Am I 'qualified' enough?

I'm just curious, I was reading some of the how to write non-fiction thread, and my first non-fiction book I am working on is a diet book.

I'm not an RD or anything though, I have a degree in Exercise Science and have been a personal trainer for 4 years so I'm going off my own personal knowledge that I've gained throughout this time (my own research, etc). Is this alright? Would I need to fill the book with a lot of quotes from actual certified RD's in order for a publisher to take it seriously?

Okay, great - and no, it would be sound... I'm not about the cabbage soup diet! It's amazing how many different diet books there are out there, I went to have a look at 'the competition' and yikes! But it's something I've always wanted to do so I might as well try.

I'm starting a diet consultation website right away too so it would be a good potential way to promote my book/service if it ever got published.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the further input. I do think that hopefully my degree would help to provide me with some credibility.

The book moreso isn't a 'diet' per say where it will be like eat this and this and this, but I want to go into more depth about how to body works when you eat certain foods (carbs, fats, proteins) so people might be able to understand better why previous diets have failed them and why certain diets tend to work better than others (so in all reality it's kind of almost like a diet review - or partly).

I'm also planning an exercise section too where I will discuss various exercise principles and how to adapt them to individual needs/tastes and then additionally I want to include quite a large section on the psychological aspects of dieting (since this I believe is the real reason most people cannot lose weight) and how they can overcome any barriers they have in that regard.

So I guess that is the stance I would take on what makes my book different, it's more of a well-rounded wellness approach rather than a strict guideline of what you should and shouldn't do. I think educating the reader so they can make appropriate choices is better for long term success than simply saying eat food A at this time and food B at that time.

ResearchGuy said:

I think you are off to a great start.

Please keep me posted as to your progress. You might want to spend some quality time with Michael Larsen's book How to Get a Literary Agent. He is a well-regarded literary agent who should know what he is talking about. And of course keep an eye out for publishers that accept unagented queries and proposals. Good luck with the book!

--Ken

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Thanks so much for the good luck wish - and the book suggestion. I'll definitely look into that.

I'm sure there will be a few more questions from me along the way as I progress through too. I'm at about 20 000 words right now, so a good start but still lots to cover.

Thanks again.