Visit the event page for In Conversation Masterclass with Nicholas Boothman here.
How to write a how-to book
I didn’t know I knew what I knew until after I’d done it.
I didn’t know that I’d discovered the secret recipe for writing books until after I’d written and had 14 of them published by mainstream publishers!
Let me explain!
My first book was a cookbook called French Tarts. My next 13 books were word processing handbooks. This was the 1980s and the books were about programmes that have been superceded by MicroSoft Word and Amazon Pages – books like Easily into DisplayWrite4 and Mastering Word Processing.
When you write a cookbook you know there are rules to follow:
- First put the savouries, then the sweets.
- Put the ingredients above the methods.
- Make sure you have weights and measures in metric, imperial and cups.
When you write a word processing handbook there are more rules to follow:
- First teach how to turn on the computer and insert the floppy disk!
- Next, teach how to create a document.
- Next, teach how to write in a document.
- Next, teach how to save the document.
- And so on.
Write to a formula
I had learned that every book is written to a formula, or recipe. Sure, there is room for creativity and imagination, but whether you like it or not a book’s contents must appear in an appropriate order for the reader to follow. The message of the book, the ‘learning’ if you will, must unfold in a certain way, using certain examples, if the reader is to understand.
Today, I have written 30 what I call ‘how-to books’. Books that teach the reader how to do something I know how to do myself. For the last 20 years I have helped over 300 other new authors do the same.
Nick Boothman has written six books that have been read by well over 4 million people. He has been invited to speak at over 2000 events and, you know what – he never set out to be a writer. For 25 years he was a fashion photographer. However, when someone suggested he turn one of his speeches about networking into a book he did just that. He taught himself how to do it. Nick realised early on, unlike me, that everything was written to a formula and that writing a book could be easier than he ever dreamed if only he followed a few rules. Those rules, include his theories on the ‘shish kebab’, how to ‘think in colour’ and how you can write a book in under two weeks. His latest title, How to Write a $aleable Book in 10-minute bursts of MADNESS, is crammed with tips that make it all seem possible.
On 10th June, Nick is my guest at an In Conversation Masterclass that is absolutely free to attend. I’ll be asking him questions about his secrets and then you get the chance to ask yours too. Miss the event and it will be available later on www.joparfitt.com, of course.
Join this event and many others through the Zoom link on my events page.
