Posted on Jan 28, 2026
Fiction vs Nonfiction: What’s the Difference?
Savannah Cordova
Savannah is a senior editor with Reedsy and a published writer whose work has appeared on Slate, Kirkus, and BookTrib. Her short fiction has appeared in the Owl Canyon Press anthology, "No Bars and a Dead Battery".
View profile →Fiction is storytelling that stems from the author’s imagination. It invents characters, events, and worlds to explore its key ideas.
Nonfiction, meanwhile, is storytelling taken from reality. It recounts real events and people’s lived experiences with the intent to inform and entertain. Here’s a breakdown of where they differ vs. overlap:
You may have noticed how many of these differences have nothing to do with “making things up”, and everything to do with the intent behind the storytelling. With that in mind, let’s examine the defining characteristics of fiction and nonfiction.
Narrative basis: imagined stories vs real events
A useful question to begin with is: did this exact sequence of events happen in the real world? The answer will point to the most fundamental difference between fiction and nonfiction — the basis for the narrative.
Fiction is built on imagination
In fiction, the characters, relationships, and settings only need to feel believable within the world of the book. Even when it’s “inspired by” real people or real experiences, fiction never claims to be factual.
Take The Measure by Nikki Erlick, for example. At the start of the novel, every adult receives a mysterious box containing a string — its length revealing exactly how much time they have left to live. The characters must then grapple with their mortality and decide how to proceed.
This novel explores universal questions about human nature and how we live our lives. But needless to say, the story itself — from premise to characters to events — is entirely invented.
Q: Which story structures give beginners the best foundation for writing engaging fiction?
Suggested answer
First, ask yourself, "Whose book is this?" If you were giving out an Academy Award, who would win Best Leading Actor? Now, ask yourself what that character wants. Maybe they want to fall in love, recover from trauma, or escape a terrible situation. And what keeps them from getting it? That's your plot. You can have many other characters and subplots, but those three questions will identify the basis of your story. I always want to know how the book ends. That sets a direction I can work toward in structuring the book.
I like to go back to Aristotle: every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. Act I, Act II, and Act III. Act I sets up the story. Mary and George are on the couch watching TV when… That's Act I. We introduced our characters and their lives and set a time and place. Now, something happens that changes everything. The phone rings. A knock on the door. Somebody gets sick or arrested or runs away from home. Something pushes your character or characters irrevocably into Act II. Maybe in Act I, George got arrested. In Act II, he's trying to prove his innocence, and all sorts of obstacles get in the way. Maybe somebody calls Mary and tells her George has another family she's never heard about, and she spends Act II trying to save her marriage or herself. Act III is the outcome. It's when the boy gets the girl or doesn't get the girl or gets the girl and isn't sure he wants her after all.
I'm a big fan of outlining. You're probably going to change it a lot as you get writing and get to know your characters intimately, but it gives you structure, so when you sit down to write, you know what you're going to write about. Even if you don't know precisely how you're going to break your story into scenes and chapters, it's good to know how the book ends so you're moving towards something. Before I start writing a scene, I need to know who is in it, where it takes place, what happens, and why it's in this book. Does it move the story forward? Does it give readers insight into the character? Or is it just taking up space on the page?
Joie is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Using a three-act story arc is the easiest way to define a story because at its core, each story has a beginning, middle, and end. A set-up to a journey, a journey, and a conclusion to this journey, will make up the three acts of every story.
Melody is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
For new authors, some of these structures are a good place to start writing decent fiction without killing inspiration. The three-act structure is a classic, breaking up a story into setup, conflict, and resolution. This makes it easy for writers to establish characters and stakes clearly, build tension through conflict, and wrap up well.
One of the methods that is a good spot to begin is the "Hero's Journey," which charts a hero's journey from challenge, change, to return. Its formal steps govern pacing and character development without much room for imagination.
Why this tool is so valuable to beginning writers is it is less rule than guidepost, giving direction without limiting writers to formulaic composition, permitting them to focus on voice, dialogue, and theme.
As one practices, working through these structures develops an intuitive sense of narrative flow, so that experimentation, innovation, or even breaking the rules feels more natural.
Beginning with a predetermined framework enables authors to balance imagination and clarity and create a story that is engaging, emotionally resonant, and relevant without sacrificing ground for their own distinct imagination to show its face.
John is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Elsewhere on the fiction spectrum, you’ve got a novel like The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which is inspired by real events and engages with themes of institutional racism. The details feel familiar and urgent, but the characters, scenes, and plot are still invented.
Nonfiction recounts reality
Whether it’s an essay, a memoir, or a biography, the subject matter in nonfiction must be entirely real. This key distinction will influence nearly every other creative choice an author will go on to make.
Consider Spare by Prince Harry. This memoir revisits well-documented events from Harry’s own perspective. It’s a deeply personal account that reveals a previously unknown side of the royal story. However, it’s tethered to real timelines, people, and famous moments; therefore, it must stay faithful to the facts.
Reader expectations: thematic depth vs factual accuracy
Next, consider the book’s core promise. Fiction and nonfiction each establish a distinct, unspoken contract about exactly what the reader will experience.
In fiction, readers are looking for emotional and thematic depth. They want the narrative to resonate and make sense within the story’s world. Themes and messaging are typically conveyed indirectly through conflict and character dynamics, rather than explicit exposition.
In nonfiction, readers expect a compelling narrative and factual accuracy. This inevitably shapes how the core message is communicated; nonfiction is liable to engage with its themes more directly. That said, well-crafted nonfiction (especially narrative nonfiction) often handles thematic messaging with the same subtlety one would expect from fiction.
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Lee N.
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Britny (she/they) is a developmental editor with over 8 years of traditional publishing experience in fiction and non-fiction.
Writing approaches: inventive vs evidence-based
When writing fiction, as long as the story remains internally consistent and believable to the reader, the only limit is your imagination. That freedom extends to plot mechanics, too: fictional events happen because the narrative needs them to happen.
Nonfiction, however, follows a different set of rules: the author is beholden to what actually occurred. Events must follow real timelines, outcomes must reflect reality, and dialogue must (more or less) align with conversations that genuinely took place.
Therefore, with nonfiction, the plot almost works in reverse. Nonfiction doesn’t invent a narrative; it organizes reality into one, shaping a real sequence of events into a compelling storyline.
Research also takes center stage in nonfiction. Facts and sources should be clearly cited, and any incorrect or unverifiable information can damage the book’s credibility (and by extension, that of its author).
✍️ Even in creative nonfiction — which uses storytelling techniques like scene-building and narrative tension — complete invention is off-limits. Think about a book like In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The author may reconstruct dialogue for style, or acknowledge imperfect memory, but the essential facts must remain truthful.
Classified by: genre vs form and function
When classifying fiction and nonfiction, it’s most appropriate to view them as “umbrella” categories, which can then be further broken down by genre. We’ll explain both in detail, but here’s a quick rule of thumb: fiction and nonfiction describe a book’s relationship to truth, while genres describe how the story is told.
Fiction is classified by genre
Fiction is a broad classification that encompasses a wide variety of subgenres. You’ll often see it grouped into:
- Literary fiction: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- Genre fiction: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (fantasy), Funny Story by Emily Henry (romance), The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (science fiction)
- Short fiction and flash fiction: Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood, Double Time for Pat Hobby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ritu by Akhil Sharma
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What unites all of these isn’t style or subject matter, but intent. As previously discussed, fiction makes no claim to factual accuracy, even when it borrows heavily from real life. Readers may recognise parallels to real-world events, but those connections are interpretive, not literal.
Style plays a role here, too, and one of the biggest stylistic tells is who’s telling the story. Fiction has complete freedom to play with point of view. Writers can shift between different perspectives à la George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or adopt an omniscient voice, as Terry Pratchett does in the Discworld novels.
Q: How can an author balance factual accuracy with narrative style in creative nonfiction?
Suggested answer
Of course, no writer has an objective viewpoint. But the nonfiction writer still must present things as they are without changing the facts. Some methods for making nonfiction compelling include:
- playing with structure, not in terms of cause and effect, but in the storytelling
- exploring the interior world of a character and their emotional landscape
- using vivid and colourful language
It's clear that one cannot simply add new facts or concrete details because it would suit the text. But it is within restrictions where creativity thrives. A way to overcome this is to fuse the subjectivity of the observer with the events or story that is being told. This is more true to experience and the inner world of the subject becomes part of what is reported.
I can think of no better example than Joan Didion's "The White Album." This is an extraordinary essay about California at the end of the sixties. It's factually accurate but intimately personal at the same time. Rather than see the subjectivity of the writer as a hindrance to reporting nonfiction, she immerses herself in it. This essay is a wonderful example of the writer embracing her subjectivity, to see the outer world with it.
Don is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
While the story must be accurate and true, there are elements of fiction writing that can come into play to bring the story to life and make the narrative truly sing and jump off the page. What do the people in the story look like? What does the setting look like? What can be heard, tasted, touched, or smelled?
For instance, let's say the author is discussing having a cup of coffee with a friend. They might simply say:
I met my friend at a coffee shop to chat.
While the above might be a true statement, there were other things likely happening during that episode. Things to include might be:
- The noise or quiet of the shop
- The aromas wafting through the air
- What was ordered at the counter
So, the above sentence might be beefed up, but still be true, by saying instead:
I met my friend, Jane, at the local coffee shop for a heart-to-heart chat at noon on Saturday. Big mistake. The lines were long, and the place was noisy, crowded, and smelled of burned croissants. We ordered soy lattes and headed to a nearby wooden bench outside since it was spring in Chicago and the weather was breezy, sunny, and mild.
By adding a sense of place and including smells, sights, and sounds, the original sentence can be broadened to create more of a sense of setting and pull the reader into the narrative in a stronger way, while still staying true to what actually happened that day.
Melody is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Nonfiction is classified by form & function
Nonfiction is just as varied in format as its fictional counterpart. It covers:
- Memoir: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
- Personal essays: Rice by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Fall of My Teen-Age Self by Zadie Smith
- Narrative journalism: The Girl in the Window by Lane DeGregory, All By Himself by Ben Terris
- Biographies: Totto-chan by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
- Self-help and how-to books: How to Market a Book by Ricardo Fayet, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
- Academic or informational writing: Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
Each of these can look very different in practice, but they all share the same core commitment to reality. Stylistically, nonfiction often centers the author’s experience, though it can do so in different ways.
In reflective nonfiction forms like memoir, readers expect direct access to the writer’s inner life. A book like I’m Glad My Mom Died chronicles Jennette McCurdy’s traumatic relationship with her abusive mother, using intimate personal reflection to make sense of real events.
By contrast, a self-help book like The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck positions the author as a guide rather than a subject. Manson’s confident voice cuts through platitudes to tell readers how to find meaning in their lives. Here, the focus is less on personal revelation, and more on advice and persuasion.
Q: What types of nonfiction authors are likely to succeed without an agent, and why?
Suggested answer
If you are a celebrity or significant political figure and are really going to only write one book, you are probably better off having a lawyer who bills by the hour than an agent to whom you have to pay 10-15%. Examples of people who used a lawyer instead of an agent include President Bill Clinton, Nikki Haley, Karl Rove, Janet Yellin among others.
Tom is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
If you have a large platform (like a big social media following, an influential organization, or an active speaking career), take a look at the world of hybrid publishing. Hybrid publishing allows you to bypass the agents and editors in the traditional publishing world, and gives you more control over your finished product.
Hybrid publishing can be expensive. It's worth the investment if the book is a tool in your tool belt, and a way to build more authority in a field in which you're already well-known. If you are confident that your platform can drive sales without a dedicated publisher marketing team, it can be a great option!
Kate is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
The style, subject matter, and intentions of these nonfiction books couldn’t be more different — yet both remain grounded in actual events or real-world insights, rather than invention.
Publishing paths: proposals vs manuscripts
Both fiction and nonfiction can be published traditionally or independently, and to great success. They mainly diverge on the point of acquisition.
Acquisition
In traditional publishing, nonfiction is often sold on proposal — especially when the author brings subject-matter expertise, authority, or an existing platform.
Fiction, by contrast, is almost always acquired as a finished manuscript. Publication in one category isn’t necessarily easier than the other; the costs and challenges simply look different.
Learn more about the differences between traditional and self-publishing in this article.
Editing & design costs
The cost differences are especially clear in self-publishing, where the author is entirely responsible for the upfront expenses of creating a book.
Editing costs vary largely because different books demand different kinds of editorial work. For example, historical nonfiction may require editors with subject-matter expertise, which can drive up per-word rates much higher than those of genres like romantasy or science fiction. High fantasy is a notable outlier on the fiction side, since it tends to be longer than average and demands careful attention to detail.
You can use this pricing calculator to compare the average cost of editing in different genres:
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Editorial Assessment
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Reedsy data also shows that the average professional book cover costs about $880. Fantasy and science fiction are at the higher end (around $1,500), and nonfiction is somewhat lower (around $700).
Marketing
Nonfiction marketing works best when highly targeted. Since these books aim to inform, solve problems, or establish authority, authors need to reach readers who are already seeking that specific knowledge — whether through niche newsletters, media features, or professional networks.
Fiction marketing is also targeted, but works a little differently. Fiction readers are often easier to find, so marketing focuses on reader taste (genre or mood) and meets them where they already are. Today, social platforms like TikTok and Instagram play a major role in book marketing — with niche creators and communities driving discovery for like-minded readers.
Q: Why do nonfiction book proposals require an author platform and marketing plan?
Suggested answer
You don't need to know about marketing, but you do need to convince them there is a market for your book. Let them know how big you believe the potential market is, why you believe it's so, and how you can deliver that audience.
Tom is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Publishers, at root, are marketing companies. They operate in a highly competitive market with tight margins. They don’t like to take risks. If an author, or potential author can demonstrate good marketing chops, and strong social media skills, or – better still – an army of followers, they are far more likely to be taken on. Any published writer will tell you that being a successful author these days involves as much selling as writing.
John is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
At the end of the day, fiction and nonfiction aren’t polar opposites. They just play by different rules, defined by their relationships to truth and what readers expect from them.
For authors, there’s no objectively “better” path here. What matters most is understanding those rules well enough to do justice to your story.
