A pinch of planning can prevent a pound or two of rewriting. When most people come to me for coaching, they’re all charged up and chomping at the bit to write. Alas, they haven’t done the most basic planning. It doesn’t take much, but a pinch of planning can make writing your book a much more enjoyable and successful experience.
Writing Your Book is Like Taking a Trip
When you plan a trip, the first thing you decide is where you’re going. After that, you work out some of the essential details about how you’ll get there and what you’ll do once you get there.
Use the same process when you want to write a book. Writing your marketing copy is like picking your destination. Writing a detailed table of contents is like figuring out how to get there and what you’ll do there.
Write the Marketing Copy
Your marketing copy is the short one or two paragraphs that will appear on Amazon or the back or flyleaf of your book. It should tell readers who the book is for, what problem it will solve, and how it will perform that magic.
Your marketing copy will be a constant reminder of the book’s audience and purpose. Review it before every writing session. Use it to guide your editing and revisions. Everything in the book should help your ideal reader solve the problem you promised to solve.
Write the Table of Contents
Think of the table of contents as your road map for writing the book. It will tell you what will come first, what will come next, and so on for the entire book. Give each chapter a title and briefly describe what will be in the chapter.
Your table of contents will help you stay on track as you gather research support and case examples for your points. It will also allow you to see at a glance where you are on the road to finishing your book.
Bottom Line
Writing your marketing copy and table of contents before you start writing the book will help you stay on track and write a book your ideal readers will buy, read, and tell their friends about.
