How Too Create A Solid Chapter Outline
The Importance of Creating a Solid Chapter Outline
Once you have made the decision to write your own e-book there are some very simple techniques that you can follow which will make writing your e-book a lot easier than you may have imagined. Quite often people become bogged down in the process of writing and this causes them to digress from their chosen topic.
Creating your Chapter Outline is a step by step process that will enable you to plan out your e-book effectively, so that when it comes time to write, you will be able to do so with complete clarity and total focus. You will also find that your thoughts will flow a lot more easily as well. The end result of taking the time required to plan your Chapter Outline will be faster progression, as you begin the process of writing the content for your e-book.
You will find this part of the process time consuming, but do not underestimate the power that lies within taking the time to create a solid Chapter Outline. Understand that your Chapter Outline is in fact, the most important ingredient in your e-book. It will help you to include all those very important points you want to present and you will know exactly where you are going, as you move from one chapter to the next, saving you endless amounts of time.
Think of it this way. If you were planning a journey to an unknown destination, the sensible thing would be to look up where you were headed in the street directory. You would then map out the directions before setting off and in your mind, you would be clear on the direction you were headed. Your Chapter Outline will do exactly that for you, when you decide to write an e-book if you follow this very easy guide.
By the end of this process you will have your map clearly laid out for you and you will know exactly what content will be included in your e-book, keeping you on track and well focused so that you can complete your project within a reasonable time frame.
The Blue Printing Process
The chapter outline is in effect your blueprint for your entire manuscript. Correctly done, at the end of this exercise, you will have a mini version of the content contained within your e-book. Apply the following:
- all you need is 18 points for each chapter
- list the numbers from 1 – 18 down the side of a page
- list the points next to each number that you want to convey to your reader
- Do this for each chapter of your book e.g 10 Chapters = 10 pages with 1 – 18 listed down the side so that you can write down your points for each chapter.
I have used 18 for this example, however if you want to discuss 20 points within each chapter then you would simply expand upon these guidelines to include the 20 points you want to discuss.
Who What When Where Why and How
- Ask yourself one question for each of the above
- If you have only got 6 points rather than the required 18, then ask yourself 2 questions for each of the above
- Your answers will provide you with material that you can then expand upon when it comes time to write your e-book.
Let’s say you are writing an e-book on Marketing Techniques Used In Copywriting. Applying this technique would mean asking your self the following:
- Who would like to read about Marketing Techniques Used in Copywriting?
- What Marketing Techniques related to Copywriting will give my readers the best returns on their advertising dollars?
- When would these Marketing Techniques that are specifically used for Copywriting be most useful to my readers?
- Where would be the best place for my readers to apply these Copywriting Marketing Techniques?
- Why do my readers need to know about these specific Copywriting Marketing Techniques?
- How will my readers benefit in relation to being able to apply my Copywriting Marketing Techniques in a number of situations to see a return on their advertising investment.
Can you see how you now have the framework to move forward and flesh out your chosen topic by applying the above strategy? To flesh out something simply means to provide further information on that particular point.
Remember that for every point you have, you would keep going through the who, what, when, why, where and how’s list until you have answered every point.
Tighten Your Outline
Now it’s time to tighten your Outline by doing the following:
- Subtract 3 points from your total 18 points, that you believe to be the least interesting from the total number of points you listed down
- Now you will have a tight Chapter Outline that addressing what you consider to be the most interesting points in each Chapter
You are probably thinking; ‘why I have spent all that time outlining 18 points if I am now meant to subtract 3’. The point here is to keep you focused on presenting relevant information to your readers that is content filled, rather than ‘fluff’. It will be the tightness of your presentation that will be the thing that keeps your readers interested, focused and turning the pages until they reach the end of your e-book.
The Most Important Ingredient
Remember how you needed that street directory to work out where you were going on your journey and how you would get there? Essentially your Chapter Outlines will act just like that street directory with the end result being that you will have an entire blueprint of your proposed e-book. In other words, your map with all of the directions needed to get to your destination.
It is commonly accepted by many a writer that you will spend considerable time outlining your e-book so that the information you present is of high quality. Your readers want valuable information and the best way to give it to them is to outline, plan and structure your e-book, before you even put pen to paper by implementing this very simple guide to creating a solid chapter outline.
Be sure to catch Garry Parkes forthcoming newsletter, to be released tomorrow for more handy lessons on how you can become better at writing copy that will benefit your chosen journey.
Coleen Cook
