Book Reviews and Writing Tips

Book Reviews and Writing Tips

Friday, July 13, 2012

Thoughts on Writing a Book



I wonder what your thoughts are on this.



They always say you’ll be more successful if you write about what you know, or where there is an interest. However, that is not what readers are always looking for. I may be wrong but it seems to me that today the self-help books seem to be very popular along with the end-of-time books, yet I always prefer to pick up a fiction work and immerse myself in that type of story


Sometimes I think I’m the exception when it comes to wanting to read fiction over something perhaps more constructive. I suppose this is due to always researching stuff for the freelance writing work I get involved in. It’s a nice diversion for my mind to get into something I can enjoy and not have to think too much about.


That being said, what kind of books do all of you prefer to read in the spare time you have?


If you are of a mind to write something useful and positive here are a few ideas:


The Mistakes Book: People are always interested in learning about mistakes they can avoid.


The How to Book: Now this subject is wide open. The public always wants to learn how to do something they don’t know how to do. The how-to topics are endless, so if you have an expertise in something, this may be the way to go.


The Question and Answer Book: Think about a subject you know well and think about the answers to the most important questions – maybe people ask you things about this all the time.


The 10, 50 or 100 Ways to do Something Book: I have seen many books written like this.


How to Hire Someone Book: This kind of book could be anything you have experience with, from gardeners, to nannies to secretaries.


The Networking Book: People today are especially interested in this topic. So much of what we do today takes place on the internet and there is always a need to market yourself, or your books.


The Collection of Stories Book: This could be anything with a similar topic to interweave the theme together. You could even collaborate here and collect stories from several people to incorporate in one book. Inspirational stories, funny stories, animal stories, taking a trip stories, etc.


The Memoir or Biography: Lets face it; people love to read about other people’s lives. You see many memoirs and life stories on the bestseller list. Just make it a compelling read. You could tell your life story, or share lessons from your life.


The Investing Book: The public is always looking for ways to make investment income, especially with the economy the way it is today. If you have expertise in this area, maybe you could help others out as well as selling many books.


The Joke Book: Again, this is wide open because there are many jokes about everything out there. People always like to be entertained.


A Collection of Your Previous Writings: This could be blog posts, or other articles you’ve written. Use your imagination here. As writers, we all have one.


So take that single step and get started. I hope I’ve sparked some ideas.

9 comments:

Darlene Craviotto said...

Maybe the saying shouldn't be "Write what you know." It might be better to "Write what you like to read." Your list gives a number of genres that should be of intest to most people. Thanks for making the list!

Brenda Christmas said...

Hi, Sunni!
I came here from LinkedIn. I couldn't resist your title!

My favorite books are fiction. I love a good mystery, cozies and light humor better than P.I type books. I also enjoy some fantasy, especially those written for children. I do read nonfiction, I love lists, so that type of book generally calls to me!

Sunni said...

Thank you Darlene for you comments and for reading. I suppose you are right about writing what you like to read. I like to read fantasy usually and some mysteries, so because of that, I guess I know more about those genres too.

At any rate, if someone needs a push, maybe this list will help.

Sunni

Sunni said...

Hi Brenda,

I'm tardy about posting comments. Sometimes life gets in the way. I do appreciate you stopping by to read and leave a comment.

I write fantasy usually and am working on a couple of mysteries as well. I will have to check out your site if I can find you on the Linked In boards.

Sunni

Unknown said...

Sunni, very interesting article. As for me, never really gave it much thought until your post but I definitely do not write what I like to read. Thrillers, murder mysteries, fantasy all tempt my pallet but I write poetry. Of course, I am only the messenger anyway. Afterall, I was a mathematician never considering writing until I became one of God's messengers. I may do the physical writing but the inspiration is from His hand to mine, from my heart to yours!

Hope you have a blessed day!

Sunni said...

Thank you for your kind thoughts Sharla.

All of us approach writing differently. Hopefully, we can learn somethng from almost everyone we meet. I think that is what's really nice about following all these blogs. It gves you lots of food for thought.

Sunni

DorChi said...

Thank you for the ideas Sunni, I'm working on the collection of short stories.

Sunni said...

DorChi,

That's wonderful! When you get your short stories finished you'll have to post a link so all of us can check them out.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Sunni

Sunni said...

DorChi,

That's wonderful! When you get your short stories finished you'll have to post a link so all of us can check them out.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Sunni