Parenting/Family/Relationships
If nothing else, parents, children, spouses, and the relationships among members of the family unit have always been, and likely always will be, a fertile subject providing an endless supply of fodder for books offering advice and guidance. Indeed, the “players” and participants have increased with the advent of “extended” families, “live-in” companions, “significant others,” and “life partners.” The demand for these books is practically insatiable, and if writing in this genre is your desire, you have chosen wisely.
Of course, as with most nonfiction, you should be an “authority” in the subject. But personal experience can be an acceptable substitute for an undergraduate or graduate degree. Consider a book on how to raise children with autism by a parent with an autistic child, or a book about entering the singles scene at the age of fifty-something written by a widow who found herself in that situation.
There are many subcategories in this genre, including: adoption, aging, parenting, family relationships, childbirth, fertility, and special needs. In the 1970s and 1980s many books were written about relationships between spouses and what to do when things went awry. In recent years, a large number of books in this genre have been devoted to fertility issues and raising children, as you can glean from some of the following bestselling titles:
100,000 + Baby Names by Bruce Lansky
Happiest Toddler on the Block: How to Eliminate Tantrums and Raise a Patient, Respectful, and Cooperative One- to Four-Year-Old by Harvey Karp, MD
So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids by Diane E. Levin, PhD, and Jean Kilbourne, EdD
What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
10 Conversations You Need to Have with Your Children by Shmuley Boteach
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know about Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN
