Richard D. Bank - The Everything Guide to Writing Nonfiction: All you need to write and sell exceptional nonfiction books, articles, essays, reviews, and memoirs

THE
EVERYTHING
GUIDE TO
WRITING NONFICTION

Dear Reader,

I always loved to write and when I first began to write seriously, I wrote poetry, short stories, and even a novel. Write nonfiction? Too mundane. Yet shortly after my first poem and a short story were published, a strange turn of events took place. I began to write and publish nonfiction and ever since almost all my writing has been nonfiction.

So while I still occasionally mine the imagined world of fiction, I spend most of my time exploring the world in which we live, sometimes unearthing the past from which we stem, and pondering how to make for a better tomorrow. I have learned that far from being mundane, writing nonfiction is the most exciting and challenging quest a writer can undertake.

However, in order to succeed in transforming information, ideas, and observations into coherent and satisfying sentences good enough to be published requires attaining the knowledge and skills writing nonfiction demands. It is my hope that in this book I can share with you what I have learned over the years so you can achieve your goals as a nonfiction writer and enjoy the adventure along the way.

Sincerely,

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THE
EVERYTHING
GUIDE TO
Writing
Nonfiction

All you need to write and sell exceptional nonfiction books, articles, essays, reviews, and memoirs

Richard D. Bank
Foreword by Jenna Glatzer, contributing editor, Writers Digest

Copyright 2010 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-60550-630-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-630-2
eISBN: 978-1-44050-179-1

Printed in the United States of America.

1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

In memory of Louis Bank and in honor of his
great-grandson, Hayden Louis Bank.

Contents

by Jenna Glatzer, contributing editor, Writers Digest

APPENDIX A
Writing Samples

APPENDIX B
Sample Permissions Agreement

APPENDIX C
Glossary

Acknowledgments

What helps make this book special and a practical guide to nonfiction writers is the contribution made by the people who took time out from their busy lives to contribute samples or to be interviewed. My thanks to: Dan Rottenberg, D. L. Wilson, Ellie Slott Fisher, Cory Bank, Carlin Romano, Larry Atkins, and Nancy Gambescia. I would like to thank my agent, Carol Susan Roth, for her encouragement toward this project; to Lisa Laing, my editor, who was so receptive to this book and bringing it to fruition; and to Brett Palana-Shanahan who guided the manuscript through the developmental process.

Top Ten Things Every
Nonfiction Writer Needs to Know

Writing nonfiction requires that your work be true and factual.

You can be creative writing nonfiction. Frequently, the techniques of creative writing are applicable to works of nonfiction.

Sometimes the work of a nonfiction writer has nothing to do with writing. You need to know how to research, gather facts, interview, and verify information.

In order to gain the trust and confidence of the reader that is crucial in writing nonfiction, you must write in a voice of authority.

Since there are so many nonfiction genres, you need to be able to identify the category in which you are writing and be familiar with its unique requirements.