Use a Guide to Easily Write—and Finish—Your Manuscript

If you are like many nonfiction writers, you haven’t completed your book because writing an entire manuscript feels too daunting. However, a writing guide based on your nonfiction book provides a step-by-step process you can follow and makes the task feel manageable.

Think of a writing guide like a map to get you from the start of your journey to the end. In this case, you are traveling from the beginning to the end of your manuscript. However, you want to produce a manuscript that becomes a marketable nonfiction book—one that sells well in its category once published. A writing guide helps you accomplish both of these goals.

How to Create a Writing Guide

To craft a writing guide, use this six-step process, which has been adapted from my book, The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively. Then use the process each time you sit down to write.

• Create a folder on your computer called “[Your Book Title] Writing Guide.” Place within it the following 3 documents:

1. An overview of your book, including a book pitch, a book description or synopsis, a list of reader benefits (even for fiction)
2. Your book’s table of contents
3. Your book’s chapter summaries—actually chapter-by-chapter synopsis for both fiction and nonfiction (preferred)—or a synopsis (just for fiction)

• Create chapter documents and place them in the Writing Guide folder. Open a document for each chapter. Copy and paste that chapter’s summary, or the section of your synopsis that pertains to it, into the document twice. Leave the first summary intact. For nonfiction, break the second duplicate summary into bullet points or subheadings with spaces in between. (If you find it easier, you can determine what questions you need to answer, what benefits you need to provide, or what solutions your need to provide to address the topics about which you need to write.) For fiction, break the second duplicate summary into scenes, shorter dramatic arcs, or flashbacks. Do so with separate sentences, short phrases or paragraphs with spaces between.

• Before each writing period, open your writing guide and review the first three documents. Do this to remind yourself of the book you want to create and to stay focused on your idea and the promises you are making to readers. In particular, read the pitch to stay focused on your book’s topic or the story you want to tell. Refer to this anytime you feel lost, stuck, or off track. Refer back to the list of benefits to remind yourself of the value readers expect from your book and to be sure you deliver it.
• Write using the bulleted chapter summaries. Open a chapter document. Review the complete summary at the top to remind yourself of the content of that particular chapter. Then, write your chapter moving from bullet point to bullet point, section to section, scene to scene (writing in the space underneath each) until you get to the end of your chapter.

• Reread your chapter summary or synopsis. When done, skim over your draft chapter and determine if you achieved all your stated goals. Did you cover everything in the summary? If not, make notes on what you left out so you can add those points in your second draft.

• Return to your “[Book Title] Writing Guide.” Reread the pitch, book description, and list of benefits and consider whether during your writing period you delivered on the promise of the entire book in this particular chapter.

Use this guide to easily and quickly write your book. With the process, you craft a marketable manuscript as well. Leave me a comment to tell me about your results.