Does My Book Need an Outline?
When writing a book, you’re like a tour guide inviting a reader on a journey through your topic. Readers aren’t risking much to spend a few minutes scanning an 800-ish word article. If they’re bored, confused, or even offended, they can move on and still enjoy their lunch. But what about with a non-fiction book, which averages 50,000 to 60,000 words? That’s like going on a weeklong road trip with you.
Now let’s blend the idea of writing with a road trip. If someone were to invite you on a weeklong adventure, would you go? If it’s good, trusted friend, you’d probably say yes. But if it’s someone you don’t know well, you’d need to know where you’re going and what’s on the itinerary before hopping in the back of their Winnebago.
That’s what I’m going to discuss here: your non-fiction book outline, which is like your travel plan. As the tour guide, aka author, you must:
Create the itinerary (overall outline), which includes clear signposts (chapter and subheading titles)
Follow a GPS system (your personal “tour guiding” through that outline) that takes the reader to their desired destination (your outcomes or reader objectives)
This helps the reader to trust that you will take them where they want to go. Without that trust, they may abandon you and hire an “Uber” (someone else’s book!).
Structure is often the hardest part of a book to “nail.” Spending time on it up front will save you time and money—in editing and revisions—later. Consider these tips:
Are your chapters progressive?
If traveling from Los Angeles to NYC, you wouldn’t stop in Idaho, then Tennessee, then go back to Colorado, and then New York. If you wouldn’t lead a tour in such a random order, why would you take your reader way off track, losing their trust early in your book? Instead, organize your chapters and subpoints to build upon each other. They might move according to a process or methodology, or they may simply explore your subject. Either is fine, but make sure the order progresses toward your book’s conclusion.
Do your subheadings follow a logical hierarchy?
Closely tied to the last point, your chapters, and the subsections within each chapter, if you have them, should be organized in a logical hierarchy. Your main points are like the highways; your subpoints are like the smaller streets stemming from them. A reader should know at a glance—visually, by looking at your subsections—which points are a subpoint of your larger idea. (There’s a specific way to format these, which we can help with.) Tip: Avoid more than three levels of subheadings, which can be confusing and cumbersome to navigate.
Are your headings clearly worded?
It’s okay to have an enticing chapter title to pull a reader in, but don’t try to be so clever that your reader has no idea what you’re talking about. Especially for a non-fiction book that is helping others initiate a change, clarity is paramount.
Most outlines I see struggle with being clear. The itinerary either goes in circles, or as if by magic, drops a reader off onto a “small dirt road,” leaving them with no idea how they got there. I sometimes get sent books with a request for copyediting, when they really haven’t yet tackled the outline yet. This is one reason why I always recommend a round of developmental editing first, to ensure the structure is optimized.
If you want help with your outline before writing, you could also hire an author coach to help craft your structure. This will save you time and money later. We’re happy to help, and we have tools for creating outlines—so reach out anytime.
Or if you prefer to let an expert handle it, a ghostwriter might be the answer. (We can help with that too.)
Happy writing!
