WHAT EXACTLY IS NICHE NON-FICTION?

Simply put, it is narrow focus a writer employs to position his work above norm in published produce of a specific non-fiction topic. For example, writing a book on fly fishing as apposed to fishing per se - that's niche - that's route to take to make money writing. Isolate your extra income idea, convert it into an extra income opportunity and progress thereafter to create a residual income stream.

WHY IS THE 'NICHE' PART SO IMPORTANT?

Writing in niche non-fiction mode allows writer to fine tune precise identification of (a) target market and (b) appropriate publishing houses. The target market will comprise devotees and enthusiasts of topic in question and appropriate publishing houses will be those who cater for that niche sub-sector of overall market. Do it this way and you are setting out your stall to earn extra income at home.

ARE YOU SERIOUS WHEN YOU SAY ANYONE CAN WRITE FOR PROFIT?

Yes, I am, and let me give you an illustration from history to prove point. Wallace D Wattles (what a great name for an author) was a working man who resided in Mid West of USA. He had something to say on his specialist subject and he desperately wanted to put it all down in book form. His problem was that he was short on basic education let alone writing technique. For several years he spent night after night at his local public library buried in other people's literary works in an endeavour to bring himself up to speed. Finally he managed to have his own book published and it became an instant bestseller. It's still around today some 80 years on and you can read about its substance in my creative writing course which, incidentally, will negate necessity for you to spend years training to become a master of writing for profit. Follow signposts and you will be up and running in next to no time in your mission to isolate an extra income idea, convert it into an extra income opportunity and create your very own residual income stream.

CAN YOU REALLY BECOME SUCCESSFUL WRITING FOR PROFIT PART TIME?

I am living proof that you can; I have far too many other commercial interests pressing on me to make a full time career out of writing. Even at that I wouldn't persist on a part time basis unless it were affording me fulfilment in (a) recognition) and (b) profit from my undertakings. You will recall reading this statement when first flush of recognition comes your way. It's addictive!

SURELY THE LEARNING CURVE IS TOO COMPLICATED FOR BEGINNERS?

No, it is simplicity itself and as short as you'd like to make it providing you are prepared to apply yourself to basics, signposts and templates for progression, all of which are clearly laid out in tutorial: 'Writing for Profit in Your Spare Time'.

ISN'T ALL THIS JUST FOR LONERS?

We all live in a mind world to varying degrees but authors spend more time there than average Joe (esphine). They require to if they are to be successful. That however does not mean to imply that they are all necessarily loners by nature. Gregarious people also make good writers because they know instinctively when to cut away from talk addicted crowd and visit silent mind to further their aspirations.

HOW DO I KNOW IF WHAT I KNOW IS OF ANY INTEREST TO OTHERS?

If your area of specialist expertise fits neatly into a defined niche (and majority of topics do just that) then you already have an edge because there's a 50/50 chance that other like-minded enthusiasts will want to know what you know. But it doesn't end there. You must consistently add to your perceived knowledge to determine that what you think you know is all there is to know, and more to point, is valid. Better to find out now than have someone else point it out to you later. The modus operandi for all of this you will find in Chapter 5 of 'Writing for Profit in Your Spare Time'. It's painless when you know how...

ARE YOU JUST FOCUSING ON SELF-HELP AND HOW-TO BOOKS?

Not at all; self-help and how-to projects are natural channels for niche non-fiction but there are hundreds of other disparate topics (ways to make extra income) that are equally applicable. Read Chapter 4 of tutorial and you'll see what I mean.

YOU TALK ABOUT TESTING FOR LONGEVITY. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Ah, now that's a secret which is revealed in Chapter 4 (working well that one...)

HOW DO I CONVERT MY EXPERTISE INTO A TEACHING MODULE?

Read Chapter 4 (what did I just say?)

DON'T YOU NEED TO BE EXPERIENCED TO RESEARCH EFFICIENTLY?

This may have been case years ago but no longer. Universal access to Internet makes it ultra easy for anyone to locate targeted information on any subject. 'Writing for Profit in Your Spare Time' shows you how and directs you to sources that are of particular value in researching niche topics.

WHAT ABOUT STRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER?

You know what Writing Fairy looks like. She is that magical creature that will take dialogue running through your head and place it onto page. She is person that will fill in those little blanks that don’t seem worth worrying about while you’re in brainstorming stage. She is mythical beast that will take all of your imagination and creativity and turn them into a book for you. The Writing Fairy sits on your shoulder every time you pace up and down your room thinking up great new ideas for where your characters are heading and convinces you that you are on your way to being an established author. The Writing Fairy’s touch is only thing you are waiting for before you begin to actually sit down and pound out pages of your manuscript. Yes, as soon as Writing Fairy says that it is time, you will begin to write in earnest. I have news for you. The Writing Fairy is none other than you because you are only person who can do these things for you. And moment you are waiting for? I have some news concerning that, too. That moment either comes right here right now, or it never comes at all.

Am I saying that brainstorming about characters and muddling over speeches is a waste of time? I most certainly am not. What I’m saying is that you reach a certain point where your outline doesn’t need to be refined any more, where it’s time to put it onto page and nail it down in a more concrete sense. The Writing Fairy will make you hesitate to do this, promising you that thinking really hard is writing. She’ll tell you that you aren’t ready to put anything down on page yet, or you’re not ready to go on with next scene because everything just doesn’t seem right. Don’t believe her, she’s deceiving you. I’d like to say that she is flat out lying, but she’s not. Things aren’t going to seem right when they first start to appear on page. This is what seems so contradictory about writing process. Your dreams and aspirations seem to shrink down once you actually put them into writing. Being creative seems harder and harder as more and more words get put down. Don’t worry though; your dreams are big enough. Acknowledging that your finished piece is not going to live up to sparkling gem you have inside your head is something that every artist goes through…it could be reason why so many of us seem a little bit crazy. Pick any piece of art. Now, as great as that finished product seems to you, there is not a single book, painting, opera, movie, whatever, that came out exactly way its creator intended it. That is a very large part of creative process: surrendering to its limitations. And accepting this fact goes a long way towards chaining down that Writing Fairy and actually producing some work. Don’t listen to her siren song. Don’t think that it should feel one hundred percent right first time. It won’t. That’s what rewriting process is all about. Believe me writing is truly in rewriting. Even Kerouac rewrote his stuff. However, in order to start rewriting process you need a hard first draft to pick over and toy with. You need something concrete to look at and see which scenes fit and which don’t. You’ll find that a lot of your brainstorming gets thrown out window. This isn’t a stifling of your creativity, is channeling your creativity into your selection process. And it doesn’t matter how horrible and off mark your first draft seems to be turning out, you’ll polish all of that out later. But you need that first draft to really start things off, and it will never get finished if you continue to believe Writing Fairy’s misleading comments.

Take another look at opening question of this article again. Any closer to an answer?