The Wannabe: Influences and Competitors
I am writing a book. It’s called The Wannabe - At the centre of this unconventional memoir is a celebration of the white, brown and black working classes. The unsung heroes and the dirtbags.
It's a true story from the point of view of a former foreign correspondent about danger and love, poetry, the art of letter writing, betrayal, mental health and the power of words
I first started writing it in 2012 though I didn't know I was writing it then. Over the years I have written more and in 2018 I was planning to make it a women foreign correspondents anthology. Now it's more of a memoir. The idea for the memoir came after author Louie Stowell read my 2018 article in the Telegraph How working on a construction site taught me the truth about Brexit Again I didn't realise it but it's an ethnography of a building site and the working class people who worked there. My original draft which is somewhat different to the published version is included in the book. I have written about 90% of the book. 47k words. That will go up and down until I finally finish. The book proposal was sent out to 3 publishers today at their invitation. In the quest to write the proposal I was sent the article below and thus I did a list of influences and competitors. Hope it is helpful for anyone currently writing non-fiction.
Step 6. How to nail your non-fiction book proposal: ten tips for success - Show you understand the market you’re pitching for by naming some published titles that are similar to yours. They don’t have to be identical to your book: think of it as ‘What books would be on the same shelf as mine?’ Another way to look at this is to think about the ‘Readers who bought this book also bought:’ section on a website. What would you expect to see listed under yours?
The Soccer War - Ryszard Kapuściński
The Shadow of the Sun - Ryszard Kapuściński
Motherwell - Deborah Jane Orr
Natives - Akala
A Private War: Marie Colvin and Other Tales of Heroes, Scoundrels, and Renegades Paperback - Marie Brener
Do Not Disturb. The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. - Michela Wrong.
Slay In Your Lane - Yomi Adegoke, Elizabeth Uviebinene
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators - Ronan Farrow
The Wretched of the Earth. Preface by Jean-Paul Sartre
Composition in Black and White: The Life of Philippa Schuyler - Kathryn Talalay
On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin
Hotel Arcadia - Sunny Singh
Think Like a White Man: A Satirical Guide to Conquering the World . . . While Black - Nels Abbey
Living While Black: Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma - Guilaine Kinouani
Smashing It Working Class Artists on Life, Art and Making It Happen - Sabrina Mahfouz
Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell
Notes on Nationalism - George Orwell
Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo
Complicit No More - Edited Yasmin Gunuratnum, Media Diversified
From the Lines of Dissent - Foreword Gary Younge, Edited Samantha Asumadu, Media Diversified
Dinner with Mugabe: The Untold Story of a Freedom Fighter Who Became a Tyrant - Heidi Holland
War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence - Ronan Farrow
The Woman Who Was Not There by Joelle Taylor
Flat Earth News - Nick Davies
I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation - Michela Wrong,
How To Write It - Anthony Anaxagorou
After the Formalities - Anthony Anaxagorou
It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower. Michela Wrong
Documentaries
Kim Longinotto, who I interviewed for the book in 2018 (& is in Chapter 36 - The Women Foreign Correspondents)
Divorce Iranian Style (1998)
Sisters in Law (2005)
Rough Aunties (2008)
Music
Sixto Rodriguez - Cold Fact, Coming from Reality
Lowkey - Sound of the Struggle
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again, Pinball Wizard, Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes
Immortal Technique - Dance with the Devil
Fela Kuti - absolutely everything...
David Bowie - I'm Deranged
Janis Joplin - Piece of My Heart, Cry Baby, Ball and Chain, Summertime, Mercedes Benz
John Martyn - Solid Air
Rachmaninov - Prelude in C Sharp Minor
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43