Publishing

Why Do Recondite Non-Fiction Books Work?

Books about failed mountain climbs, marine navigation and the weather all seem unlikely candidates for best-seller status… but all of them have topped the charts internationally.  Here are some reasons why this category of non-fiction seems to work so well:

• The writing is compelling – often as good as literary fiction – like a high-class blockbuster
• The subject-matter may be off-beat or unusual, but is satisfyingly educational, like watching a documentary on the Discovery channel.  There’s an element of self-improvement in it – by taking us outside our everyday world, our horizons are valuably enlarged.
• It offers a vicarious life-experience.  We can live through a disaster, survive a storm at sea, or experience a turbulent moment in history… in a condensed way.  All the wisdom and insight with none of the risk.
• It’s exciting – we care about the protagonists, in the same way as we care about the protagonists in a work of fiction.
• It provides us with a God-like overview of someone else’s life, loves, mistakes and successes, pitfalls and pratfalls… And in doing so, it helps us makes sense of our own.

On this day…

• 2007: Democracy – Nice Idea in Burma, Not in Britain — As you may know, I’ve stewarded many of the “Stop the War” marches here in London – it’s a small [...]

© 2007 Peter Cox’s Blog.