A Varied Genre
It's not likely you'll find a genre that can boast of so many diverse books as the health, mind, and body genre. In part, this is because the public's interest in such books and a willingness to buy books that help improve physical and mental well-being is almost insatiable. The other reason has to do with the myriad of subjects. For example, here is a small sample of the categories within this genre:
Beauty
Death and grief
Diet and weight loss
Disorders and diseases
Exercise and fitness
Medicine
Men's and women's health
Psychology and counseling
Sex
There are so many subjects in the health, mind, and body genre that within the numerous subgenres there are even more categories to be found. For example, books concerning nutrition are subdivided into books about maintaining a healthy diet, weight loss, foods providing energy for exercise, and foods promoting mental alertness.
If you want to write a health, mind, and body book, you should clearly identify and define your subject. However, don't be disappointed to find that there are other titles already in print on the same material. This is not a problem at all and will be addressed more specifically in Chapter 23, where you will learn about the book proposal. The important thing to remember is that once you have your subject and have pigeonholed it into the right category you need to know how to go about writing a health, mind, and body book.
Writing the Health, Mind, and Body Book
Once again, since this is a nonfiction genre, the basic skills of writing a nonfiction book apply. But like all types of nonfiction books, this group has its own distinctive features that you need to consider.
Because health, mind, and body books frequently cross over into the self-help and how-to category, the writing techniques are very similar, and what you learned in Chapter 8 is generally applicable here. Consequently, you'll make ample use of lists and anecdotes when conveying information, instruction, and advice. The tone of your book should also be personal and straightforward while maintaining your voice of authority. Of course, to speak as an authority you'll generally need the credentials or other experts to back you up.
