Five worksheets, one book idea.
Paper versions of the questions in the book idea starter, each with an explanation, a filled-in example and the mistakes to avoid. Print them, fill them in by hand, and keep them beside you while you test the idea.
Reader profile
The one person your book is for: who they are, their situation, the problem in their words, what they have tried and what they want instead.
Open the worksheet → Worksheet 2The promise
Before and after, a check that turns vague words into concrete ones, and a one-sentence positioning statement.
Open the worksheet → Worksheet 3Idea test
The 200-word description, the one-sentence recommendation, five interview questions and a log for what real readers tell you.
Open the worksheet → Worksheet 4Comparable titles
Five comps with year, readership and what their reviews say, plus the line that matters most: how yours is different.
Open the worksheet → Worksheet 5Book outline
Brainstorm, table of contents with a point per chapter, and a plan for each chapter's hook, thesis and support.
Open the worksheet → On screen insteadThe book idea starter
The same questions in one guided tool, saved in your browser, with ten checks and a printable one-page book brief at the end.
Start my book →Which order to use them in
In order, if you can. Each worksheet uses the answers from the one before it:
- Reader profile first, because the reader decides almost everything else. If you are not sure who the book is for, read Who is your book for?
- The promise takes the reader's situation and what they want, and turns it into the change the book delivers.
- Idea test puts the reader and promise in front of real people before you commit.
- Comparable titles checks the market and sharpens your difference.
- Book outline comes last, once you know who it is for, what it promises and how it differs.
Expect to loop back. Testing usually changes the reader or the promise, and that changes the outline. That is the point of doing it on paper first.
Printing tips
Each worksheet page has a "Print this worksheet" button. The printed version leaves out the explanation and prints only the worksheet, with ruled lines to write on. Use your browser's print settings to save it as a PDF instead if you prefer to type into it. The worksheets are free to print and share; please keep the web address on the page so others can find the explanations.