Book outline worksheet

How to use it

Write your promise at the top before anything else. Every chapter will be checked against it.

Pass 1, brainstorm. The Scribe Method's chapter on creating your book outline suggests three ways in: plan it as a workshop you would teach, imagine teaching it step by step to your ideal reader, or simply list everything that needs to be said. Write everything down and do not judge it yet. Anything that does not fit goes in the parking lot, a term from the same chapter.

Pass 2, table of contents. Put the chapters in an order that matches how the reader experiences the problem. Give each a working title and a one- or two-sentence thesis: the point the reader takes away. If you cannot write the thesis, it is a topic, not a chapter yet. Prefer titles that make a claim or name a benefit over one-word labels; readers often see your contents page in an online sample before they buy.

Pass 3, chapter plans. For each chapter, the same chapter uses three headings: a hook (story, fact or question to open), the thesis, and supporting content in order. Keep it to bullet points.

Rough shape to aim for, from The Scribe Method: 5 to 15 chapters. Its reference chapter on book chapters describes a common convention of about 50,000 words across 12 chapters, around 4,000 words each, and is clear that it is a convention, not a rule. The full method is in How to outline a nonfiction book.

Common mistakes

• Labels instead of points. "Communication" tells the reader nothing. "The one-to-one that replaces ten meetings" does.
• Stitching old posts together. Existing material is welcome once the outline exists, not as the outline.
• Too much detail. A 40-page outline is a draft in disguise and hard to change. Stay at bullet points.
• Chapters that do not serve the promise. Park them. They may be the next book.

Enter your chapter list in the book idea starter to see it in your one-page book brief alongside your reader, promise and comps.