Non-Fiction Book Formula

While there’s no guaranteed “formula” for a bestselling non-fiction self-help book, many successful books in this genre follow similar structures and approaches.

Stock illustrations from Canva

I am in the process of writing a non-fiction book, and so I took it upon myself to audit some of my favourite books to see if there were any shared structures I could follow. Once I distilled the commonalities, it occurred to me that there might be others who would find this structure useful.

Here’s a synthesis of the structure and approach of some of the most successful self-help books, such as Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (among many others).

1. Clear Problem-Solution Framework

• Identify the Problem Early: Successful self-help books often open with a clear statement of the problem that readers are experiencing. This problem is framed in a way that makes the reader feel understood. For instance, Atomic Habits opens by addressing the frustration of failing to build good habits.
• Offer a Clear, Actionable Solution: The book then moves on to offer a solution or set of…