Should You Have an Introduction for Your Nonfiction Book?

Typically, a nonfiction book will have an introduction. This isn’t a necessity, but you may well find that it makes your book look more professional and that you want to have one. In this blog post, we will be looking at the sort of thing you would have in an introduction to a nonfiction book and whether you actually need one. There are many benefits of having an introduction, but sometimes it doesn’t make sense for your book, so you will want to think about this. Finally, we will consider who will be writing your introduction, as you might want a guest writer for this.

What is an Introduction? 

Firstly, what is an introduction? An introduction should set the tone for your book and get your readers interested. It may well not be written in the same style, especially if your book is more of the textbook genre, as you would probably want a less formal introduction than this. However, it should complement your writing in some way and serve as a hook to get readers interested. A good introduction hints at what the rest of your work will be about, working almost as a blurb. 

What sort of thing should an introduction include? This will partly depend on what genre or niche of nonfiction you are writing in. Some types of books are better suited to certain styles than others, so it makes sense to consider what works best for your book. In addition, you (or a guest writer) will have a particular way of writing, so exactly what to include can also depend on this. As stated above, one thing your introduction should always include is something to make your readers carry on with the rest of the book. 

So, what else do you need to have? If your book is a self-help guide, for example, it would be normal for it to start with a story about why you decided to write the book or a time when it would have been useful! If you have a guest writer, they can relate it to their own experiences. However, if you are writing a memoir, it makes sense for the introduction to tie in with your narrative in some way. This could be part of your narrative or an overview of what it will cover. 

To sum up, an introduction acts as a final advert to sway potential buyers into choosing your book. For this reason, you would expect an introduction to highlight all the good things about the book and how it can help or entertain the reader. As mentioned above, you can do this by giving an overview of your book, an extract from a key section or talk directly to the reader about why your book matters. If you have a guest writer for your introduction, they should be acting as a recommendation for your book and encouraging readers to buy it. 

Does Your Book Need an Introduction? 

The next question to think about is whether you actually need an introduction. It may seem obvious that you do, based on the information above about the benefits, but this is not always the case! It will be up to you to decide how much an introduction will benefit your book and if there is a possibility that it will harm it. If you don’t have an introduction, readers may well read the first few pages, so consider what they will find here. Sometimes this is useful, especially if your first chapter acts as its own introduction to the topic at hand. In this case, it is unnecessary to have a separate introduction. 

Nonfiction books are more likely to be expected to have an introduction than fiction books, simply because of convention. There are also some nonfiction books where it would be surprising not to have an introduction – for example, a textbook. Equally, there are some where an introduction is much less necessary, but may still be present. For example, a memoir could work without an introduction. An introduction could explain why it is worth reading, or start with an interesting event to hook the reader in. Alternatively, it might forego having an introduction, instead trusting that the first chapter will be enough to gain and hold the reader’s attention. 

Should You Have a Guest Writer? 

Depending on what your book is and whether you have any useful connections, you might decide to have a guest writer for your introduction. If you are publishing the traditional way through a publishing house, they may choose to have one written, so you wouldn’t need to write one anyway! 

If you are in charge of finding one, however, first consider if it will actually benefit your book. Someone respected in the field you are writing about is perfect and should add credibility to your book. However, if you can’t find anyone that would make sense for your book, it’s fine to just write it yourself. 

Wrapping Up 

I hope that this helps you to decide whether to have an introduction and how to approach it. In my next blog post, we will be looking at how to write the introduction, so come back in two weeks for that!

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