- Joined
- Feb 20, 2015
- Messages
- 558
Rep Bank
$1,480
$1,480
User Power: 123%
I Have been chatting with a fellow fastlaner about non-fiction books and the amount of backstory that should be in them, and would like to get the views of other members here if possible.
The short question is; How much backstory in a non-fiction book is too much? More specifically a business book.
You can answer this from a reader's or writer's perspective. My personal view is this; if there is either too much backstory, or maybe irrelevant backstory, it puts me off a book. Some examples below:
Bad backstory:
4 Hour Work Week - I gave up reading it because I got fed up reading about Mr Ferris when I wanted to know how - or what - the methodology of the book was. "Get on with it FFS!" I said, before reading a few more pages, then giving up.
Shoe Dog - It's kind of nice to hear about where Phil is from, but I've just started reading this and want him to get down to business (literally), I've heard enough about his past by this point. Too much backstory IMO.
I know it's a memoir, maybe I'm expecting too much from it personally.
Good backstory examples:
TMF - Gives you enough of MJ's backstory. Perhaps more importantly, it relates to the premise of the book.
Robert Ringer's books - His backstory elements are always used as part of a lesson. Previous deals for example.
How to get Rich (Felix Dennis) - Same as Ringer's books, the backstory links business elements.
Any opinions or comments welcome, would love to hear your thoughts on this.
The short question is; How much backstory in a non-fiction book is too much? More specifically a business book.
You can answer this from a reader's or writer's perspective. My personal view is this; if there is either too much backstory, or maybe irrelevant backstory, it puts me off a book. Some examples below:
Bad backstory:
4 Hour Work Week - I gave up reading it because I got fed up reading about Mr Ferris when I wanted to know how - or what - the methodology of the book was. "Get on with it FFS!" I said, before reading a few more pages, then giving up.
Shoe Dog - It's kind of nice to hear about where Phil is from, but I've just started reading this and want him to get down to business (literally), I've heard enough about his past by this point. Too much backstory IMO.
I know it's a memoir, maybe I'm expecting too much from it personally.
Good backstory examples:
TMF - Gives you enough of MJ's backstory. Perhaps more importantly, it relates to the premise of the book.
Robert Ringer's books - His backstory elements are always used as part of a lesson. Previous deals for example.
How to get Rich (Felix Dennis) - Same as Ringer's books, the backstory links business elements.
Any opinions or comments welcome, would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
