There are two elements to creating your book’s structure. One is having a focus or subject for each chapter. The other is having a structure that you apply to every chapter.
Using both of these will make creating your book’s skeleton plan a whole bunch easier.
This is the nitty gritty of how it works in practice.
1: Collect all your raw material
This is a list of
- Questions people frequently ask you
- Those things that you find you have to explain to every client
- The nuggets of knowledge that people are amazed by (even if you thought they were pretty run-of-the-mill)
- The systems and processes you’ve developed to help people
- The subjects you’re passionate about
- The content of presentations you’ve made – whether to clients, in your local networking group or on a bigger platform at a conference or public event.
- Blogs you’ve written that were well received
- Case studies
- Anecdotes and stories
- Quotations you find particularly useful or inspiring.
2: Create your chapter structure
This is the pattern or recipe that every chapter will follow. It defines what each chapter looks like, how it starts and ends – and what sections it has.
This means that, if you are going to include a case study in one chapter, ideally you need to have one for other chapters, or something similar – maybe a story or anecdote. If you start with a quotation in Chapter 1, your reader will expect (unconsciously) Chapter 2 to look the same.
If there’s an action plan or summary at the end of the chapter, all the other chapters will need the same.
3: Sort your material into related headings
I find mind mapping works really well for this, as you don’t have to know the order before you start. But you might use sticky notes on a wall or board.
I use two mind maps – one with all the chapter subjects, which may end up with the chapters in a slightly different order, but that doesn’t matter for now. Initially, I aim for a logical order that will build information for the reader, so they learn about the first steps before I hit them with anything more complex.
The second mind map is one for each chapter – gathering all the information that relates to that chapter heading.
As some of this information will be digital and some written on paper, you’ll need a means of remembering where all of it is. That might be a spreadsheet or simply attaching a code to each item on your mind map or sticky note, that reminds you where to find it. E.g. B25-06-24 (blog published on 25th June 2024).
At the planning stage you don’t need the in-depth content, just the ‘headline’.
Effectively, you’re putting together your chapter headings. They may change title when you start working on the manuscript, but as long as it means something to you, for now, that’s all that’s important.
4: You’re ready to start writing!
These plans or maps are your book outline.
All you have to do now is pick up a chapter map and start filling in the detail.
A little effort in planning at the beginning means you’ll never get that infamous blank page syndrome, because you always know what comes next.
