Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
Authors of the past have written some fiction based on personal non-fiction though. Charles Dickens for example based at least part of his novels like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield on his own experiences of poverty as a child.
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Indeed they have, and some even do it now. But do you notice anything about those authors? They are journalists first. Writing is what they did/do all the time, it's how they made/make their living. I may be mistaken, I don't know Gregg personally, but I don't get the impression that this would be an accurate description of him.
The OP starts with "I'm thinking I'll be able to generate some interest in my novels with some short non-fiction ebooks."
My opinion, and it is only that, is that it is unlikely to work that way for him.
Writers of science fiction may be able to call on their expertise to write science books (I read Asimov's "Guide to Science" books). Writers of crime books, if they have sufficient expertise, may be able to call on that expertise to write interesting non-fiction about how crime investigation takes place. In such special cases there may indeed be cross-over of readers between the two types of writing. But in less specialised areas there is less chance of such common interest between fact and fiction. If Gregg had suggested writing a travelogue that made use of the research and special knowledge he has gained from writing his fiction, then I could see some cross-over there. I don't see much cross-over between fiction and self-help (but I reserve the right to be proven wrong
).