When you write a nonfiction paragraph, you’re more than just writing, you’re creating a mind-to-mind connection between you and your readers, like a bridge.

In this article, you’ll learn a how to craft sound nonfiction paragraphs by looking at their structure, length and type so that your words can flow effortlessly through this symbolic bridge.

1) Nonfiction Paragraph Structure

Let’s start by looking at the anatomy of a nonfiction paragraph:

The Beginning

Most nonfiction paragraphs begin by introducing a main idea in the first sentence, called the topic sentence. It’s important to only focus on one main idea per paragraph so that you don’t split your audience’s attention.

The Middle

Once you’ve nailed down your topic sentence, it’s time to elaborate on your main idea. You’ll be doing so throughout the middle section of your paragraph by writing a number of supporting sentences.

This number will depend on the complexity of your main idea, but as a rule of thumb you’re a looking at no less than three and no more than five supporting sentences.

If you need more than five sentences to develop your main idea, then perhaps you need to it break down and devote a separate paragraph to each part.

The End

Once you’ve developed your main idea through a number of supporting sentences, it’s time to bring your paragraph to a natural conclusion.

You’ll want to do so by summarizing the discussion of your main idea in a way that’s memorable to your readers. In other words, the goal of your concluding sentence is not merely to repeat your main idea at the end of your paragraph but to translate it into an “aha” moment.

While the first sentence of your paragraph might have elicited a response such as “This sounds interesting, I want to learn more about it,” the conclusion must elicit a response such as “Oh, now I get it, this is very cool!”

2) Nonfiction Paragraph Length

A reasonable paragraph length is between 100 and 200 words. Nowhis isn’t based on a formula but on the simple fact that the nonfiction genre — and problem-solving nonfiction in particular — is about new ideas, and those ideas need a minimum number of words for you to be able to develop them effectively.

If your find that you paragraph idea is too complex to be digested in a single paragraph, then break it up into several sub-ideas, and devote a separate paragraph for each.

3) Nonfiction Paragraph Types

Finally, there are four types of nonfiction paragraphs that you’ll want to master. Each type has different characteristics that’ll work best in different areas of your book. A balanced nonfiction book makes use of all four types.

Expository Paragraph Type:

The expository paragraph type is used to convey well-researched findings in a way that establishes you as an expert in your reader’s eyes.

Example:

“The fundamental question of work and leisure raised by Weiss is particularly relevant as a generation called Millennials moves firmly into the workforce. Millennials in general are hard-working, passionate young men and women who are eager to work, but they want to enjoy and draw meaning from their jobs. Weiss recognizes this trend in young workers, but an interesting disconnect between Weiss’ article and today is the discussion of self-employment. Weiss notes that self-employed workers are generally most satisfied even if they earn less, but also makes the observation that self-employment has significantly declined. This observation is being challenged by trends in Millennial work choices.”

Descriptive Paragraph Type:

The descriptive paragraph type is used to paint a picture in the mind of the reader by using language that appeals to the their senses.

Example:

“Coming down to Bridge Park had been a good idea, he decided. Leaving the crowded mass of the city behind he’d ridden the train south, out onto the delta. Rice paddies stretched to every horizon, blurring the line between land, river and sea. And then, in the shadow of the ruined supports of the bridge, the park rose like a garden oasis above the lowlands. He obviously wasn’t the only person with the same idea today, and the park was lifted by the shrieks of children playing on the bridge replica fun zone behind him.”

Narrative Paragraph Type:

The narrative paragraph type is used to take your reader through an emotional journey from problem to solution, as conveyed through the stories of real or fictional characters that support your book’s main thesis.

Example:

“Christopher Reeve was one courageous person who fully accepted an unexpected change in direction in his life. The icon of superhuman strength in the 80’s, he was the quintessential Superman. An actor of great appeal and talent, he represented the ideal combination of manliness, strength, seeker of justice, and savior of humankind. In May 1995, he was riding his horse and had a serious fall. The accident damaged his spinal cord such that he was left a quadriplegic and had to use a machine to help him breathe. The accident sent shock waves around the world. How could Superman be rendered a quadriplegic? It was unfathomable.

After many months of grueling physical therapy, he learned how to function in this new altered state. The emotional toll was great as he and his family struggled with the changes this accident brought into their lives. Within a year, however, he had founded a charitable organization called the Christopher Reeve Foundation in order to raise money for research on spinal cord injuries and made it his mission to find a way for all victims of these devastating injuries to walk again.”

Persuasive Paragraph Type:

The persuasive paragraph type is used to convince your reader why the solution presented in your book is different than any other than they might have tried in the past.

Example:

“‘I’m too old’ or ‘It’s too late to change’ are nothing but limiting beliefs. Like any other beliefs, they’re fully under your control and are totally replaceable. In the end, you’re the one who truly runs the show, as much as you’re taught to believe the opposite. When it comes to making changes in your life, you have the ultimate say. If you end up doing only what others think you should, it’s because on some level you’ve made the decision to believe that their ideas are more worthy than your own. If you want to change, you have to start believing in what you want to do, no matter what other people’s ‘opinions’ are. And you have to believe that the changes you want to make are worth it, regardless of your age or your circumstances.

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

All the best!

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or need any help – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert: 11 Reasons Why You Should

Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling writers (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghost writing, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

Second only to the book cover, the introduction of a nonfiction book is the most important sales asset at your disposal. In fact, if your book cover is the “lead magnet” that catches the reader’s attention, your introduction is the “closer” that seals the deal.

If you don’t nail this part of your book content, you’ll have to fight an uphill battle trying to convince readers to buy your book.

But here’s the thing: most new authors get this section wrong. I suspect the reason that is back in the day they taught us in school that the introduction of an essay is supposed to “tell your reader what you’re going to tell them,” then you “tell them” in the body of the essay and finally you use the conclusion to “tell them what you told them.”

The problem is that what works for essays doesn’t often work in commercial nonfiction. If you provide a summary of your book in your introduction (“tell your reader what you’re going to tell them”), they simply won’t buy it because you just told them all they need to know.

Instead, your book introduction should really be a “marketing sales letter” where you pitch your book to the reader. In other words, a document carefully crafted with the intent to tease, but never reveal, to hook the reader into wanting to know more, to pique their interest to such an extent that they feel compelled to purchase your book.

So the question now is, how do you go about writing this letter? Is there a formula you can follow to ensure it gets the job done?

Well, you’re in luck, because in this article I’ll share with you the 7 steps you need to follow to nail your book introduction!

Step 1: Begin Your Introduction With a Good Hook

The first step in writing a good introduction is to hook your reader in the opening paragraph. The goal of a hook is to capture your reader’s attention at the very beginning and make them want to read the entire section.

There are many different types of hooks you can use, but the basic structure is the same: you need to highlight the main challenge that afflicts your reader and then show them the expected end result.

Here are three popular opening hook options you can use as inspiration for the first paragraph of your introduction:

• You could use a thought-provoking open-ended question, the answer to which contains the solution to the problem you’re addressing with your book (e.g. “Why do 90% of people who go on a diet end up gaining back more weight than what they lost within six months ?”)

• You could start your paragraph with a story that depicts the emotional journey of a fictitious character who suffers from the problem afflicting your reader. Or you could share an example from your personal life that shows your reader how you overcame this challenge yourself. Or you could share the journey of a client (fictionalizing, names, places, genders, etc.).

• You could start your first introduction paragraph with a statistic that illustrates a controversial piece of information that goes to the crux of your book and at the same time addresses the challenge you’ve set out to address (make sure to reference your sources).

Step 2: Introduce your Solution and Establish Your Credentials

Now that people are hooked, it’s time to tease your solution but doing so in a way that doesn’t disclose your “secret sauce.” As I mentioned before, if you reveal any type of details about your solution in your introduction then you’ll be removing the need for someone to purchase your book.

As an example, you could say something like: “This book will show you the step-by-step approach required in order to permanently overcome _________ .”

Once you’ve teased your solution, you need to establish why you’re qualified to talk about the subject. For instance, you could talk about the journey that led to the discovery of your unique solution, conveying your passion for the subject and the reason why you made it your personal mission to help others afflicted by this problem.

Step 3: Reveal the Journey from Problem to Solution

Now it’s time reveal the specific road map that will take your readers from being afflicted by the problem to being freed by your solution.

For example, you could say something like: “In chapter 1 you’ll learn the best way to ___________. In Chapter 2 you’ll learn how to __________. In Chapter 3 you’ll learn how to ____________,” and so on…

The goal here is to “whet the reader’s appetite” with a high-level view of the kind of results they’ll achieve by reading your book, without revealing any of the specifics.

Next, you need to translate your solution into the clear and tangible benefits that your readers will get by reading the information in your book. These benefits are the various outcomes the reader will experience by putting your solution to work.

Ideally, you want to paint a vivid picture of the reader’s future situation using a rhetorical question — for example, you could say something like this: “Do you want to be stress free?,” “financially free?,” “healthier bones?,” “debt free?” .

Step 4: Provide Social Proof of Your Results

Once you’ve helped your reader “see” what their future will be like after reading your book, you need to earn their trust by showing them tangible proof from someone who’s benefited from your solution.

In other words, this is where you bring up your testimonials, either a statement from real people or a statement from organizations who managed to solve their problems by using your book or your services. Client testimonials are the most effective source of social proof to close a sale (note: make sure you have their written permission before publication).

As a word of caution, never make up testimonials. If these facts ever come out, especially in the age of the Internet where anything in the public domain can be virtually searched forever, it could seriously and perhaps permanently damage your credibility and reputation.

Step 5: Anticipate and Address Objections

Although this is an optional step, I highly recommend it. Many readers will likely feel jaded by similar solutions they must have tried before that didn’t work and will therefore have a built-in skepticism when they read your introduction.

So, research in advance what these specific objections are and counter them in your introduction by providing a logical framework that explains why they’re unwarranted in your case.

The best place to research objections is from your own prospects. Failing that, you can visit forums or online groups (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) in the problem area that your book covers and read people’s comments about similar products, approaches or solutions. They’re often a gold mine of information about objections and grievances.

Step 6: Issue a Call to Action

Now, you need to begin your closing arguments. You’ll do this by making it clear to readers that if they follow the secrets/formulas/steps/information revealed in the content of your book, they will overcome their problem (here’s a tip: always make sure to set expectations that express a clear impact — don’t use wishy-washy language that obscures the effect of your solution).

For example, you could say something like:

“If you follow the step-by-step process in this book, you’ll double your investment income in just 3 years….

… you’ll lose weight and never gain it back

… you’ll cut your credit-card debt in half

… etc.”

Step 7: Transition to First Chapter

Finally, you need to wrap up your introduction by inviting your reader to get started on their journey, wishing them well and seamlessly transitioning to your first chapter.

For example, you could write:

“Let’s now embark together on your journey to <desired goals>”

In Closing

Congratulations! You now have all the elements and strategies required to craft a compelling book introduction that can really “seal the deal.” Now, it’s time to get started writing your first draft!

All the best,

Ben

If you enjoyed the information in this article and have started the writing process for your nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a NYT bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions about this article or a specific detail, skills or technique that I can help you with – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to self publish books.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert: 11 Reasons Why You Should

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning writer of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NYT bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium services for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writers coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.