I’ve been hearing lots of talk about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That’s not surprising since it’s already October 9th and the annual novel writing contest begins in three and a half weeks. I haven’t heard much mention of National Nonfiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo), though. I realize that NaNoWriMo has been around longer than NaNonFiWriMo, and more writers write novels each November than nonfiction works, but still…Each year NaNonFiMo grows larger and larger, and it features 30 days of excellent blog posts written by experts on the topics of writing, publishing and promoting nonfiction of all sorts.
Wondering what the heck NaNonFiWriMo is? It’s the same challenge run here on this blog (and on it’s sister blog www.writenonfictionnow.com) every year and known as Write Nonfiction in November and called WNFIN. Several people over the years have mentioned that it should have a name more like NaNoWriMo. I didn’t used to think so. But there’s NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month). And there’s NaPoMo (National Poetry Month), NaPlWriMo (National Play Writing Month), and even NaBoBloMo (National Book Blogging Month). So, I figured it was time to give in and change the acronym from WNFIN to NaNonFiWriMo, although it’s much harder to say.
Plus, last year at this time I declared November National Writing Month (NaWriMo). I wrote a press release and announced my declaration without much celebration or notice by much of anyone other than a few readers. With that in mind, it seems fitting that Write Nonfiction in November should take on a “national month” type name.
The change in acronym represents one way I’m preparing for Write Nonfiction in November. I’ve also spent the last month lining up a full roster of expert bloggers. This year, the overriding theme once again revolves around the actual challenge–to start and finish a work of nonfiction in 30 days. However, we’ll be looking at the big picture of you, your book and the world of publishing.
You will find blog posts about:
- writing in numerous nonfiction genres
- publishing options
- promotion
- how to prepare for traditional and self-publishing
- your role as a writer
I’ve rounded up the best group of experts I’ve ever had before:
- Linda Formichelli (The Renegade Writer)
- Roger Parker (Publishedandprofitable.com)
- Rochelle Melander (Write-a-thon)
- Peter Bowerman (The Well-fed Writer)
- Stephanie Chandler (Own Your Niche)
- Zac Petit (Writer’s Digest magazine, A Year of Writing.)
- Ellen Violette (The eBook Coach)
- Linda Joy Myers (National Association of Memoir Writers, The Power of Memoir)
- Denis Ledoux (Soleil Lifestory Network)
- Peter Beren (literary agent)
- Sue Collier (The Compete Guide to Self-publishing)
- April Eberhardt (literary agent)
- Jim Kukral (Write A F*$%’ing Book Already! )
- Mark Coker (Smashwords.com)
- Joel Friedlander (A Self-Publisher’s Companion)
- Dana Lynn Smith (The Savvy Book Marketer)
- Rachel Thompson (A Walk in the Snark)
- Rob Eager (Sell Your Book Like Wildfire)
- John Kremer (1001 Ways to Market Your Book)
- Melissa Wuske (developmental editor)
- Claire Petrie (line and copy editor)
- Mike Larsen (literary agent, How to Write a Book Proposal)
- Jeff Herman (literary agent, Write the Perfect Book Proposal)
- Deborah Levine Herman (literary agent, Spiritual Writing)
- Katharine Sands (literary agent, The Perfect Pitch)
- Ellen Britt (Marketing Qi)
- Annie Jennings (Annie Jennings PR)
Also as part of my preparations, I’ve decided to book a blog during November, or repurpose some posts into a book, and I’ve planned out the content for that book so I can easily go to the blog and search out the posts. (I unfortunately don’t have time during November to write something from scratch. NaNonFiWriMo itself, or WNFIN, takes up most of my writing time during November. I have to make a new challenge for myself during another month–like April during NaBoBoMo. (By the way, there’s a ton of info on www.howtoblogabook.com during the month of April that would help you write or blog a short book fast during November.)
With just a few weeks left, it’s time for you to start preparing for NaNonFiWriMo, too. Planning out your project will help you write it faster and meet your goal of starting and finishing a project in 30 days. So, here’s a quick checklist to get you started:
- decide on a project
- map out your content
- do your research before November
- decide on a finished word count
- determine how many words you need to write per day to complete the project by November 30
- schedule time to write
Let m know if you have any other nifty things you do to prepare that help you meet the NaNonFiWriMo challenge. Also…let me know if you like the new name–NaNonFiWriMo–better than the old one–WNFIN.
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