Worksheets for your nonfiction book

Worksheet

Your objectives

1. After reading my book, the reader will be able to ________ that they could not before.
2. The problem my book solves for the reader is ________.
3. My primary objective for myself is ________. I will know it worked when ________.
4. My secondary objective (optional) is ________.
5. My champagne moment is: "When ________."

Worksheet

Your primary reader

1. My reader's name (real or invented) and situation: ________.
2. The problem that would make them buy this book today: ________.
3. What they have already tried: ________.
4. The result they want, in their words: ________.
5. Five real people who fit this description: ________.
6. Three questions people like this have asked me in the last year: ________.

Worksheet

Your idea

1. In 200 words or fewer: what the book is about, who it is for, and what they will get.
2. The sentence a happy reader would use to recommend it: "It shows you how to ________."
3. Topics I know well that are not in this book: ________.

Worksheet

Comparable books table

Make one row per book with these columns:

1. Title, author and year.
2. Who it is really for (read the introduction, not the marketing).
3. Its promise in one line.
4. What reviewers praise, in their words.
5. What reviewers complain about, in their words.
6. How my book is different for my reader.

Worksheet

Title brainstorm

1. Write five plain-statement titles.
2. Write five promise titles.
3. Write five titles that name your reader.
4. Write five in any other style above.
5. Circle your top five. For each, write a subtitle using one of the patterns.
6. Cross out any finalist that fails the say-it, search-it or trademark check.

Worksheet

Title test log

1. Finalists tested (title plus subtitle): ________.
2. People I asked, and whether each fits my reader profile: ________.
3. What they thought each book was about: ________.
4. Which one they picked first, and why: ________.
5. My working title and subtitle: ________.

Worksheet

Fear inventory

This follows the exercise in the Scribe Method chapter on beating your fears.

1. List every fear you have about this book, however small or silly it seems.
2. Next to each, write: is this actually likely?
3. For the likely ones, write the realistic worst case, and what you would do if it happened.
4. Write the benefits you get if you finish the book. Be specific.
5. Write who in your audience loses out if you never finish it.
6. Read the list out loud. Then put it away and start outlining.

Worksheet

Outline review

1. Read your positioning statement from Module 1 aloud.
2. For each chapter, answer: does this chapter help my reader get what the statement promises?
3. Move any chapter that fails into the parking lot.
4. Read the table of contents as your reader. Mark any place they would be confused or bored.
5. Check that every chapter has a thesis, a hook and at least one story or example.

Worksheet

Choose your method

1. When I explain my ideas, am I clearer on paper or out loud? ________
2. Hours per week I can honestly protect for the book: ________
3. Do I enjoy writing, or do I want the book to exist? ________
4. My drafting method is: type it / talk it / ghostwriter / a mix (for example, talk it and hire an editor to shape the transcript).

Worksheet

Your writing plan

1. I will write (or record) on these days: ________, at this time: ________, in this place: ________.
2. My minimum per session: ________ words, or ________ minutes recorded.
3. Chapter deadlines: Chapter 1 by ________, Chapter 2 by ________ (continue for every chapter).
4. Full first draft by: ________.
5. Person I report progress to, and how often: ________.

Worksheet

Structure pass questions, per chapter

1. What is this chapter's thesis, in one sentence? Does the chapter actually prove it?
2. Would the reader notice if this chapter disappeared?
3. Is there anything here the reader needs earlier, or does not need yet?
4. Does it have at least one story or example that makes the point concrete?
5. Does the reader know what to do or believe at the end?

Worksheet

Cover brief

1. Title, subtitle and author name exactly as they will appear: ________.
2. Who the reader is, in one sentence: ________.
3. Three words for how the book should feel: ________.
4. Three covers I like, and why: ________.
5. Three covers in my category, and how mine should differ: ________.
6. Back cover text: short description, two or three endorsements if I have them, short bio, barcode.

Worksheet

Publishing record

Keep one document with all of this. You will need it for years.

1. Each format: ISBN, trim size, page count, list price, platform, release date.
2. Each account: platform, login email, who owns it, payment details on file.
3. Final files: interior and cover for each format, with version dates.
4. Metadata: final title, subtitle, description, categories and keywords as entered.
5. People: cover designer, layout designer, editors, narrator, with contact details and what you agreed.

Worksheet

Launch plan

1. Release date: ________. My launch goal (tied to my objectives): ________.
2. People who get a personal note (aim for names, not categories): ________.
3. Early readers and the date their copies go out: ________.
4. Endorsements requested, from whom, by when: ________.
5. Book page on my website live by: ________.
6. Interviews and events booked for the first three months: ________.

Worksheet

Pitch bank

1. Ten podcasts my reader listens to, and the host's name for each: ________.
2. The one conversation I would pitch to each: ________.
3. Four story angles from the book a journalist could use: ________.
4. Three trade publications or newsletters that publish practitioner articles: ________.

Worksheet

Monthly routine

1. The day each month I review the book's progress: ________.
2. My content habit (what, where, how often): ________.
3. My appearance target per month: ________.
4. Who gets a copy of the book as a matter of habit: ________.
5. How I will know if I reached my champagne moment: ________.