The Ultimate Guide to Outlining Your Book

There are dozens of books (and online courses) on the market today that contain overwhelming amounts of information on self-publishing…Where do you begin?

This is the advice I give to my clients: 

• RESEARCH your genre and know what books are already out there
• LOCATE exemplary book models
• OUTLINE your ideas
• WORK with beta readers and professional editors.

I’ve written before about researching competitive titles, locating exemplary book models, and working with beta readers and professional editors. Today’s article will cover the most important points to include when creating your book outline.

You may remember outlines from your school days when writing a report or taking an English class (along with conjugating verbs). I prefer to call it “planning ahead” and like all my coaching advice, outlining will save you time—and ultimately money. How? Your outline does two things: 1. Gives your book structure and focus. 2. Saves you from rewriting the whole dang thing when your editor sends you back to the drawing board.

In a previous article What All Authors Need to Know About Editors and Editing, I suggest first creating a table of contents as a structure to guide and support the book. I encourage authors to make sure their chapter titles are meaningful as they work to connect the different ideas, concepts, and topics as you move your readers along.

 Now on to the outline:

 Introduction

• This is where you introduce the concept, theme, or problem to be solved.

You want to give your readers the perspective of what’s possible for them if they read your book, what your readers can expect if they implement your information, how the book is organized, how to use the book, and potential outcomes for your readers.

Include the parts of your personal story here if it helps the reader understand why they should read it, what it could do for them, and to make you more relatable.

First Chapter

• This is a great place for your opening story— what life is like before your readers learn the information you are about to explain as the solution. We all love a good story. Stories are engaging — and people remember lessons through story and example. These can be your stories, as well as the stories of others, which you can include to support your thesis.

Think beyond your own personal memories and feelings and begin to craft a journey of transformation that you can offer your readers:

1. When did you hear the call to get into your current work?
2. When/how did you face your biggest challenge(s)?
3. Describe your struggles and frustrations to find the solution(s) that turned your life in a new direction.
4. Breakthrough! What did you discover that changed your life?
5. Amazing results! What happened? What were the results?
6. Who else has received benefits from your process?

• Next, you’ll want to include the overview of who, what, when, where, why, and how — with details to follow in subsequent chapters. Give your readers what they need to know to move forward.
• Last, each chapter will benefit from a summary along with a transition to the next chapter.

 Second Chapter

• For this chapter, choose an opening that shows what happens when your reader does what your book suggests using an overarching theme, with more specific details or subtopics underneath that. Introduce exercises or practices, if applicable, and be sure to end with a summary and transition to the next chapter.

 Third Chapter

• Include another opening story along with a second action toward your book’s solution. Again, introduce the overview of the chapter, along with sub-topics that fit the theme. Add exercises or practices for your reader before summarizing and transitioning to the next chapter.

 Fourth Chapter

• Include another opening story along with more actions for your readers to take toward your book’s solution. Again, introduce the overview of the chapter, along with sub-topics that fit the theme. Add exercises or practices for your reader before summarizing and transitioning to the next chapter.

 Subsequent Chapters

• Repeat the structure and organization of your previous chapters as you build toward more effective solutions for your readers.

 Conclusion/Last Chapter

• How to take what readers have learned into their lives and out into the world.

Your conclusion should clearly support the chapters preceding it. Make sure the lessons are tied together at the end, and offer suggestions of a bigger picture, or more steps your readers can take from here.

Once you have a solid outline, you can start writing sections or chapters.

You can also use "free writing" or other right-brain exercises to bring more creativity and unexpected material to your work. Do your revisions on a chapter-by-chapter basis. To come back to a chapter months later is almost like starting over, and not very effective.

Try using your own customized outline following the structure I’ve suggested for your nonfiction manuscript to bring it up to the benchmarks of commercially published work. Your editor will breathe a sigh of relief when s/he opens up your document to find a well-structured, well-organized draft that s/he can continue to help you polish to a high shine!

Plan for Success,

Lindsay

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