Last week, we covered true crime writing. So it only makes sense that we follow up with a closely related topic: writing political commentary books.
Just kidding.
Sort-of.
Regardless, Innovative Editing stands here before you today, pledging to stay as non-partisan as possible this week. While actively seeking to help you out as you’re writing political commentary books – which are, by nature, controversial and hotly debated – this Definition, its subsequent Writing Challenge and Writing Rule will stand above the vitriolic fray.
It might not be easy, but it’s worth it. As such…
We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on. We’re going to survive.
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!
(Paid for by the friends of Innovative Editing. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee, particularly since it just used U.S. President Bill Pullman’s speech in Independence Day.)
Hey, I promised to be non-partisan, not non-snippy.
And on that note, let’s jump right into what you need to know when writing political commentary books… starting with their very Definition.
Political Commentary:
Republican vs. Democrat. Conservatives vs. liberals. Red vs. blue...
Let the battles begin!
Political commentary nonfiction is all about proving how your political viewpoints are right and the other side’s is wrong. It involves building arguments in support of your way of seeing the world and tearing down opposing arguments. Whether that’s in serious and respectful tones or snark and sass is up to you.
To be perfectly honest in suitable non-partisan style, either way can sell. And sell well.
For example, on the Republican, conservative or red-state side, you’ve got best-selling books like Glenn Beck’s Arguing With Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government, which is full of outright mockery toward the left. None of which we’ll get into, of course.
Because unlike political commentary books, I’ve pledged to be non-partisan.
Then there are works such as 48 Liberal Lies About American History by Larry Schweikart, which strikes a much more academic note, leaving (blatant) name-calling aside for scholarly tones and expressions.
In the same way, you have Democrat, liberal and blue-state books such as Jon Stewart’s best-selling America (Teacher’s Edition): a Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, which is full of outright mockery toward the right. None of which we’ll get into.
Because unlike political commentary books, I’ve pledged to be non-partisan.
Then there are works such as White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, which strikes a much more academic note, leaving (blatant) name-calling aside for scholarly tones and expressions.
Get the picture? Here’s another angle in which to admire it…
If you’re busy writing political commentary books and you enjoy being dishonest with yourself and your readers, you’re in luck! These works might be classified in the nonfiction category, but they can be first-rate fiction, all while putting you at little risk of legal ramification.
For the most part, you’re going to be attacking famous figures and overall ideologies. That then largely protects you from being sued for libel. And if you want to make a blatantly inaccurate statement about, say, history, you can simply cite someone else’s study instead of a primary source.
It happens all the time.
Yet when it does, very few readers will recognize how they’ve been had. Plus, even those who do probably won’t care due to the partisan nature of writing political commentary books.
Now, is Innovative Editing encouraging you to be dishonest with yourself and your readers? Hardly. You’re soul-sucking scum if you go that route.
But being non-partisan and all, I have to give you the full scoop about writing political commentary books. So there you go.
You’re as free as a little get-out-of-jail-free birdy. Hopefully, you have some personal integrity and will use that freedom wisely.