Is it Better to Write Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Us self-published authors usually focus on one niche for our books. This could be financial, a hobby, a particular type of fiction or something else.

I personally chose non-fiction, specifically chess guides, because I was always more of a logical person and I knew a fair bit about chess.

But should you go fiction – and tell a beautiful story – or inform others about a topic through non-fiction? Here’s the quick answer:

Write about non-fiction if you are very good or knowledgeable about that subject. Write fiction if you are good at coming up with good stories, but overall, your choice is up to which you prefer the sound of.

Fiction has many pros and cons, but here are some of the main ones:

Pros:

1. More creativity. Fiction offers much more creativity to those who write it compared to non-fiction. While non-fiction only consists of facts, you can write about literally anything as a fiction author.
2. Faster writing. As a fiction author, you don’t have to do any fact-checking, and you can avoid heavy editing as you don’t need to make everything super concise.
3. Less competition. Most of the answers to your questions can be found on the internet nowadays, and you can make a near-perfect replica of the book quite easily. This is not the case for fiction, so it is easier to sell.
4. Larger market. More fiction books outsell non-fiction books, although it is a small difference.

Cons:

1. More content. Fiction books usually end up having at least double the length of a non-fiction book. So, despite being able to write faster, the non-fiction writer finishes first.
2. More creativity. Despite usually being a positive thing, which is why it’s also a pro, it can be difficult for some people to create good storyline – because they aren’t creative enough.
3. More planning. When writing a fiction book, you need to plan out essentially the entire book before you write it. For non-fiction, you can just split it into categories.

I personally chose non-fiction, but here’s some of the reasons why:

Pros:

1. It’s more logical. You don’t need nearly as much creativity to write a non-fiction book as a fiction one.
2. You don’t actually need to know much. When I wrote my books about chess, I knew what I was doing – but I certainly wasn’t an expert. A large portion of my book’s information came from a some web-pages I found on Google.
3. It’s shorter. Non-fiction ebooks average 20-30 thousand words, maybe a little more. But fiction ebooks easily reach 90-100 thousand words.
4. Less planning. When writing a non-fiction ebook, you can essentially just split your topic into smaller sub-topics, and you’re done. With fiction, you have to plan out the entire storyline beforehand.

Cons:

1. Slower writing. In non-fiction books, you need to make sure everything you say is correct, and you can’t have too much fluff in there. Fiction has neither if these problems.
2. More competition. It’s much easier to make a non-fiction book in my experience. And Google is a serious competitor, so you stand less of a chance.
3. Less creativity. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

There probably isn’t as big a difference as you might think. They are fundamentally different, but oftentimes there is an element of truth to most fiction.

There are some science fiction books that I like which contain a lot of scientific truth to them while having a good story to them. And you can add a story into a non-fiction book as well – even if it’s not as common.

But there are also some rather large differences between them. So what are they? And I’m talking about the writing side of the equation.

Well, the main difference is the most obvious one – non-fiction is true while fiction isn’t. So you have to do exactly zero fact-checking for most fiction, while that might take you hours for non-fiction writers.

However, I have a tip for you – try to sound more like a friend or neighbour than an expert. If you set yourself as an expert, you need to prove your points with facts and figures – whereas you can offer advice as a friend without needing to prove yourself in the same way. You still need to fact-check, but not as much.

I actually did this subconsciously when I wrote my first ebook (well, my first self-published ebook). And I can assure you, it really helps.

The second main difference is the amount of creativity you need When writing non-fiction, you need essentially zero creativity, as you are only telling people what you already know.

Fiction authors, on the other hand need a lot of creativity to come up with the entire storyline by themselves. And the more creative the storyline is, the better it is.

A third difference could be the difference in length. Most readers prefer a more concise read for non-fiction books, whereas fiction books need the extra length to make emotional connections with the reader.

For non-fiction books, some good ideas could be:

1. Hobbies. Hobbies are usually something that you are both interested in and knowledgeable about. These are the two most important factors when deciding what to write about.
2. Your profession. No matter how weird or normal your job is, there’s probably somebody out there that wants it. So you can help them get there, for a price.
3. Pretty much anything. Sometimes you don’t even have to know that much about your topic, though I wouldn’t advise writing about something you’ve barely even heard of.

For fiction books, you could write:

1. Fantasy. Fantasy, while usually being a bit longer is a go-to for many authors for its creative freedom.
2. Romance. One of the most popular books, these usually end up selling quite well.
3. Sci-fi. Science fiction allows readers to experience what – could – be the future.
4. Mystery. Me personally, I love a good murder mystery – especially if you can figure it out before the end.
5. Thriller. Readers love thriller books for its fast-paced storyline and high tension.
6. Horror. Have fun with this one!
7. Literally anything you want to write about.

You get the idea. Just write about what you want to write about. Have fun!

Thanks for reading this. Here’s my blog for extra help if you need it.