What the heck are nonfiction books and why should you care?

Nonfiction books are books about anything that is real, truthful, and factual. Things like descriptions of people, places, or things, memories, and opinions all count as nonfiction material.

You might already be familiar with nonfiction books. Here are a few examples:

  • scholarly or educational textbooks or workbooks
  • cookbooks
  • books about history
  • autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs
  • how-to (such as the “Dummy Guide to…” or instructional guides)
  • news stories
  • faith-based devotionals, biblical interpretations, or other similar books
  • foreign-language guides or instructional books
  • etc.

Nonfiction writing tells the truth ...

Amanda has always been attracted to the truthful aspect of things. Whether it’s learning about something new or discovering hidden treasures about something favorite, it’s the descriptions and knowledge that have fascinated Amanda for years. One thing is to learn the facts. It’s a totally different ballgame to write about things in a truthful way.

It’s harder than it sounds.

The problem is creating a balance to inform readers in a way that doesn’t come across like a thesis for a doctorate candidate. How can factual, truthful writing be fun to read? It takes a lot of practice and a focused dedication to achieve that.

Did you know that Amanda’s ability to write nonfiction came into doubt as a college freshman while at St. Vincent School in Latrobe, Pennsylvania? In a memorable experience, Amanda recalls a simple assignment from her English teacher. “Write about the leaves in fall.” Let’s just say that an extreme form of self-confidence put a sledgehammer to anything Amanda “thought” was good. It wasn’t. Her classmates shattered to smithereens any simplistic writing Amanda came up with.

The result was positive, though.

That one simple college writing experience was like a neon sign that would forever push Amanda into improving her descriptions in nonfiction writing. The proof is in the pudding after successfully publishing more than 200 bylined editorials for Washington, D.C. metropolitan area newspapers and magazines.