The markdown template I use on new book projects. For a short explanaition chekc https://diegocarrasco.com/writing-useful-books-template/
There are 2 types of motivations according to the book.
Fill the table with your notes.
| Emotional motivations | Description | Personal Note | Does this apply to this book? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginnings | to explore, plant a flag and build a reputation in an interesting space where the author intends to remain | ||
| Closure | to capture the lessons from some stage of life, allowing the author to move on | ||
| Impact | to spread important knowledge beyond the author´s direct reach | ||
| Curiosity | to spend the time researching, wrestling with, and deeply understanding an irresistible topic | ||
| Craft | the author simply love the act of writing or teaching |
| Financial goal | ||
|---|---|---|
| Freedom with royalties | ||
| Increased earnings via reputation | ||
| Entrepreneurship via audience-building |
Profitability: all models above are profitable depending on what you want to achieve.
What is the Promise of your non-fiction book? Be clear enough about your book promise so that people can decide they don't need it.
It may seem counterintuitive to try to drive potential readers away. But good books receive bad reviews after making too broad of a promise and luring the wrong people into buying.
- Rob Fitzpatrick, page 13 of "Write Useful Books"
(write your answer here)
What should the reader expect to learn?
(write your answer here)
To decide on which people should not read a book is as important as deciding who should read it. Why? Because, if you explain the foundations of a topic, an expert will not find the same content as a beginner as interesting. And, if you go for the advanced explanations, the beginner will not understand that and won't get any value from your work. There is a context for each potential reader, and we, as authors, should tell them beforehand if it makes sense for them to invest their time and money in reading our work, or if it isn't the best match right now. And the best way to do that is to clearly explain who the book is for and who is it not for.
(write your answer here)
(write your answer here)
the range of a subject covered by a book, programme, discussion, class, etc.
- Cambridge Dictionary
According to the book, the scope of the book is
... it's like the executive summary of a new business. It's an as-brief-as-possible description of what it is, who is it for, and why they'll pay for it.
As a formula, it is:
scope = Promise + reader profile + who it´s not for + what it won´t cover (plus recommend-ability and longevity)
(write your answer here)
- what is your reader trying to achieve by reading your book and what will change for him/her after reading it?
- what does your ideal reader already know? (Which means you should not explain it again).
- Who is your book not for and what will it not do?
- desirable: readers want what the book is promising.(see Clear Promise above)
- effective: the book delivers real results for the average reader
- engaging: the book it´s front-loaded with value, has high value-per-page, and feels rewarding to read. In other words, it does not have filled to make the page or word count higher that it needs it to be to explain something.
- polished: the book is professionally written and presented
This makes sense. It takes time and energy to write a book, and you don't want to have the need to update it every year,do you?
- pick a promise that will remain relevant and important for 5+ years
- avoid over reliance on temporary tools, trends, and tactics that are likely to become outdated