I have an idea for a non-fiction book, but I’m not quite sure how to make sure the data I uncover is factually correct. How many sources would I need for each bit of information to make sure I’ve covered all the details?
Also, and I know this varies depending on the topic, but what sort of rough estimate of time should I estimate to finish the book? I can finish a fiction book in less than six months, but I would think this would require a bit more time.
Any other hints, tips and tricks you can help me with would be terrific.
It might help if we know what the topic is. For instance: A book on urban legends would probably require a lot more research of newspapers and so forth to prove the data as being correct, wheras a textbook on calculus really only needs you to basically look at another calculus text book.
With my technical nonfiction, I’m already an expert in my subject matter, so I don’t need as much research time as someone coming in cold. I still need to make sure everything’s up-to-date, of course, and the whole process takes time. I average 6-9 months for the writing. Then comes the layout, editing, proofreading, illustrating (I prefer to do my own technical illustrations and screen shots), and so forth. From the time I send out the first proposal until I have finished books in my hands is 12-18 months.
For my children’s nonfiction, there’s a lot less content to check, so research time is greatly shortened. I write a book in 2-3 months. The illustrator gets it for 3-4 months after that, and it’s usually in print less than a year after I start writing.
I just sent out the first query on my newest project, and I estimated 9 months for the writing.
I also know nonfiction authors that have poured four or five years into a book. I do this for a living, so I can’t afford to spend that long on one project. As it is, I write for magazines to provide supplemental income.
Good luck! What’s the general subject area of your book (no need to be overly precise–you don’t want to give it away).
Are you planning to do any interviews with worshipers or worshipees? If so, that’s going to take a lot of time. It’s also (IMHO) the only sort of reasearch that will add anyrthing new to the subject.
First, I don’t understand what kind of factually correct information you expect to find on celebrity worship. Are you planning on drawing on studies in the psychological literature or from observations of behavior drawn from newspapers, magazines, and the like? Either way, I’m still having difficulty how anything can be factually correct in such a context. The best you could do is take various theories and expound on them.
I’ve written several nonfiction books and researched for others. You need to feel that you are an expert in your subject before you sit down to write your proposal. You have to be able to lay out the entire book chapter by chapter in a proposal, so you need to have at least a good familiarity with every aspect of what you want to write about. Because you say you have no credentials you need to work twice as hard to show that you do have a mastery of the subject as well as a unique insight that would make an editor want to turn to you rather than people who are credentialed experts.
How long this might take for you is something only you can answer. But this is the answer to the question in the OP: until you can read a new piece of research and make an informed determination on whether it’s accurate or blowing smoke, you haven’t done enough research yet.
You’ll be doing a lot of interviews for this one. As Exapno Mapcase pointed out, your research will be split up, some before writing the proposal and some after having it accepted.
Before writing the proposal, you’ll have to research the topic well enough to lay out the whole book. The proposal will also require a list of the people you intend to interview. If they’re celebrities, then the publisher will also want to know whether said celebrities have already agreed to be interviewed, and if not, how you’re going to talk them into it. If you can’t convince the publisher that the people will talk to you (or that you don’t need the interviews), your proposal is dead in the starting gates.