If you want to write a nonfiction book, the first question that probably comes to mind is: where do I start? As a nonfiction book coach, I’ve worked with hundreds of authors who wanted to teach readers how to do… (Read More)
With the rise of e-books and various ways to read books, long gone are the days of books just being printed things that sit on your bookshelf. These days, you might have virtual bookshelves on your phone, Kindle, tablet, and… (Read More)
In the world of nonfiction, there are a handful of classic books that it’s assumed one should read. One of those books is Sun Tsu’s The Art of War, a Chinese military treatise from approximately the 5th Century BC. As a pacifist, books on warfare have never… (Read More)
Hi Jym, thanks for speaking to us today! So, you’ve just self-published your debut book #Life. What’s it about? It’s my humble attempt at putting together the common themes and wisdom that exist between philosophy and psychology, with the added… (Read More)
Ever read an interesting, inspiring, or informative nonfiction book, then just a few weeks later find that you’ve forgotten most of it? Unless you’ve got an eidetic memory like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, then it’s likely that… (Read More)
If you’re an aspiring author, the age-old question is “How do I get my book published?” While it used to be a simple case of “find a publisher”, there are four main options to get published these days—from… (Read More)
Self-help is the Marmite of the book world. It seems that readers either ravenously consume self-help books or find them utterly unhelpful. Personally, I believe that self-help books are only as effective as the person reading them allows them to… (Read More)
As an author or aspiring author, you’ll no doubt find yourself working with an editor at some point. In our last blog, we looked at the various types of authors that you might be. Today, we’ll look at the various types of editors so you know… (Read More)
If you’re an author or aspiring to be one, you’ll probably end up working with an editor at some point, whether it’s a freelancer editor in the process of self-publishing or an in-house editor at a traditional publisher…. (Read More)
In February 2016, I returned from travelling the world for a year and had no idea what to do next. Questions swirling around in my mind were: Do I wait to re-join the publisher I worked for before… (Read More)
The news hit last week that Reni Eddo-Lodge had become the first black British author to ever top the UK paperback non-fiction charts. It’s no coincidence that her 2017 book Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race has gained… (Read More)
If you’re thinking about hiring a freelance editor for your book, you might be wondering what it’s like to work with an editor and what you’ll gain from the experience. At The Book Shelf, we work with authors on a… (Read More)
According to a recent survey, 80% of adults have thought about writing a book at some point. But if you’re an aspiring book writer, the big question is: what do you write about? In fact, choosing your topic is arguably the… (Read More)
While nonfiction is our bag at The Book Shelf, E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops is stranger than fiction. It has an uncanny resemblance to the world we find ourselves living in, especially in the era of Covid-19, lockdown, and #fakenews. Humanity… (Read More)
As a nonfiction author, you may want to quote other people in your book—be it to set a certain tone, amplify your point, or teach the reader something important. However, the use of quotes is a minefield, and getting it wrong can… (Read More)
When it comes to business books, there’s no shortage of options available to entrepreneurs, wantrepreneurs, and small business owners hoping for success. But none of them have struck a chord with me quite like Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth. Or… (Read More)
Some people write books for the love. Some to entertain and enthral readers. Some to make the world a better place. Some to teach their readers a new skill or approach. But let’s be honest, most authors would… (Read More)
In our world of #fakenews and #posttruth, the 19th Century philosophical bad boy of nihilism has reared its head. Nihilism stems from the Latin word for “nothing”, and in essence, that’s what it’s all about. While there are different branches of nihilism,… (Read More)