Nonfiction Ink

Much of the process of completing a manuscript is in the preparation, not the actual writing. When you have a solid foundation for your nonfiction project the writing component is more efficient and effective.

BENEFITS OF CREATING AN OUTLINE
According to a study conducted by McLuhan and Davies, a consulting firm specializing in communications training, “Efficient writers spend 40% of their time planning, 25% of their time writing, and 35% of their time revising. Less efficient writers spend more time on their projects – tinkering and wandering – and are less satisfied with the results. Less efficient writers distribute their time 20% planning, 60% writing, and 20% revising.”

Developing an outline will:

• Provide a detailed blueprint to follow during the writing stage
• Enable you to write efficiently in manageable portions
• Help ensure a logical flow of information

THE DETAILED CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER OUTLINE

The detailed book outline begins with formulating and organizing your ideas to create a broad table of contents (see The Easiest Way To Organize Your Book and Organizing Your Nonfiction Book for a review of those steps).

Once you have your list of chapters (with titles for each), expand upon each chapter’s main point by adding topics and sub-topics (and even dividing sub-topics into additional sub-categories), and include sidebars, examples, how-to instructions, checklists, or case studies where appropriate.

Chapter 1: Main Topic

1. Main Topic 1
A. Sub-Topic 1
B. Sub-Topic 2
i. Sub-Category A
ii. Sub-Category B
C. Sub-Topic 3
2. Main Topic 2
A. Sub-Topic 1
i. Sub-Category A
ii. Sub-Category B
a. Example
b. Sidebar
iii. Sub-Category C
B. Sub-Topic 2
C. Sub-Topic 3
D. Sub-Topic 4
i. Sub-Category A
E. Sub-Topic 5
i. Sub-Category A

Creating a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline for your book allows you to easily write from topic to topic and complete a first draft. Want to view a sample detailed chapter outline? Attached is one I created for my book The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent.

The Table of Contents (TOC) is the backbone and sales tool of your nonfiction book.  It is a powerful organizing and marketing tool.

Most readers base their purchase decision on a book’s cover and the Table of Contents.  They want to know exactly what to expect – what will they learn, how will they feel, do they need the information, does it work, will they like the writing style, will they understand the material – in other words, is this book the right fit?

USE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS TO ANSWER READER’S QUESTIONS
Potential readers will look to a Table of Contents to answer their questions about a book:

• Does the information work, will I achieve the goal?  Include anecdotes, case studies, and success stories in the TOC
• Will I be able to understand the content or steps necessary? Include diagrams, charts, maps, and images.
• What will I learn? Include detailed sub-headings for each chapter.
• Do I need the information? Use keywords to inform the reader why the information is pertinent.  For instance, ‘CAN-SPAM Laws Can Kill Your Business’, ‘How to Avoid Foreclosure and Save Your Home’, or “Why You Need To Understand The Recession To Stay Employed’

HOW TO OUTLINE AN EFFECTIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Organize the overall flow of the content
How-To and Self-Help books have an intrinsic step-by-step outline built into them, making outlining an easy task.  Your content will do one of the following: lead readers through practical exercises and techniques to develop specific skills, or guide them through the evolutionary stages of a process while addressing ways to overcome challenges, or solve a reader’s problem by walking them through a step-by-step system.  Successful outlines organize the book’s main points, so write down the most important ideas, steps, techniques or skills you will present to the reader.  Now you can break the topics into individual chapters.

2. Organize Chapters into Sections and Subsections
After brainstorming or mind-mapping the topics for inclusion in each chapter, select those that represent major themes to create chapter sections. For each chapter outline, ask yourself:

• Does each section belong in this chapter?
• Should any information be moved to another section?
• Is any information duplicated? (duplicated information should be eliminated)
• Am I missing any important ideas that should be included?

3. Create Compelling and Informative Chapter Titles and Subtitles
Titles reveal the overall structure and style of your book as well as convey promises and benefits.  The most effective titles are two-part: an intriguing title accompanied by a descriptive subtitle. If you use witty or whimsical chapter titles, always attach a more specific tagline so the reader has a clear understanding of the information they will find in those pages.

Compelling two-part chapter titles from Modern Traditions, a how-to book on weddings:
Chapter 6: Angels on Horseback – Wedding Transportation
Chapter 8: Walking Among The Stones – Ceremony Décor
Chapter 11: Cattails and Harvest Wheat – Setting the Table

4. What to do with extra information
After finishing your outline you may find you have more information that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere.  If you determine the information is important and should be included in the manuscript, consider creating an appendix, breaking up the information into smaller chunks for sidebars, or including a Q&A section at the end of each chapter.

Frank Catalano and Bud Smith created an extensive Table of Contents outline for their book, Internet Marketing For Dummies that effectively answers potential reader’s questions:

Part I: Getting Started with Internet Marketing

Chapter 1: Getting Net-Savvy
Marketing on the Internet
Introducing the Web
E-mail and mail lists: Unsung online heroes
Newsgroups: The threat and the promise
America Online and online services
Online advertising
Wireless access
Do You Need to Market on the Internet?
Finding Your Online Market
Internet user profile
Working in the Online World

Chapter 2: Market Size Matters
Using Internet Marketing Resources
Building up your bookmarks
Search tips and tricks
Following the experts
Sizing Up a Market
Identifying customer characteristics
Customer characteristics and the Internet
Sizing up the competition

Chapter 3: Your Internet Marketing Plan
Assessing Your Overall Marketing Effort
Assessing current company-level marketing efforts
Internet marketing at the company level
Assessing current product marketing efforts
Marketing your product on the Net
Net marketing for the sole proprietorship
Matching Your Customer Base to the Online Community
What if my business is local?
What if my business is global?
Assessing Your Competitors’ Net Work
Creating a comparison chart
Using your completed chart
Sizing up your Net-only competition
Sizing Your Internet Marketing Effort
Creating a Written Plan
Implementing Your Internet Marketing Plan

Chapter 4:Mastering Your Domain
Choosing an ISP for Online Marketing
Discovering How Domain Names Work
Breaking down domain names
The competition for domain names
Why domain names are so important
Possible new domain names
Choosing Your Domain Name(s)
Domain name follies
Good and bad domain names
Choosing a company domain name
What if you’re local?
Registering Your Domain Name(s)
Registering your domain name yourself
Having an ISP or Web-hosting service register your domain name for you

Part II: Marketing on the World Wide Web

Chapter 5:Planning a Business Web Site
Guiding Principles for Business Sites
Specifying Your Site Content
Creating a Look and Feel for Your Site
Having Your Site Done for You
Getting engaged
Projecting your management style
Beating the wrap-up

Chapter 6:Creating a Basic Web Site
Deciding Whether to Do it Yourself
Steps to creating a site
Who does the work?
Putting it all together
Creating a Web Page
Should you do it?
How to do it
Making Smart Graphics

Chapter 7:Marketing on Your Web Site
Your Web Site as a Marketing Vehicle
Coordinating your Web site with your overall marketing plan
Designing your Web marketing effort
Marketing Information on Your site
Understanding the vital role of press releases
Putting product information online
Telling Web surfers where to buy
News on Your site

Chapter 8:Getting the Most out of Your Web Site
Gathering Information about Site Visitors
Techniques for gathering visitor information
Uses for visitor data
Improving Your Site
Getting Found with Search Engines
Registering for Yahoo!
Getting found by active search engines
Publicizing Your Site
Developing an effective publicity strategy
Expanding your publicity efforts

Part III: Marketing with E-Mail

Chapter 9:E-Mail Marketing 101
E-Mail: The Common Denominator
Basic E-Mail Netiquette
The Elements of E-Mail Marketing Style
Write “dressy casual”
Be polite
Don’t be afraid to be forwarded
Making Every E-mail Do Its Share

Chapter10: E-Mail by the Pallet
Processing E-Mail by the Pallet
Planning for the flood
The 24-hour rule Delivering E-Mail by the Pallet
Creating an e-mail mailing list
Creating the right message
Getting the mechanics right
Spam: Cons and a Few Pros
Why spam offends
Avoiding the spammer level

Chapter11: Building Community wit E-Mail Lists
What’s an E-Mail List?
Subscribing to an e-mail list
Variations on an e-mail list
Finding and Using the Right E-Mail Lists
Benefits of participating in an e-mail list
Participating in discussion lists
Creating Your Own E-Mail List
Benefits of creating an e-mail list
Determining which type of list to start
Setting up a simple list server
Maintaining Your E-Mail List
Promoting Your E-Mail List

Part IV: Even More Internet Marketing

Chapter12: Speaking Up with Discussion Groups and Chat
Understanding Usenet Newsgroups
News over the “back fence”
Organized side-to-side and top-down
Setting Up a Newsgroup Reader
Finding and Mining Discussion Groups
Finding the right Usenet newsgroups
Finding the right non-Usenet discussion groups
Monitoring discussion groups
Participating in discussion groups
Marketing to Discussion Groups
A Few Words About Chat

Chapter13: Controlling the Message with Internet Advertising
What Are Your Goals?
Driving the Right Ad Vehicle
Banner ads
Site sponsorship
E-mail lists
Search engine keywords
Making the Ad Buy
A few words about words
The purchase process
When to call in a professional

Chapter14: Spreading the Word with Internet PR
Whom Do You Want to Influence?
Targeting the right contacts
Using the right touch
Planning an Internet PR Campaign
Messages are key
Excuse me, did you say something?
Internet PR agency or not?
Getting Your Release Distributed
Ready for release
Putting it on the wire
Tracking Your Released Release
Watching the wires
Pay for play

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter15: Ten Advantages of Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Has Low Barriers to Entry
Internet Marketing Is Informational Marketing
The Online World Enables You to Respond Rapidly
The Internet World Highlights Marketing’s Role
Internet Innovations Are Marketing Opportunities
The Internet Makes Research Easier
The Online World Is Forgiving of Mistakes
The Internet World Is Currently U.S. Centric and English Centric
Internet Marketing Removes Geographic Barriers

Chapter16: Ten Disadvantages of Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Is Different
Internet Bandwidth Is Crowded
Internet Efforts Can Get, Expensive
Online Marketing Doesn’t Reach Everybody
Getting Online Can Be Difficult
The Internet Increases the Pressure on Marketing
Justifying the Cost of Net Marketing Efforts Is Hard
Making Mistakes Online Is Easy
Guilt by Association
The Uncertain Future of the Online World

Chapter17: The Offline Marketing Resources
Crossing the Chasm and Others
Trade Associations
Marketing: An Introduction and Marketing For Dummies
Trade Publications
Statistical Abstract of the United States and America Demographics
News Radio
Anything by Ries and Trout
Any Big Magazine Rack
Permission Marketing
Television Advertising
The Internet Marketing For Dummies Internet Directory

About This Directory
Advertising
Business Owner’s Resources
E-Mail Lists
Government and Law
Marketing
Periodicals Online
Search Engines and Directories
Technology Resources
Web Tools

Framing your story refers to the way you order the narrative so that the elements of your book are presented in the most interesting way.  As a nonfiction writer your job is to construct your frame to steer the story in a specific direction while engaging the reader and creating a degree of suspense.

Your frame must work in harmony with the content of your story.  Your content is the inciting incident, what it is your subject wants, what’s at stake, the conflict he must face and overcome to achieve his goal, how he is transformed by the process, and the ultimate cost for him to succeed.

The frame (or how the content is presented) considers ways the drama of the story is conveyed through scenes, sequences, action, dialogue, tone, pace, style and conflict.

In Part One of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote weaves the timeline of the victims and the killers together, heightening the suspense leading to the tragic murders. Timothy Egan presents the story of The Worst Hard Time in chronological order while inter-cutting modern day reminiscences from survivors – drawing the reader into the devastating emotional consequences.  Mark Bowden recreates the battle of Mogadishu in Black Hawk Down using a narrative that splices together the stories of various individuals in different locations during the combat – keeping the tension high and taking the reader on an action-packed ride.

Robert Evans opens his memoir, The Kid Stays In The Picture, with a compelling scene depicting the premiere of the film “The Godfather” and the end of his marriage to Ali McGraw (the reader is hooked, “Why did his famous wife leave him?  How did he convince Kissinger to attend the premiere the night before a secret mission to Moscow?”), then jumps back in time taking the reader on a journey through his childhood days in New York to his adventurous ups and downs in Hollywood.

How do you determine the best frame for your narrative nonfiction?

1. Read creative nonfiction.  Study how other nonfiction authors arrange their narrative and analyze why it works.
2. Know the story you want to tell.  Set up the elements to serve the narrative.
3. Eliminate unnecessary information (just because you spent months collecting all that research doesn’t mean every little detail should be presented in the book.)
4. Determine your beginning and ending.  What is the most interesting incident you can use to open the story that will keep the reader engaged?  This will most likely revolve around a major action, conflict or resolution.
5. Determine the timeframe of the story you will tell – one week, two days, twenty years.  Will your biography of Lincoln examine the Civil War years, his early years leading to his presidency, or the two weeks prior to his assassination?  Focus on a period of time that allows you to explore your subject and theme in depth.

Keep the reader reading by highlighting key ideas:

1. CREATE HEADINGS & SUBHEADINGS
Use headings and subheadings to summarize the key point or subject matter in each section of a chapter.  Headings call attention to a specific idea, help reinforce the information, and provide a visual reference tool for readers to quickly locate what they are looking for. Effective headings entice readers to continue reading by capturing their interest.  A good heading:

• Describes the content and main idea of that particular section
• Intrigues the reader or makes a promise

“Seven Killer Strategies to Reaching Critical Mass on Twitter” (Twitter Power, Joel Comm with Ken Burge)

“Don’t Listen to Morons Like This” (The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood, Joe Eszterhas)

2. USE BULLET POINTS
Bullet points are visually arresting, they are like a magnet immediately drawing the reader’s eye and alerting them to the fact that “Hey, this is important stuff”.  Bulleted lists also help readers easily reference the material later.

3. ADD SIDEBARS
Sidebars provide the reader with additional information that’s quick to find and easy to read.  Sidebars may contain quotes, anecdotes, case studies, lists, tips, questions, statistics, instructions, references, quick advice, etc.

4. INCLUDE PULL QUOTES
A pull quote (also known as a lift-out quote or a call-out) is a quotation or an excerpt from the main content that is ‘pulled out’ and placed in a larger typeface on the same page.  A good ‘pull quote’ will lure readers to that specific key point and get them interested in the topic.

5. INSERT AN ICON OR SYMBOL
The For Dummies series is known for their use of icons to quickly highlight important information: a target with an arrow (Tip), a hand with a string tied to a finger (Remember), a bomb with a lit fuse (Warning!).  Think of ways you might include symbols in your book.

The structure of a book is like a roadmap that guides the reader to the destination.  If a book’s structure meanders, a reader may become lost – they may fail to understand the importance of the information presented, and in the end, the impact of the story is diminished.

The key to a strong structure is creating a logical flow.  How does the writer do that?

• You must have a thorough understanding of your subject and the purpose of your book.
• You must know your reader – what the reader already knows, what he needs to know, and the order in which he needs to know it to achieve the goal of the book.

Let’s look at how author Lisa Sabin-Wilson structured the topics for her book “WordPress For Dummies”:

Part I: Introducing WordPress
Chapter 1: What WordPress Can Do for You
Chapter 2: Blogging Basics
Part II: Using the WordPress Hosted Service
Chapter 3: Getting Started with WordPress.com
Chapter 4: Writing and Managing Your Blog
Chapter 5: Enhancing Your Blog with Themes, Widgets, and Upgrades
Part III: Self-Hosting with WordPress.org
Chapter 6: Setting Up Blogging Base Camp
Chapter 7: Understanding the WordPress.org Administration Panel
Chapter 8: Establishing Your Blog Routine
Chapter 9: Typing Up Templates
Chapter 10: Making the Most of WordPress Plugins
Chapter 11: Designing Your Blog
Part IV: Going Multi-User with WordPress
Chapter 12: Implementing WordPress
Chapter 13: Managing Your WordPress
Chapter 14: Maintaining WordPress
Part V: Flexing and Extending WordPress
Chapter 15: Migrating Your Blog to WordPress
Chapter 16: Beyond Blogging: WordPress as a Content Management System
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 17: Ten Great — and Free — WordPress Themes
Chapter 18: Ten Great WordPress Plugins

The information is organized and presented in a logical order.  The reader learns each step needed to achieve the goal.  The author presents an introduction and basic overview of the application, and then proceeds with installation, set-up, management, and maintenance.  What if she had started with maintenance, then jumped to set-up, and completely skipped the information on installation?  She would have had more than a few confused readers.

Regardless of your nonfiction genre, it is important to ensure your content is structured correctly and your readers are not thrown off-course.

1.     Write down the purpose of your book.  Understanding the purpose of your book will keep you focused on leading the reader to the goal.

2.     Write a list of what your reader already knows.  This will help you determine the scope of your book.  (If you are writing a book on Bookkeeping for Small Businesses, you may assume your readers already have an understanding of basic math and that you don’t need to cover the topic of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

3.     Create a list of everything the reader will know after he has read your book.

4.     Now you can arrange the topics of the list (of everything the reader will learn from your book) in the order that will best facilitate the learning process that leads to achieving the goal.

You’ve just created a logical flow!

Struggling to get your book topics in order and create a chapter outline for your manuscript?  The easiest and quickest way to organize the structure of your book is… drum roll, please… CLUSTERING.

Clustering is a form of word-association or brainstorming.  You may know it as “mind-mapping”.  It is a technique that allows you to get information inside your head out onto a piece of paper so you can visualize your thoughts.  It is a powerful tool to in preparing to write and organize your book.

When clustering, you quickly write all the words and phrases you associate with a specific keyword or key-phrase.

Here is my NO-NONSENSE, SIMPLE METHOD FOR CLUSTERING:

1. Get a large, blank piece of paper (oversized construction paper works best).
2. In the center of the paper, print your book topic   Draw a circle around the keyword or phrase. (For example, if you are writing a book on the topic of marketing your business using the Internet, you might use the key-phrase: “Internet Marketing”).
3. Moving quickly, draw a dash-line from your key word and scribble down the first word or phrase that pops into your mind (for example, “social networking”). Circle the word or phrase.
4. Now draw a dash-line from that word and jot down the next word that comes to mind (for example, “Twitter”).
5. Repeat this process until you’ve run out of word associations.
6. Now, return to your keyword or key-phrase and repeat the exercise.
7. Continue clustering until have created 10 to 15 sub-topics, each with several sub-sub-topics.

They key is to move quickly through the process, without censoring yourself or thinking about what you are doing – just let the creativity flow.

When you’ve finished, put your cloud-cluster diagram aside.  Review it later and extrapolate the topics, sub-topics, and sub-sub-topics that will make up the content of your book.

Congratulations!  You have just created your CHAPTER OUTLINE.

All the elements in your book flow from the subject you are writing about.  Whether you are writing a traditional print book or a digital eBook there are standard elements you will want to incorporate into the structure of your manuscript.  Prior to creating a detailed outline, you can start preparing to write your book by selecting which elements you will include in your book and organizing those elements into a binder.

Most books are divided into three main parts: front matter, text, and back matter

FRONT MATTER
The front matter is all of the material that is placed at the beginning of the book, before the first chapter.

TESTIMONIALS
Endorsements or excerpts from positive reviews are placed first as they have been shown to significantly increase sales.

TITLE PAGE
Lists the complete title of the book and the name of the author

COPYRIGHT PAGE
Probably the most important page in the book – and not optional!  This is where you print the copyright notice, the printing history (the number of printings and revisions), the Library of Congress Catalog number, the ISBN, name and address of the publisher, and the printing location (for example, printed in the United States of America).

DEDICATION PAGE
A place to list the person to whom you are dedicating the book (for my loyal companion, Fluffy).

EPIGRAPH PAGE
Includes a quotation that sets the tone of the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lists each chapter number and title and the page number where each chapter begins.  Your table of contents is a powerful selling tool.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Most books do not include a list of illustrations unless the book contains many images or charts.

FOREWORD
The foreword contains comments about the book and the author written by a recognized authority or celebrity.

PREFACE
The preface is written by the author and explains why and how he or she wrote the book.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A place to thank everyone who contributed or supported the writing of your book.

INTRODUCTION
The introduction is written by the author and defines and outlines the organization and scope of the work.

PERMISSIONS
Lists permissions received for reprinting any copyrighted material (such as song lyrics).

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Usually only included in dense technical books.

TEXT
The text section is the main body of the book.

CHAPTERS AND DIVISIONS
The book’s chapters and divisions should be carefully arranged in a way that best presents the information to the reader.  Chapters may contain additional elements, such as: subheadings, lists, sidebars, case histories or anecdotal stories, quizzes, checklists, exercises, charts, tables, footnotes, or photographs.  Narrative nonfiction will also include scenes and dialogue.

BACK MATTER
The back matter is reference material placed at – you guessed it – the back of the book.

AFTERWORD / EPILOGUE
The section usually contains a personal message from the author to the reader wishing them luck in using the information presented in the book.

APPENDIX
May contain samples, templates, resources, checklists and a recommended reading list related to your subject.

GLOSSARY
An alphabetical listing of terms used in the book along with their definitions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lists reference material or sources used to write the book

INDEX
The index provides an alphabetical list of the topic covered in the book and the page where the subject is mentioned.  Creating an index for your book is important.  It helps readers locate specific information in the text.  Most libraries will not purchase a book that does not contain an index.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A short paragraph listing biography information about the author.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I will discuss Fair Use in Creative Works.

Why do so many promising nonfiction books fail to connect with an audience, even with a large publishing house behind them and an extensive marketing effort? Often, the answer is the writer didn’t understand what the audience wanted and failed to deliver.

Not understanding potential readers’ needs and expectations frequently leads to disaster. By knowing your demographic and what you have to offer as the author, you will formulate and write a manuscript that will be well-received by readers.

As you begin to organize and plan your book, visualize your potential reader. Who will read your book? Why will they read the book? Answering the following questions will help you focus on writing for your readers.

WHAT IS YOUR AUDIENCE’S LANGUAGE-SKILL & EDUCATIONAL LEVEL?
If you use “big” words or mathematical algorithms in your writing, then your reader needs to be someone who is educated, preferably with a college-degree who reads literature and/or scientific journals. This is not the ‘general public’. Usually, it’s best to write in easy-to-understand layman’s terms.

WHAT IS YOUR AUDIENCE’S TECHNICAL-SKILL LEVEL?
If you are writing for the ‘general public’, you should assume some of your readers will need definitions of technical terms. You may wish to include a glossary to explain complex terminology.

WHAT ARE YOUR READER’S EXPECTATIONS?
Is your reader expecting to be entertained or informed? Do they expect to learn a new skill by reading your how-to manual or are they expecting to enjoy an afternoon on the beach reading your celebrity exposé? When someone purchases a humor book, they expect it to be funny and when they purchase “Auto Repair for Dummies”, they expect to learn how to fix their car. The writer needs to deliver on the reader’s expectations.

WHAT DOES YOUR READER WANT TO ACHIEVE?
Is she a first-time mother desiring information about pregnancy or a college-student needing a historical perspective of Civil War battles? It is imperative that you understand what your reader wants or needs in order to effectively provide it.

WHAT DO THEY NEED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE IT?
How will you solve your reader’s needs? What is the information, steps, recipes, tools, etc. that must be presented in order for the reader to achieve his need or desire? Outline all the necessary details, gather the information, and make sure it’s covered in the book.

WHAT DOES YOUR AUDIENCE ALREADY KNOW?
By understanding what your audience already knows about your subject, you can focus your content on what they don’t know – creating valuable material and a worthwhile reading experience.

HOW WILL THE MATERIAL BE RECEIVED?
Are you preaching to the choir or trying to persuade skeptics of your philosophy? Do you need to overcome reader’s objections or simply convey information to loyal supporters? Understanding how your material will be received will help you determine the tone and the expanse of the content. Perhaps you will write in a causal, friendly, one-to-one chat style or perhaps you will find that you need a more formal, expert-advisor tone supported by documented research.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I will provide the Six Secrets to Establish Credibility.