It’s one thing to plan to write. Or to plan what you’re going to write. But actually planning FOR your writing is a whole other type of planning: one that many writers skip.
In my writing classes, Class 1 is always focused on getting ready to write a book (or blog series or even an essay. But my framework does tend to work best with bigger projects.)
Planning FOR your writing:
First, I strongly advocate that before beginning any book project, fiction or non-fiction, you first identify and articulate your objective for the book. Is getting a book published on your bucket list? Is it going to be a marketing tool to help attract clients or speaking gigs? Do you want to earn a certain dollar amount from sales of the book?
All objectives are valid, as long as it matters to you. Being tied into this objective is going to help you stay focused and bring you back to center if (when) you get lost in the writing or publishing process.
Second, what type of book is going to best accomplish that objective? If you want to make a living as a fiction writer, maybe start with commercial fiction. If you want to get more clients, then a sleek, concise, manual or overview of your process or philosophies is probably the way to go.
Third, build your outline, or as I call it “pre-writing.” If you’re planning to create a book proposal for an agent or a publisher you’ll want to do a formal, traditional style outline. If you’re self publishing or writing fiction, you can plan out your book in a less formal manner, but I still recommend walking through the major plot points.
For a non-fiction outline you’ll need to break it down a chapter by chapter, articulating the objective for each chapter, and listing out the elements that will make the case in each chapter, including any graphics, studies, expert quote etc.
The more detail you include in your outline, the better off you’re going to be when you actually start writing.
Doing this pre-writing is going to be another tool to keep you focused and moving forward if you get stuck or start to loose focus. Your outline will likely evolve as you start writing, but it will at least provide a guide through the wilderness that is the middle of your book.
Fourth, plan for the act of writing: When are you going to write? Where? How often or for how long? Block time on your calendar, and set goals like word counts or page counts for your writing sessions to keep you focused.
The most common reason writers fail to finish books is that they get overwhelmed and lose focus at some point in the process, or they fail to make the writing time a priority. But if you have a plan like this one, you’ll always have tools and a path to keep you on track toward your objective.
(If you want help writing your non-fiction book outline, we can help! Check out our new Book Outline Program.)