Writing LDS Non-Fiction

By Darvell Hunt

I recently tried something new that I haven’t done in the twenty-some-odd years of my writing career: creating LDS non-fiction.

Why on earth would I do that?

Well, have you visited your local LDS bookstore lately? If you have, you probably know what I’m talking about: LDS non-fiction is a big seller—some say even bigger than fiction.

Deseret Book publishes a lot of non-fiction. So does CFI. Covenant, not as much, but still sufficient to understand that non-fiction is a good market to tap for a wannabe writer who wants to enter the LDS marketplace.

So why haven’t I tried this sooner? Well, to sell a non-fiction book, you pretty much have to be an expert in something. You have to provide material to the reader that other people can’t. Or at least, something that other people haven’t provided yet. Up until now, I didn’t think I fit that profile, but I’ve found a topic that I enjoy and seem to know a little bit about.

So, I’m trying something new. It’s a bit different work than I’m used to, but it’s much to my liking. I’ve always been a seeker of information and non-fiction certainly delves into that realm.

I’ll still be keeping my fiction-writing going and submitting what I have, but for now, I like the hat of a non-fiction writer. It seems to fit me well and it looks good in the mirror.