Know your readerThe promise every book makes
Every book begins as a promise to a particular reader. Before you outline a single chapter, write down who that reader is, what keeps them up at night and what they will be able to do when they close the book.
Most first-time authors skip this step because it feels obvious. It never is. A clear reader turns a pile of ideas into an argument, and an argument is what makes a non-fiction book worth finishing.
Write the promise down
Think of the manuscript as a meal you are serving. Each chapter is a course, and each course should leave the reader ready for the next one rather than full and sleepy.
Who is the reader?
What do they want?
What stands in their way?
Exercise: Describe your reader in one paragraph without using the word "everyone".
The work is slower than you expect at the start and faster than you expect at the end. Protect the early weeks; that is when the shape of the book is decided.1
Think of the manuscript as a meal you are serving. Each chapter is a course, and each course should leave the reader ready for the next one rather than full and sleepy.
A book is a conversation with a reader you will never meet.
Most first-time authors skip this step because it feels obvious. It never is. A clear reader turns a pile of ideas into an argument, and an argument is what makes a non-fiction book worth finishing.
- A rule of thumb from many working authors, not a law. ↩