Need help with a nonfiction book outline? You have a great idea for your nonfiction book, but getting started can be tough when you don’t have a clear idea of how to organize your content. One way writers take book content ideas and transform them into a workable structure is through the use of a nonfiction book outline.
Many writers choose to just put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard) and start writing – called pantsing in the writer’s world – but organizing your book content into a nonfiction book outline has many benefits. A nonfiction book outline is created with a different mindset than a fiction outline requires, but the work is usually well worth the effort.
Why Writers Love a Nonfiction Book Outline
A nonfiction book outline has a lot going for it so it’s easy to see why writers love using one to help structure and shape nonfiction book content. Here are our five favorite reasons we love using a nonfiction book outline.
- A nonfiction book outline helps writers focus on the big picture first. By looking at the book’s content from start to finish, you can ensure that you have all of the ideas, research and content that you intend to use instead of thinking about the small details. Looking at how you play to lay out your premise, and providing factual data, research, media or other information to support your main idea helps writers to see the whole concept from beginning to end.
- Using a nonfiction book outline helps writers confirm their total thinking on the nonfiction topic before getting started with the actual writing. Looking at your book’s content and train of thought from the first chapter to the final one before you begin can help you see if your logic is sound or if there are holes in your thinking that you need to patch up before you begin writing the book.
- A nonfiction book outline illuminates research strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of research goes into writing a nonfiction book but finding out you are missing key research during the writing process can slow down the momentum of your book’s progress. An outline will show you ahead of time where missing data, support or research needs to be completed or if you have all of the necessary content to begin crafting the first chapter.
- A nonfiction book outline reduces the likelihood of writer’s block. With a complete nonfiction book outline guiding your writing, choosing a topic to write about will be much easier to do. Sometimes words fail us, and we just can’t think of what we want to say on a particular topic, chapter or concept. But if you have a nonfiction book outline, you can move to an area of your book to write about when the mood strikes or when you are struggling to pick up where you left off in your last writing session.
- A nonfiction book outline helps writers stay focused. Looking ahead in your nonfiction book outline helps you to look at the context of the content you are writing by focusing your attention on what needs to be said to move the reader from one topic to the next.
Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your Book
The first step writers need to take is deciding what the overall purpose of their book will be. Ask yourself a few defining questions to help you narrow down your focus and hone in on your purpose.
Who are you writing your book for? Understanding your target audience’s interests, expectations and typical experiences with books will help you to narrow down what your book looks like.
Is your book informative or does it aim to influence or change the opinions of the reader? Purely informative books may utilize more neutral word choices, research from a variety of sources and may either be narrowly focused on a topic or present a comprehensive approach to the topic to give the reader the big picture. If your book’s purpose is to influence the reader to think or feel a specific way about a topic then a balanced approach with research and text may be the best strategy to meet your book’s goals.
Will your book’s purpose be to entertain the reader? While every author likely wants to engage their readers with their writing, books with the express purpose of entertaining the reader may be organized in a different fashion to appeal to their target readers.
How much does your book depend on visual support like photos or graphics to communicate your topic? Considering how you will include these visual elements will help you choose the best organization for your book.
Step 2: Clarify Topics to Include
Once your purpose has been defined, create a complete list of everything you want to include in your manuscript. From factual support, researched data, interviews and other first-hand research to the graphic elements that you will be utilizing to support your nonfiction content. Then, put each topic into an order that helps your message flow through introductory content to support and research to the book’s natural conclusion.
Each of these topics will comprise the chapters of your book, so when you have determined the order, consider which, if any, topics may be grouped with others to present a cohesive chapter within your book. Many topics may require their own chapter while some book content will combine easily with other information to create an interesting chapter.
Step 3: Organize the Three Main Sections
The next phase of creating a nonfiction book outline is to take your chapters and begin writing them. This is best accomplished by looking at your book in three sections: the introduction and preface, the main body of the book and the conclusion and appendices.
Introduction and Preface
The beginning of your book will lay the groundwork for your book’s success. Many authors include a preface to introduce the topic to the reader as well as let the reader know why the topic has value to the reader.
The preface is the author’s opportunity to speak directly to the reader as they demonstrate why the book’s topic is important, how the writer is connected to the topic and why the reader should care about the purpose of the book. Often a writer also includes acknowledgements in the preface of the book, thanking those who helped the writer during the research and writing process of the book.
An introduction is typically either the first chapter or prior to the first chapter as a standalone section. Introductions give the writer an opportunity to explain the necessary elements of the content so the reader will be able to jump into the rest of the book with a little bit of context.
This section will be the location where you hook your readers into the topic, so consider setting the tone of your book here with an intriguing question, a bold statement about the topic or even declaring what you want the reader to get out of the book’s content all with the purpose of building interest in the reader so they will turn the page to discover the truths of your writing.
Conclusion and Appendices
When the majority of your planning of your book’s content is complete, you will want to think about how you leave your reader. The conclusion may be a final chapter or even a separate section, depending on the purpose of your book as well as the target reader’s expectations.
After the final page of your nonfiction book, you may want to include an Appendix to provide complete list of your references that were included in your book. Typically these are organized either in the order in which they appear in your book linked with a footnote number, by page number, by topic or even alphabetically or grouped by content. Depending on the amount of reference material included in your book, choose the organization for your book ‘s appendix that will be most user-friendly for your reader.
Step 4: Review, Refine and Repeat
After the final page has been planned, the revision process should begin. Consider engaging beta readers that are part of your target audience to get feedback before writing your book’s content. While it may seem early to ask for feedback, learning if your organization and content focus resonates with a potential reader is essential to know before you put in the time it takes to write the text of the book itself.
It is much easier to adjust ahead of time to include things you didn’t anticipate before you write your manuscript than doing it afterwards.
Step 5: Transform Your Outline into a Manuscript
The last step is to turn your outline into a nonfiction book is to put pen to paper and write the content by filling in the ideas that your outline provides. Sticking to your proven outline will allow you to focus on delivering quality without excessive distractions during the often-lengthy writing process.
When you have written your final pages, consider hiring a professional editor to help you catch editing mistakes that are easily caught by a trained eye but if missed, can turn off a potential reader. Take the feedback from the editor and your personal edits and revisions and refine your book until you are pleased with your final draft. Once it is completed, partner with a trusted printer like Dazzle Printing to ensure that your printed book will look great and reflect all of your hard work.
