You are ready to start writing—your desk is ready with pens and highlighters and sticky notes. You’ve cleared your schedule and everyone knows not to disturb you. Where do you start? It feels good to write, but you’re not sure where you’re headed. Just as you prepare your area and your schedule for the writing process, you need to prepare your road map for writing success.
Join me in this session as I talk about one of the greatest tools you could ever develop for your writing—and it’s not AI. A strong book outline reflects your deepest level of thinking as you shape and clarify your book’s message. It’s your deep dive into your core message and who you’re writing to.
If you have a passion to write a compelling book and need direction on how to get started—and lay a solid foundation for quality and impact—this episode is for you.
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How to write a strong outline (and why you need one) | Episode 257 Transcript
These transcripts were generated by robots, not writers.
Stacy: I have been getting so many bad AI outlines lately that I feel it is my duty to tell you what a good outline includes and to help you understand the importance of an outline. So first of all, think of your outline as a thought journey. It’s really important that your outline is done by your brain, not by a robot. It’s so important because your outline represents the depth of think that leads to all of the things that will organize your book. Not to mention helping this feel really anchored and like something that is deeply meaningful to you as an author.
Stacy: So when you skip or shortchange certain pieces of your book journey, including creating your outline, you’re really missing out on an opportunity to grow, to clarify your ideas, and to create a truly meaningful book that you are proud to share with the world. So with that said, I’m not going to detail the process of creating an outline today, but I do want you to understand what are some of the components of a great book outline.
Stacy: All focused on building a life that is beyond better. Before I jump in though, I should introduce myself so you know who you are listening to, who you are taking advice from, if you’re new to my work, if you’re new to my YouTube channel or my podcast. So hello, I am Stacy Ennis. I am a nonfiction book strategist and coach. I’m also an award winning best selling author. I have written, co authored and ghostwritten 18 books. I’m working on number 19 right now and impacted one well over 100 books throughout 17 years. 17 Years in publishing. It’s been my life’s work. This thing that I’m telling you about, I’m teaching you about since I was 7. It’s been what I have been in love with books and writing all the way through my master’s in writing and editing.
Stacy: So I know a thing or two about book outlines and I want to help you make a better outline for your book and really support your author journey. So we have established that the outline is a result of deep thinking. I really encourage you not to use any AI in the ideation stage of your book outline. I know it’s so different from what you hear out there, isn’t it the AI is so useful. It’s such a great thought partner. Hold on. Because we have not had AI for the thousands of years that we have been producing storytelling and books. In fact, I think I looked it up recently. 30,000 Years of stories being documented and passed down and then, you know, eventually written and read and mass distributed. So you don’t need it. Okay? You just don’t need it. Your brain works just fine.
Stacy: And also it can really shortchange the journey for you. I am going to link to an episode I did recently on AI because I don’t really want to talk about it anymore today. But if you want to know more about my perspective and some of the ethics and the legal reasons why you shouldn’t use AI at certain stages and why you should, or at least you could consider it at others, be sure to watch that video or listen to that episode. Now let’s dive into the five key components of an outline. First and foremost is your core message. Now think of this as your through line, much like in a play or any great work. It has connective tissue. It has that guiding message that goes from first word to last word.
Stacy: And it’s the thing that should really guide all of your decision making as you write your book. The core message is a result of a lot of work, a lot of sorting and a lot of thinking. And it’s very important. It’s a critical part of your outline. Of course, you will have things like a book overview, some key takeaways, but the other thing that your outline should have is a clear definition of your work. One, one reader. So not, you know, my book is for everyone. If your book is for everyone, it’s for no one. And the, as we say in publishing, the riches are in the niches. So you want to get super clear now that one reader represents your broader reader group. So it’s really important to do the thinking and the deep exploration to refine and define who that reader is.
Stacy: Next is solid architecture. And this is a few things. So this is how you sequence the chapters. It’s the narrative arc. Also, depending on the type of book you’re writing, it can be the information arc, it can be the emotional arc. I often think in, you know, in prescriptive nonfiction or more, you know, even big idea books, you’re thinking of the intensity arc. So how are you building for the reader what you’re giving them? And that should also follow a similar arc to a narrative arc, the kind that you learned in high school. So this is really important to clarify and define and order your chapters, architect them in a way that is effective and will end up with a really solid book. Next is full planning. So I’m not talking about a few bullet points and you’re like, I’m good.
Stacy: I can write the book. No, no. We create in my programs, in my coaching, in my self study course, you create a detailed roadmap for your book. This is so important. I cannot stress this enough. I have had so many authors come to me and go, stacy, when I started the outlining process, I really didn’t want to follow what you said. It was a lot of work and I just wanted to start writing. I was itching to write, but I am so glad I did it because they get to the 20,000 word abandonment point, the place where a lot of authors just jump ship and don’t finish their books and they have a map. It’s so important. And lastly, this is really important. It’s not a practical thing. It’s a mindset.
Stacy: You need to have a mindset of flexibility because there is only so much that you can uncover about the book before you start writing. So with an outline, we plan to the level needed, but we REM open. As an example, you might plan out chapter four and have a really great sense of how it might evolve or how it might be written. And then you get there and you’re like, this is two chapters. Or maybe you get to chapter eight and you realize this is actually chapter nine. I need to swap them. So there’s a lot of things that you will discover through the writing process. It doesn’t mean you did your outline wrong. It just means that you’re discovering your book. And sometimes that means making changes along the way. The way. So that’s it.
Stacy: Those are my five key components of a great book outline. And I would love to remind you that a book outline originates from your head. It’s fueled by your heart. And creating an outline is part of the transformative journey of authorhood. I hope this was really helpful for you. If you’re new to me or maybe you’ve been watching or listening to my content for a long time, but you haven’t yet subscribed to be sure to subscribe. Not only will it make sure that you will get new content that will support your author journey, but it’s like a little thing you can do for me to help me help more people, reach more people with the education around authorhood. And also on my podcast, I talk a lot about living a life that’s not just better, but beyond better.
Stacy: I really see authorhood as part of living your best, most purposeful, most joyful life. And I hope that if you’re on your author journey, my content is encouraging for you. I want to thank, as always, Rita Dominguez for her production of my podcast for my YouTube channel. She is amazing and I am so grateful. Without her, I honestly don’t know what I would do. She makes it all happen and get out into the world. I just get to come talk and I will be back with you before you know it.
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