You might think that planning your book is what you need to do before you start writing.
You might even have several book plans, scribbled out on pieces of scrap paper, or in notebooks (having a notebook makes you feel like a real writer, doesn’t it?).
And if you’re anything like me, you’ll have gotten stuck on the planning stage.
There’s a reason for that, and I’m going to go into it in this blog post, and if you DO get stuck on knowing just how to plan out your book, I’ve got something for you at the end that can help you with both of these things.
So! Let’s get right into it.
What should you do before you plan your book?
It’s super simple, but as a working editor, it’s scary how often this is forgotten:
Know, and connect with, your reader.
Yep, I’m serious. People forget to do this all.the.time.
Know your reader.
Know them really, really, REALLY well.
Then relate to them.
I can hear you groaning from here, but it’s true! The internet is full of people saying we need to know our audience: marketers, writers, copywriters, editors… everyone!
And guess what? There’s a reason for it!!
It WORKS!
It’s something that we all “know” we should do… but somehow, we just don’t.
Or we think we have done it, which can be a little more dodgy and can totally derail an otherwise wonderful book.
There’s nothing worse than reading something that almost hits the mark and then…doesn’t.
FYI, that kind of thing is a huge turnoff for your actual, real, bonafide Ideal Reader.
What you want to do is connect with them so that they feel you understand them.
Their secret fears, their troubles, their heart.
It’s how you get your reader to stay with you from the very beginning of your book, right to the very end.
When they feel understood, they stick around.
How do you do this?
If you’re writing a non-fiction book, chances are you’re trying to help someone.
They will have a very specific problem that you’re solving.
This is true, even if you’re fuzzy on it yourself.
Trust me on this: the clearer you are on exactly what problem you’re solving for someone by writing your book, the easier it will be to actually connect to, and write to, your ideal reader.
Now, I call your ideal reader your Most Treasured Reader, because when you find someone for whom your work is perfect… THAT’S who you need to write to.
Write to them as though they’re the only one who will ever read your work.
As though you’re helping them, personally, through whatever it is that you can do.
And write as though you treasure them. Relate to them as though they’re THE person, the one in the whole world, who desperately needs what you’ve got to say.
The great thing about connecting in this way to your Most Treasured Reader (or MTR, for those playing at home) is that it takes you out of the ego-space of being an Author-bestowing-knowledge-on-people, and into the space of service, of being helpful.
And THAT will do more to make your book relatable than any amount of expertise or qualifications that you can muster up to list under your author bio.
If you’re having trouble connecting to your Most Treasured Reader, or want to know if you’ve done it right… then take a look at The Only 4 Book Templates You’ll Ever Need: start and finish your non-fiction book fast.
It’s a helpful guide to getting all the bits and pieces in place to write a book easily and quickly.
Get the lowdown on exactly what you need to do to get a book right, from the very beginning with a 60-page ebook takes you through the elements of modern non-fiction.
You also get fillable PDF templates and worksheets – including a whole section on your MTR – that you can download and fill in again and again, however many times you need to.
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