Whether you are at a special event, seminar, trade show, graduation, etc. a speech can possibly lead you to a good book idea.

If you are already planning on going to a conference or convention, check to see what speeches will be given.  Take some time to go to those.  Pick speeches that let you hear from leaders in your area of interest.

Are you living like a writer?  If you want to be a writer, and get good book ideas you should start living more like a writer.  Writers read more than non writers.  They talk and listen more.  Are you living like a writer?

Try developing habits of a writer to increase the quantity and quality of your ideas.  When you are in a slump and don’t feel like writing, then pick up something to read.  Read books and magazines in your area of specialization regularly while keeping your eyes open for ideas.

Here’s an obvious approach to narrowing down the subjects to write about.  What do you like to read?  What type of nonfiction books have you bought and read in the past?  Do you recognize a pattern?  It is best to write about subjects that you like to read about.  If you haven’t read about it by now, chances are you might not be interested in writing about it.  Is there a void that can be filled with a book by you?

Take a look at your personal library.  Make a note of the dominant subject areas that you seem to read about the most.  What is missing?  Is there a subject you could focus on under that broad subject area?  Do some research on that market and see what you come up with.  Out of all of your books you own or have read at the library, make a list of your top 10 favorite books.

Is there a subject you could expand on, or could you modify a known success?  What is your all time favorite book?  This is a great way to narrow down the list of subjects.  When you narrow down the list of subject areas, you can better focus on a specific subject to write about.

The number of pet owners in the U.S. alone is staggeringly high.  To give you an example, there are approximately 65 million dog owners, 77.6 million cat owners.  32 million dog owners purchase Christmas gifts for their dogs and 39 million cats receive a gift on Christmas as well!  Of course, there are many other pets besides dogs and cats.  There are parrots, fish, ducks, snakes, horses, frogs, tigers and whatever else you can imagine.  There are tons of books out there already, but plenty of room for a book on a new subject or one written in a fresh new way.

Here are just a few of the types of pets people own in no particular order: Parrots, horses, ducks, tarantulas, snakes, scorpions, freshwater and saltwater fish, cats, dogs, monkeys, tigers, goats, pigs, raccoons, frogs, lizards and turtles.  Don’t forget that pets such as dogs and cats have hundreds of different breeds.

You could write on almost anything related to pets such as how to, psychology, astrology, humor, dieting, etc.  You might laugh thinking about astrology for pets, but there are some believers out there!  If you want to narrow things down further, write about a specific breed of dog, cat, snake, etc.  See what’s out there already by the usual means.  What doesn’t exist?  Is there a good book that could be updated?  Take a look at pet magazines in the book store.  What kind of books or other advertisements are listed?  Go to the library and take a look at the articles about certain types of pets – can you spot a trend?

This is a big market to tap into.  You might even consider making this a separate category for your idea notebook.  Here are a couple of ideas to get you started: How to housebreak your ____.  Toilet train your cat in 30 days.  You get the picture.