How to Outline a Nonfiction Book

A.K.A How Outlining a Nonfiction Book is like Potty Training a Child

What this post covers:

• A fresh look at outlining

• Six important outlining elements:

  • Audience

  • Central message

  • Setting

  • Characters

  • Tone

  • Length

• The value of outlining

A Fresh Look at Outlining

When I had my first child I thought potty training was a single-focus event: get the kid to use the toilet. Oh, the first-time parenting naïveté. It didn’t take long to realize that potty training is multi-faceted. They have to learn when to hold and when to let go. Then there’s balancing on the toilet, aiming, wiping, putting clothes back on, washing hands… I began to realize that there are many steps between diapers and underwear.

Just like a potty training child, your ideas cannot jump straight from diapers to underwear and be expected to stay dry… ahem, I mean, set the world alight. They have to go through their own training steps, and that is where the outline comes in. For the purposes of our illustration, imagine the amazing, world-altering idea that is forming in your thoughts as the diaper-reliant toddler, and the fully formed, published book as the underwear-wearing child. Just as we walk a child through the elements of potty training, so you are going to walk your book baby through the stages of planning. Grab a pen and paper, if you like to keep it old school, or an electronic device and get ready to plan.

Six Important Outlining Elements

1. Audience: Who are you writing this book for? Write down details such as their age, gender, level of knowledge on your chosen subject, and their reason for choosing to read your book.

2. Central message: What is your reason for writing this book? Hint–think about the end conclusion that you want to lead your readers to and the lessons you want them to learn along the way. This still applies to narrative nonfiction, such as memoirs, as your protagonist will overcome obstacles and impart wisdom from their journey to the reader, albeit in a less direct manner.

3. Setting: This will be more important in narrative nonfiction, but it is still important in prescriptive books, which are those written to teach a reader about a topic. Consider where your story is taking place and when. In prescriptive fiction, you will want to imagine that you are speaking directly to your audience, and then imagine where that conversation is taking place. In a boardroom? In a therapist’s office? Over coffee? Different settings affect the tone of our conversation. More on that to come.

4. Characters: Who are your book’s main characters, and who are the side characters? Some specific details to consider include their age, physical descriptions, character traits, occupation, relationships with others around them, and important events that happened in their lives before your story starts. Again, this sounds like it wouldn’t apply to books that are prescriptive, but it does. An example here will help to make this clear. In a parenting book I recently edited on co-parenting with a narcissistic ex, the author made an intentional choice in the way she talked about the narcissistic ex. In the language she used to refer to the ex in the reader’s life, she held the person accountable for the hurt and damage they were causing but didn’t make them into a monster that was to be hated and vilified. It was very refreshing to see such a fair portrayal of someone who can easily be portrayed as the two-dimensional bad guy.

5. Tone: Do you want to come across as a professional expert, a sympathetic peer, or a fellow learner on their own journey? Do you want the account of your story to be humorous or accessible or high brow? Tone can alienate your readers or draw them to you and your central message. A tone that is appropriate for the memoir of your grandmother’s life will not be appropriate for a business book detailing best practices.

6. Length: What is appropriate for the genre your book will be in? 30,000 words? 60,000? 100,000? Readers who like to read in your genre will go in with expectations of the length. Get to know your genre’s expectations on word count. It’s also worth considering the age of the reader. Readers who are younger will be more likely to need shorter books.

The Value of Outlining

Writing your vision down should bring you lots of excitement. It can help you find motivation to take the first step or to continue to push through when the initial burst of fun has waned because writing a book, like potty training, will go through the hills and valleys of emotions as often as the potty training child will go through an entire toilet paper roll. And that is totally ok and perfectly normal. (Just buy the bulk pack. You’ll thank me later.) You may long to head straight to competency but the training stage is important. It’s good to recognize the stage you’re in and to linger there, letting it fully do its work in you. Give yourself compassion for the journey into competency; learning, making mistakes, redoing, perseverance, overcoming obstacles and setbacks, and receiving correction are all part of the journey and will all grow you in ways you may not have anticipated when your mind first filled with those wonderful ideas.

If you would like some help getting your ideas in order, clarifying your vision, or long to bounce your outline off another person before diving into the writing stage, email me at rebecca@hershbergerediting.com or fill in the form on the Contact page for a free consultation. An editorial critique at this stage, or even in the first draft stage, can be just the right tool you need to elevate your manuscript to bestseller level. Let’s make your words shine!