Welcome to Step 2 in my BUILD AN EBOOK series. If you missed the introduction and Step 1, just click one of the buttons at the bottom of this page to find those. Also, if you are new to this series of articles, I’m building an ebook myself as we work through these steps together.
In Step 2, you are going to start giving your ebook some structure. Most authors will tell you that the first building block of a book is an outline. So in Step 2 we’re going to create a rough outline and brainstorm a title. Neither of these will be set in concrete. We’re just rough drafting to create some structure.
FIRST, CREATE AN OUTLINE
Here is a sample outline of an ebook outline to get you started:
I. Preface – You could include parts of your answers to the questions in Step 1[LINK] here. The preface should give the reader concise but important clues as to why you wrote the book and what’s in it for them. Propel them into the Introduction with anticipation!
II. Introduction – This section expands what you included in the preface. You tell your reader not only what they can expect to discover or learn but also what transformation will take place as they read your ebook. The transformation might even just be new joy from reading fun stories. But tell them what your hopes are for them.
III. Chapters – Just a tiny snippet of your expected content for each chapter will work for your outline. And I really do mean a tiny snippet. Most of this will change as you write/edit your content. This is just a rough draft.
IV. Conclusion – Wrap it all up here by referring back to your introduction. Remind the reader of what your goal was for their transformation as they read your ebook.
V. Credits and/or Acknowledgements – If you used content from ANY source other than your own creative mind, whether text, intellectual, or visual, you must give credit here. I use a lot of public domain content but still give credit to the original when I can find it. Be kind and generous with crediting your sources.
The Outline for My Ebook
Here’s my ebook outline with my notes:
I. Preface – Write here about how this book grew from a year’s worth of “One Story Wednesday” emails with story writing prompts for each week. Include personal notes about how the prompts also helped me to reconnect with my childhood memories.
II. Introduction – Expanding on the content in the preface, tell the reader what they can expect and how to use the book for their personal or family story writing. Let them know that you’ll be giving them instructions to start on smart ways to write and curate their stories for sharing with family.
III. Chapter 1 – Here I’ll write a “before you start” lesson on the different options for writing and storage. I’ll talk about the importance of considering who will be reading their stories in the future and how they will want to access them.
IV. Chapters 2 – 54 – Each of these chapters will have one of the story prompts from the year-long “One Story Wednesday” program. In addition to the prompt there will be examples from my own life and others, challenging questions and bonus tips on how to add to that story with photos and more.
V. Conclusion – Wrap up with encouragement to “get started” and also make sure the reader knows that writing even just one family story is worth their time.
VI. Credits and/or Acknowledgements – Pull this content from the Google doc where I have been compiling this data as I write each chapter.
NEXT, BRAINSTORM A TITLE
I can’t ever use the word “brainstorm” without remembering a funny moment from my days writing articles for an antiques and collectibles trade newspaper. I was pushing a deadline and trying to spend some quiet time off on my own while my young children were playing. But, of course my 4-yr-old came into the room and asked me what I was doing. I said, “Brainstorming on what I should write for this article.” She took that information and ran to tell her brother that “Mommy has a storm in her brain.”
So hopefully this step won’t cause a storm in your brain, but seriously just take a few minutes and write out some possible titles for your ebook. Think about how your title will look on the cover and also how it will sound when you are writing about it in marketing materials. We’ll talk more about the title in Step 7 because by then you’ll have written all the chapters and have a much better idea of what to use.
For this step, just create an easy-to-use working title.
My Working Title From the Storm in My Brain
I’m almost 100% convinced that this title is too simplistic, but now the working title is “One Story At A Time.” I’ll let you know in Step 7 what I’m using for the actual title. I’m hoping that it will more accurately convey the contents of the book – 52 easy-to-follow story prompts that will help you create stories to share with your family and future generations.
In my next post, I’ll tell you about Step 3 where you’ll dig into the hard labor of this process. Buckle up!
Until then,
You can follow this process right here on my site or in my social feeds:
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