How To Organize Your Writing
Organizing your writing is a key component to bringing clarity to your work. If it doesn’t make sense to the reader, then they won’t keep reading. But how do you do that?
Starting with organizing it first is usually the best way to keep it consistent throughout. (If you’ve already written and it’s disorganized, don’t worry! I’ll go over that in a bit.)
Remember those graphic organizers that we had to do in school before writing our essays or book reports? Those weren’t just for fun or to create more work. They helped us to categorize our thoughts and points that we wanted to make. If you’re writing a nonfiction book, think of your book proposal as your graphic organizer. It will help guide you along the way and refocus when you get off on a bunny trail (we all do it).
There are many different book proposal templates online, but these are the main elements that will help you:
Title & Subtitle - It can be easy to blow off creating a title when the book isn’t even fully formed in your head yet, in fact that’s exactly what I did. But having your title gives you something concrete to refer back to. Of course you reserve the right to change it as you go to better fit the book if necessary. But starting with a title will give the book direction.
Target Audience - Who are you writing this book for? Who do you hope buys it? It may help to create an avatar, or a made-up person that is the one you think about when you’re writing. Include his/her name, age/stage of life, occupation, likes/dislikes, places he/she shops, interests, etc. TIP: Don’t be too general here. Writers tend to say “I want everyone to read this book!,” when that’s not the reality. Create your avatar and think of it as your first tier audience. Then think about a group that’s a little broader than your avatar, that will be your second tier audience, and one more group that’s a little broader than the second will be your third tier audience. Write/draw these things out.
Comparable Titles - I balked at this when I first saw it in a book proposal. As someone who struggles with comparison and imposter syndrome, I didn’t want to know which books were out there that were like mine. But it’s important to know what’s been written about AND how recently it was published. Look for books that are as similar to yours as possible with at least 500 reviews on Amazon and released within the last 5-7 years.
Felt Need - This is the core of your book. What is the main need of the reader? The reader may be aware of this need or they may not, but your book will meet that need for them. Don’t skimp on this, it’s hard to define the felt need, but it will carry you through the rest of the book. It’s usually found in a phrase or even one word. TIP: When you think you have it, dig a little deeper.
Overview - This is where you describe/summarize your book in one page, one paragraph, and then one sentence. It sounds easy, but it’s more difficult than you’d think. What will your book do for your reader? And how will you do that?
Chapter Titles & Summaries - These may be subject to change, but they will be helpful to start out with. Plan out about how many chapters you’ll need and give a general summary of each. Keep in mind with your summaries that you always want to be thinking about how that chapter refers back to the felt need. Keep the focus on the reader, and how it will help them.
If you are writing a fiction book, here are the elements that will be helpful to start with:
Title & Subtitle - Similar to the nonfiction book, the title drives the story. It may change as the story develops, but it gives you a place to start.
Target Audience - (same as nonfiction) Who are you writing this book for? Who do you hope buys it? It may help to create an avatar, or a made-up person that is the one you think about when you’re writing. Include his/her name, age/stage of life, occupation, likes/dislikes, places he/she shops, interests, etc. TIP: Don’t be too general here. Writers tend to say “I want everyone to read this book!,” when that’s not the reality. Create your avatar and think of it as your first tier audience. Then think about a group that’s a little broader than your avatar, that will be your second tier audience, and one more group that’s a little broader than the second will be your third tier audience. Write/draw these things out.
Plot Line - Remember those plot lines from elementary schools when we were first learning how to write a story? Where you actually drew a line or a mountain to show the progression of the story before you wrote it? We are taking it back to grade school. Everyone may have a different process for fiction writing, for example some people like to start knowing how the book will end and some purposely start writing and let the ideas take them to the end. Whatever the case may be, try and add some key events to this plot line. If you know the climax (the big moment), then add it. If not, add some events along the way.
Character Profiles - Pick your main character(s) and make an avatar for them just like you did for your target audience. This will help you keep their motivation, decisions, thoughts, and interactions in line with their core as you write. Take your time here. Again, this may evolve as you explore the creative process, but truly dive in to who these characters are.
If you have already written part (or all) of your book and you’re finding it confusing or disorganized, my best advice - do a book proposal! This is what happened to me; I had 75% of my book finished before I started a book proposal. But going back in and filling out/thinking through those sections was a huge help to me. I was able to go back in and edit what I’d already done for clarity to make sure it aligned with the book as a whole.
Start with the big picture - what’s the theme and felt need?
Then go chapter-by-chapter, combing through to see if it fits and makes sense within the big theme. If you find parts that don’t fit, create a new document (I usually call mine a “Dump Document”) and cut and paste those stories/quotes/ideas there. No writing is wasted! Keep it there in case it fits somewhere else in the book.
No matter which way you decide to publish - traditional, hybrid, or self publishing - the work of a book proposal will absolutely help you to stay organized. [NOTE: if you’re looking to traditionally or hybrid publish, research the publisher you are going to pitch to for specifics that they will want you to include in your proposal.]
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