Growing up, you were always the funny guy or girl: the one with the quick wit and flawless delivery.
It started out with knock knock jokes you wrote when you were a kid. Sure, they barely made sense, but you nailed them anyway with your toothy grin and contagious charisma.
Next you moved into making puns, which everyone groaned at but still smiled over.
From there, it was on to bigger and better things as you used your intelligence to make connections and find the funny in them.
Humor is your thing. It’s what you’ve always done and can’t see yourself ever giving up.
Maybe your humor is dry. Maybe it’s self-deprecating. Perhaps it’s slapstick.
But it’s yours regardless… yours to share with as many people as much as possible.
That’s why you want to write a funny book – to spread the love. And take the cash, putting your natural talents and honed proclivities to profitable use.
Both goals are great and everything, but they require a game plan. Otherwise, all your efforts writing a nonfiction humor book have a good chance of falling flat.
To be clear, writing any kind of book requires having a game plan… writing a fantasy fiction book… writing a science nonfiction book… writing a nonfiction humor book…
There’s no exception to the rule. Not if you want to “take the cash.”
And here’s another no-real-exceptions rule: It’s a whole lot easier to make money when you already have a following.
Hence the reason why the Writing Rule below needs to be stated in black and white.
The nonfiction humor non-genre is dominated by celebrity comedians.
If you want to write a nonfiction humor book, don’t let that fact discourage you. But do let it inform you and even encourage certain pre-publishing behavior.
You’re best off publishing your work after you’ve developed some comedian street cred. You can do this by wedging your way into the stand-up comedy scene somehow or by setting up social media, blogs and/or e-letters that brand you as the funny guy or gal.
Fortunately for you, if you’re the funny type, you probably already have a pretty good platform to work off.
Most people like being around or being exposed to (mind out of the gutter, you so-called comedians!) funny guys and girls.
As a quick side note, I do often wonder about comedians’ spouses. Does that natural tendency to joke get old and annoying after a while?
It’s a position I’m not sure I’d want to take on.
But back to funny business...
Almost everyone likes to smile and laugh and enjoy life. If you’re helping them do that, they’re more likely to follow you on social media, check out any websites you set up, attend any events you put together, or subscribe to any blogs you begin.
Congratulations! You’ve already got an in!
Now get to working it.
That nonfiction humor book you want to write – and your wallet – will thank you for the added effort in the end.