Creating Nonfiction Book Ideas that Sell
by James R. Thomson
Review by Jessica Butler

There's an old saying that everyone has a book in them. Many people lack the resources or courage or time to pull it out though. Or, as in many cases, they don't have the right idea. In his book, Creating Nonfiction Book Ideas That Sell, the only thing that James Thomson assumes is that you want to write a nonfiction book. He doesn't even take it for granted that you have your 'big' idea. This is one book where you can't use writer's block as an excuse for not writing!

The book starts out with a description of things you will need to 'capture these ideas'. Then it moves on to discovering them. It continues to progress and is full of hundreds of ideas and places to search for them. The book also includes resources for all sorts of writing inspiration, most of which are free or economical. Plus it is an excellent reminder that the world is a tremendous place and ideas literally do grow on trees.

As far as information goes, this book is an excellent addition to any writer's library. However, some writers may find themselves annoyed with the continual repetition. The repetition can be good or bad, depending on how you learn. For slower learners, this is a valuable asset and will engrain the knowledge in the brain. For quicker ones, it can be tedious and due to the links and other tidbits of information, this isn't a good book to skim through. Regardless of how slow it may seem at times, however, it is certainly worth sifting through. There are many nuggets of information to be mined here.

Creating Nonfiction Book Ideas That Sell deals primarily with finding ideas and honing them, but it also enters into taking action. Mr. Thomson advises against falling in love with ideas, making excuses and more, along with giving ways to keep these hindrances from happening. The sections are short and easy to read and if you're looking for a link throughout the text and can't seem to find it, you can go down to the Bibliography where he has put all of his resources.

The book ends with a challenge to all writers. "You are definitely a member of a small minority of the population who has decided to take meaningful action to improve your life and improve other's lives in the process," Mr. Thomson writes at the end of his book for those who have decided to pursue this dream. He also encourages writers to not only be writers but to live as writers, a feat which many of us struggle with.

In conclusion, Creating Nonfiction Book Ideas That Sell is a great book for mining ideas from your life and from the lives of others. It isn't perfect, but few things are. And whether you have a thousand ideas or can't seem to find one, I believe that it would be almost impossible to read this book and not find at least one idea that doesn't catch your eye.

Publisher: www.nonfictionideas.com

Jessica M. Butler works as a freelance writer as well as the Assistant Editor to Teen Light magazine www.teenlight.org and hosts a free writing course on Breaking Writer's Block at http://www.writershelper.org/jessica/

 

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