11 Nonfiction Topics for eBooks
Building onto their popularity, there are 5 common reasons why people love reading books on nonfiction topics.
- A nonfiction book keeps everything real, allowing readers to make real world connections.
- Nonfiction books carry information that can educate the reader about the specific subject.
- Nonfiction topics also provide the readers with fresh perspective and allow them to look at things differently.
- Nonfiction books, specially selected niches, help with personal and professional development.
- Nonfiction books help with soft skills, like critical thinking, problem solving and fluency.
So, if you are a rookie eBook writer, and choosing a nonfiction topic to write about, know that you’ve chosen the right space to capitalize and there is definitely demand in the market.
Note that the nonfiction genre is extremely vast. Just like other genres, nonfiction also has a number of categories and topics to write about. You should ideally pick one if you can say yes to at least two of these questions:
- Do I have expertise, experience or subject-matter knowledge in this niche?
- Do readers want to read the topic you are expert in – is there a market demand?
- Do you have the writing skills to put the book together?
And logically, your yes to the second question is the most important. That’s because if a topic is trending or is evergreen and readers are always looking for nonfiction content in the niche, then you can always seek help from a nonfiction writing company that has knowledge and skills to assist you with writing, editing, publishing and marketing!
Planning to write a nonfiction book?
Nonfiction Topics to Write About
Biographies and Memoirs
In a brilliant narrative writing style, Machado points out how television shows, movies, and cartoons have formed the cultural narrative around skinny and slim heroines. Somehow, making fat women a taboo or only fitting for a villain or dark role. She explains her discomfort as she hits puberty and her physical figure changes.
Her narration style is a good example of taking inspiration from fictional characters even when you are not writing fiction. Taking an imaginative approach, she explains how the common social narratives can be influenced and hopefully changed for the better.
In a brilliant narrative writing style, Machado points out how television shows, movies, and cartoons have formed the cultural narrative around skinny and slim heroines. Somehow, making fat women a taboo or only fitting for a villain or dark role. She explains her discomfort as she hits puberty and her physical figure changes.
Her narration style is a good example of taking inspiration from fictional characters even when you are not writing fiction. Taking an imaginative approach, she explains how the common social narratives can be influenced and hopefully changed for the better.
Biographies
A biography is basically the life history of an individual written by someone else. In order to write a biography, the author does complete research about the individual. It includes talking to their families, meeting people who knew the individual, and reading about them in news articles and online. It also does not talk about the personal events of the individual’s life.
However, a biography mostly discusses the major life-changing events of the person’s life that have shaped their life. One thing you must be careful about while writing a biography is that it must follow chronological order.
If you need an example of a well written biography you should read “A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar,” “Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow,” and “Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.”
Memoirs
A memoir, on the other hand, is a collection of a person’s memories, meaning that the author is the same person the book is about.
Unlike a biography, a memoir talks more about the individual’s emotions, and shares how they struggled through that section of their life, and what motivated them to overcome it.
Another thing about memoirs is that they are not chronologically written. The author can pick an event from their life, put it anywhere in the book, and segregate each memory into a chapter.
You can read books like “Becoming by Michelle Obama,” and “Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton” to better understand how you can make your memoir more impactful.
Science Books
Written by scientists, professors, and researchers, a science book is mostly written for a large audience in order to educate them about a specific complex topic.
These books talk about that specific topic in great detail, discuss every aspect of it, present the reader with relevant theories and findings from past experiments.
For example, if a book is about quantum physics, it will have a detailed explanation of quantum physics, who discovered it and how, and what sort of work has been done in the field so far.
A science book also has some theories and research papers to help the reader better understand the topic.
Now there can be different types of audience for science books. There are times when doctors write scientific explanations in scientific jargon for future doctors, nurses or other medical professionals.
A great example of it is the famous “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach.” The book is a masterpiece for doctors who want to learn about all the research that has been done within the field.
Then there are scientific topics that are relevant and valuable for non-science readers. For example, doctors and nutritionists write food-related books and ebooks for new mothers. These books simplify the jargon and help solve one or more problems of the audience.
Technology Books
Technology books provide detailed information on a specific technical topic. These books include reports, schema, compilations, and textbooks, which majorly focus on helping the reader get as much knowledge as they can on the specific technical subject.
There are some technology books that carry comprehensive information on a specific topic, called volumes. A great example for a volume is “How It Works: Science and Technology by Marshall Cavendish.” Such volumes are filled with modeling and analytical methods, scientific principles, guidelines, and examples and references regarding the topic.
You can also consider writing for a more non-technical audience. For an idea, you can read “Everyday Chaos by David Weinberger.”
History Books
History books are mainly based on a historic event. It could be a war, a movement, a celebration, and even a religious event from the past. The author basically does their research about the specific topic and tries to gather as much information as they can.
The research process includes gathering information from primary and secondary sources – newspaper snippets, research journals, historical accounts and interviews.
For example, if someone is writing about Jesus Christ, and how he was crucified, the best way to research it is by reading the Holy Bible.
Similarly, if you want to write a book about World War II, then reading new articles, and the constitutions of that time will help you craft a better history book.
History nonfiction writing ideas:
- World War I and II
- Industrial Revolution
- Renaissance and Reformation
Cultural Books
Self-help and Personal Development Books
Even the people who have been reading nonfiction books for years still get confused between self-help and personal development books. Honestly, there is not much difference between the two, but still, they both carry some aspects that slightly separate them into two different nonfiction topics.
Self-help books
These books are generally written to help the reader overcome a problem. The issue could be personal, mental, and even emotional, such as anxiety and depression and developing better relationships with their peers. The main focus of these books is to help the reader deal with a specific problem without actually going to a professional counselor or therapist.
To write a self-help book, you can pick topics such as:
- Time management
- Self awareness
- Boundary setting
- Mild depression
- Motivation
Personal Development books
Personal development and self-help books are often placed on the same shelf, under the same tag but these books are a tad bit different from self-help. Where self-help books talk more about a specific issue like anxiety and depression, personal development books take a broader approach and address a wide range of topics which help in a person’s growth, and self-improvement, and help the readers reach their full potential as human beings.
Topics such as productivity, better communication skills, motivation to perform a task can easily cover a large area for personal development books.
Professional development
Professional development books are the best go to guide if you want to learn more about how you can improve your work life, and have a healthy relationship with all your peers. These books help you grow professionally, and develop a significant set of skills, which will come extremely handy in a work space.
Some ideas for professional development books include:
- Maintaining executive presence
- How to take out time for study
- Balancing a 9-5 with your side hustle
- Work-life balance as a corporate employee
Such books cover areas like, how to behave in an organization, professional figure of speech to not sound rude, and how one can approach work related issues in a professional manner.
Health and Wellness Books
Health and wellness books are written to give guidance about how one can take care of their physical and mental health against multiple issues.
For example, if you are a nutritionist, and you want to help people learn more about how they can improve their daily diet and live a healthy life, you can write a book on health and nutrition.
If you are an athlete or a fitness enthusiast, you can write a book on how people can take care of their physical health and even include exercises and the type of diet they should be taking at that time. The same goes for mental health and other ways of living a healthy life.
Travel and Adventure Books
These books are written by people who have wandered around the world, and they want to share their experiences with other people.
You get to learn a lot about each place, what makes it popular, and why you should visit it. Such books can also be your guide while traveling.
For example, if you plan on visiting India, at some point in life, the book called “Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure” will be your best guide.
So, if you want to write an adventure and travel book, we suggest that you learn more about the country that you would like to talk about in your book. For that, you need to do extensive research and talk about things that make that country stand out among the rest. The book could be fun and even educational for someone who would like to travel to different places.
Art and Creativity Books
Art and creativity books are written by creative people like actors, artists, singers, and filmmakers to encourage, educate, inspire, and guide new artists. Take these books as more of a guidance from the experts of the industry trying to teach the rookies how to make it to the top.
These books cover a number of topics related to art, design, artistic techniques and process, and creativity. An art and creativity book could be a biography of a great artist like Leonardo DiCaprio, or Stan Lee. It could even have art theories for people who need guidance in creating beautiful designs.
So, if you are blessed with the knowledge, and wish to share it with people, all you have to do is pick a topic, look at your expertise, and put it down in words.
True Crime Books
Crime nonfiction books are written for multiple reasons. This nonfiction topic revolves around real-life criminal cases, the psychology of criminals, and unresolved investigations. These books are based on real events, talking about a specific type of crime and how the studies have looked at the behavior of each criminal who was involved in such crime.
The books can be further into multiple themes like case studies, criminal psychology, courtroom drama, unresolved mysteries, and forensic science. The main purpose of these books is to help people such as lawyers and investigators to better understand the law and criminal psychology.
Business and Entrepreneurship Books
Written by business tycoons to share their journey with the people. A business book is mainly focused on how a person can succeed in business. These books are mostly written by business experts who have climbed their way up the ladder of success, and they would like to see other people achieve the same success in the future.
Business and entrepreneurship books inspire readers to work better. It also teaches them the basics of a successful business, the tips and tricks for the corporate world, and how to rule the industry. If you are a businessman who is looking for inspiration then we would suggest that you read “Zero to None” by Peter Theil.
Cost Of Publishing A Nonfiction Book
The publishing process involves dedicated team members and specialists, such as a writer, an editor, a proofreader, a formatting expert, an illustrator, a marketer, and a publisher.
So, the cost of publishing a nonfiction book depends on factors such as:
- The pre-publishing effort required – for example, illustrations, editing, formatting etc.
- No. of pages
- Publishing platform – for example Amazon KDP, website etc.
- The timelines as planned by the author
- Versions required for example print or ebook.
As a quick estimate, a nonfiction book that need writing, editing, and illustrations, with standard 50 to 150 pages takes about 3 to 5 months and costs between $15,000-45,000.
Wrapping up…
So, the list of trendiest nonfiction topics concludes here. Know that a nonfiction book’s sale completely depends upon how interactive and interesting it is for the readers. You want to keep them busy with interesting facts and a strong narrative.
For that, you need to have a clear idea of what you want from your book, what type of audience it targets, and how much knowledge you possess about that topic.
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