How to Prepare to Write a Non-Fiction Book

Originally published 6/2024

When you begin to dream about writing a book your highlight reel is often focused on the feel of the book in your hand, the raving reviews from readers, and the authority and opportunities that will come from you book being out in the world.

But there are a number of things that have to come together first before your beautiful book is sitting in the reader's hands. And it all starts with the concept.

Developing the concept for your non-fiction book or memoir begins a lot like it would when you develop a brand or start a new business. You think about your audience, the impact and transformation, and your why. However, the concept for your book needs to go deeper than that. It needs to focus heavily on what your mission is for the book, the overarching message, and the theme of your book.

Yes, you certainly what to think about your existing audience, the impact and transformation you want your book to offer, and tap into why you're even dreaming of writing a book. But let's go beneath the surface here a bit. Doing so will get you fully immersed into the manuscript/book and will help you throughout all the following stages.

Here are some questions to explore when developing the concept for your book:

• Why are you writing your book for your reader?

• What is the mission, purpose, and intent of your book?

• What is the overall message of your book, think: simple terms/phrases, e.g., you can overcome XYZ

• How do you want to ensure that message is clearly conveyed throughout your book?

• What tone/style/voice will your book have?

• What is the theme of your book? Choose 1-2 words to focus on. Example: courage, resilience, hope

• What is going on in your reader's life that prompts them to pick up your book?

• What has happened, is happening, or they want to happen in their life that makes your book intriguing for them?

• What is different about your book from the other books that explore your topic and are in your genre?

• What pieces of your personal, educational, and professional stories do you want to share with the reader, and why do you want to share them, keeping in mind the value that those stories will bring to your reader?

• What experience do you want your reader to have when sitting with your book? What do you want them to be feeling? What do you want them to be thinking?

• What experience do you want your reader to have when they're NOT sitting with your book? What takeaways are cycling through their mind? What reflections are they having? What is resonating with their life and experiences?

• What is the look and feel of your book?

• What brought you to this point in your life that you're ready to write a book?

• Broadly speaking, who is your reader?

• How will you infuse your book with your personality?

• How will you infuse your book with your brand?

• Will your book tie into existing programmes/courses/offerings/products?

• How will you be promoting and marketing your book?

• Why would your reader recommend your book to their friends?
  

• How do you want your reader to feel and think once they've finished your book?

Now, some of these questions are best brainstormed with us during your concept call, but you can certainly work through a number of these on your own. Grab your notebook and begin to think about these questions so that you can get a good feel with the direction you want to take with your book. Then be sure to schedule a Concept Call with us or join the Concept to Publication program to bring this all together.

Once you have your concept sorted it's time to begin outlining. The outline should begin really rough. Simple bullet points with general ideas. Don't box yourself in with creating chapters or subject headings. Simply begin by getting a basic idea of the overall flow and sequence of your book. This is the time to think about a few things:

• Will the book be separated into different parts? What will each part be comprised of? What separates each part?

• How will you be incorporating your stories into the book?

• Will you have consistent elements throughout? Example: Journal questions at the end of each chapter

When working through your outline, think about the natural flow and the reader expectations and enjoyment. Then ask:

• How is the information best presented to the reader?

• What expectations will the reader have when diving into your book?

• What do I absolutely need to include for the reader?

• How can I add to the overall experience and enjoyment of my book?

Then as you begin to create your basic bullet point outline, start to fill it out a bit. Add more descriptions and notice where there are inconsistencies or areas that are fuller or thinner than other areas. You're aiming for a semblance of balance throughout the book by not having some chapters really long and dense whereas others a bit a thin and sparse. Spend more and more time filling out your outline so that the manuscript begins to take shape. Once you have a really good idea of what you want to write about and include in your book, then it's time to move on to writing a summary.

Writing a summary for your non-fiction book is incredibly important because this is the step where you can see where there may be any gaps in what you've outlined and if things are misaligned in any way. There is nothing worse than skipping this step and getting 20,000 words into your writing only to find that you've gone down the wrong path and aren't happy with the direction your manuscript has taken. Again, the outlining and summary are best done with a brainstorming partner, so if not us through our Concept to Publication program, hire someone or ask a peer to help you with this.

A book summary takes what you've outlined and, as the name states, summarises it. 😉 You take your outline and write out in paragraph form what your book is going to be about, beginning at the top of your outline and working your way through. Think of this exercise as explaining, in detail, what a reader will find within your book. A summary should end up being 2-3 pages in length.

Once your summary is complete, read through it paying special attention to make sure it,

1. makes sense

2. clearly communicates your message

3. the stories you're sharing correspond with the information you're sharing

4. your personality is coming through

5. your brand message is coming through

6. the tone/voice/style is apparent

7. the theme is crystal clear

8. you feel good about and are incredibly excited to write about all of this

9. all the parts flow together

10. the pacing feels consistent and easy to digest

When your summary is complete and you're bouncing off the walls with excitement to get started on writing, you're ready to do just that. So, create a feasible deadline schedule for yourself, figure out how you're going to commit to that, and choose a place or a few places that feel cozy, inspiring, and comfy for you begin writing. And remember not to box yourself in or create a schedule that is too confining. Writing a book is a lot of work and emotions come up throughout, so creating a writing routine that allows for grace and space is the best approach.

If you need help on any of this, let us know. We love nothing more than chatting about your future books.