Must-Have Elements in Every Nonfiction Book (Ep186)

·37 min·2 clips

A nonfiction book fails if it raises the pain and never gives the reader a workable answer.

The conversation begins with plenty of room to breathe. Valerie Esan and Eric Mertz open episode 186 on May 7th, 2025, by putting creativity, craft, motivation, manuscript diagnosis, and nonfiction on the table. The nonfiction standard is blessedly practical. A strong book gives the reader a solution, then nudges them toward empowered action without making the work feel like a forever project. Specific steps do the heavy lifting. They need to be clear, paced like real life, and doable enough that the reader can picture finishing them. Then the episode takes a useful side road. Valerie asks whether book coaching clients are better served weekly or every other week, and the question turns into a small, honest study of support and pacing. Eric prefers giving writers more space. Two weeks, in his view, lets them notice their own ebbs and flows instead of waiting for a coach to explain every stretch. Valerie hears that. She wants the coaching to feel worth the time, but five or six days is not always enough for goals, pages, questions, and regular life to settle. The craft advice is tucked inside that exchange: nonfiction has to respect what people can actually finish. Momentum is nice. Nobody gets it on command. The tone stays friendly as they move through backend work, coaching plans, and Valerie's reading, including Olivia Hawker and Lynn Slater. The growing stack keeps the episode in the show's usual author-life zone, where business choices and books on the nightstand sit next to each other without much ceremony. Near the close, they point to an upcoming conversation with podcasting guests about anti-hustle culture, which fits the episode's quieter concern: guidance works best when it leaves people enough room to keep going.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Writer Craft Podcast