Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
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  ). |
gmw, I'm not going to prove you wrong. I agree with you. But you are a very intelligent person, as are the rest of the people in this forum. But the people buying most of the non-fiction in the broader public are not on your guys' intellectual level. You would not believe the crap out there (non-fiction) that sells well!. (Which makes it sound like I want to start writing crap lol and I'm sure a part of me does lol (j/k).) This one guy writes books on acne cures, movie stars, natural cures for heart disease, financial issues, golf tips and on and on and on. Yeah, some people trash his "books" (most less than 50 pages) but tons more give them 5 star reviews. And they sell!
It's a planned thing. They write these quick books. Do a cover in one hour. And pump them onto KDP Select. The constant repetitive posting and sales (and KDP's giving them top exposure via KDP Select) keep them high in search engines and they build off that. And like I said some of this stuff is utter crapola (and the formatting is terrible as well). And it sells!