How come fiction writers are a lot more interested in and invested in "getting published" while nonfiction writers are generally just happy writing wherever 🤔
Nonfiction writing advice is all like "how to write well" while fiction writing advice is all "how to get published"
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the median nonfiction writer will make more money than the median fiction writer, but the best-selling fiction writer will blow the best-selling non-fiction writer out of the water
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Fiction writers are more invested in a self-image as 'writer', and seek validation of that via the publishing industry.
Non-fiction writers typically don't, I think, have a primary self-image that is 'writer'. They're invested in themselves as a domain expert above all.
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Because a lot of nonfiction writing is now online (where, outside of the romance genre, fiction isn't very lucrative) & the crass money-making writing advice is therefore not aimed at print (or overcoming gatekeeping) but at maximizing income to effort ratio.
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My guess would be that nonfic is writing about what they're making a living from in some capacity, while fiction is trying to make a living off of it
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Probably just who you're following. Equal amounts of both types of advice for fiction and non-fiction (but then again, that could just be who I'm following).
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In fiction, whether something is well-written or not is no measure of publishability.
Kafka was only published posthumously (and not very profitably), While Stephanie Meyer made $125 million from the Twilight franchise.
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I'd question your priors on this one; there's lots of books, articles, etc. about "how to write fiction," especially if you expand that to screenwriting, which is extremely structural & "teachable" and criticism that gets into the nitty-gritty of how a book works
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Nonfiction is more easily monetised through consulting, talks etc. The goal is attention. Plus popular blog posts can lead to book deals. Fiction requires something more fully baked.









