When I first read Anne Lamott's
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, I enjoyed her various lessons regarding the first subject. But what really hooked me were her forays into the second topic, her unusual life.
I found her adventures so interesting, in fact, that I went on to read several of her five subsequent nonfiction books that focus on various aspects of her unusual journey, first as a single woman and then single mother. She co-wrote her most recent book,
Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son, with her son, Sam, whom readers get to know well through her previous tales.
Recently I received great news from writer Barbara Bentley, who has keyed in to a similar strategy we other writers should consider: using one nonfiction book to build an audience for future related books. The beauty is that the first book can establish the author as an authority on a particular subject, whereas subsequent books can then delve deeper into the same subject or follow logical offshoots.
Barbara wrote
A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath (
Berkeley Trade) in 2008.
As Barbara writes, her book:
continues to generate news. It has brought me back to Sacramento to support AB1522 that seeks to amend my law. The Huffington Post said (in a March 2012 article) that it is one of the five books to read to spot a psychopath in your life. The book is being recognized in the world of mental health professionals and my advocacy has brought about an invitation to be on the honorary committee of a Hollywood non-profit’s fund raiser. My story has now been filmed for three TV shows.
Building on that momentum, Barbara recently self-published her second book,
The Little Book of Success: Turn Your Dreams into Reality with Four Simple Tools. The endeavor grew out of writing her first book, which made her realize the tools she used to succeed despite formidable obstacles.
If you're following such a strategy, or would like to, let me know.
Happy writing!
When I first read Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, I enjoyed her various lessons regarding the first subject. But what really hooked me were her forays into the second topic, her unusual life.
I found her adventures so interesting, in fact, that I went on to read several of her five subsequent nonfiction books that focus on various aspects of her unusual journey, first as a single woman and then single mother. She co-wrote her most recent book, Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son, with her son, Sam, whom readers get to know well through her previous tales.
Recently I received great news from writer Barbara Bentley, who has keyed in to a similar strategy we other writers should consider: using one nonfiction book to build an audience for future related books. The beauty is that the first book can establish the author as an authority on a particular subject, whereas subsequent books can then delve deeper into the same subject or follow logical offshoots.
Barbara wrote A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath (Berkeley Trade) in 2008.
As Barbara writes, her book:
Posts
