A Better Book Blueprint: How to create a plan for your book

Over the last several years, books have gone from a “do we think these are part of our core business?” offering to the heart of Intelligent Ink. Since the very first books that we worked on, we’ve been figuring out what works and what doesn’t. 

We’ve had ups (there’s nothing cooler than seeing a client finally hold their book in their hands!) and downs (nothing like a middle of the night writing session to try to catch up). We’ve both ghostwritten for clients and have coached clients to write their books themselves. We’ve taken all that experience and created a framework which helps every purpose-driven superstar we work with to create a book that they’re incredibly proud of and will have a massive impact. 

And the number one thing we’ve learned through that time? Is just how important a plan is.

A Better Book Blueprint

A book plan (or Book Blueprint, as we call it) will act as your north star throughout your book writing journey. If you ever get lost, confused, or overwhelmed, you can come back to your plan and remind yourself of who your book is for, the core message you’re trying to convey, how you’re planning on using the book, and why you’re writing it in the first place. It will help you stay on track, working towards your destination. 

Plus, creating a clear structure for your book means you’re never really starting from a blank page. Instead of having to sit down and ask “what could I write about?”, all you have to do is sit down, look at your plan and start writing. 

More importantly, a plan will help you proactively make small decisions early in the process – because those small decisions will become big decisions later on. When you’re working with a manuscript of 30, 40, or 50 thousand words, even small choices become big ones. So you want to make as many of those choices consciously and upfront as you can, to make sure you don’t have to unwind your hard work later. We've definitely been caught by this in the past.

So how do you create a great Book Blueprint? There are 6 elements that every great Book Blueprint has:

Vision

First, get clear on what kind of future you're trying to create by writing this book – both for you and your readers. Ask yourself:

• Why are you writing this book?
• How do you want it to impact your readers?
• What are you (and your readers) missing if you don’t write this book?
• How will you leverage your book to grow your business or your reputation?
• What financial impact do you want your book to have?

It’s so important that you think about both the impact you want to have in the world, as well as how you want your book to benefit you – after all, if you’re going to put in the time and effort to write, publish and launch this book, you want to make sure you’ll get ROI on it as well.  

There are so many ways you can leverage books but some of our clients have used their books to:

• Gain more paid speaking opportunities,
• Generate leads for more high end (and higher paying) work,
• Start conversations with prospective clients and potential partners,
• Create new paid offerings based off the ideas and thinking in their book,
• Generate media coverage and greater awareness,
• Grow their social media connections and followings,
• Gain entry into bigger clients who they may not have been able to access previously, and
• Become known as thought leaders in their industry if they weren't already

Audience

Think of the best books you’ve read. They probably feel as though they were written just for you – because they were! Think about who you want to write this book for, and where they’re at in their lives. The more specific you can get about who you’re writing this book for, the more impact it will have on them, and the more likely they are to tell other people to read it too. Consider:

• Who are you writing the book for? What do you know about them?
• What questions do they have?
• What do they already think?
• What beliefs do you need to shift?

Context

There are so many books out there in the world already – so it’s helpful to think about where your book will sit in the greater context of your industry or the space you work in. Consider:

• Are there other books written about this or are you adding something totally new?
• Are you furthering existing thinking or challenging it?
• What myths are you trying to dispel?
• Are you bringing something new or are you curating existing ideas?

Style

Consider the style of your book. Do you want people to dive in and out or read it in one fell swoop? Will they listen to it rather than read it? What tone of voice do you want your book to have? Ask yourself:

• What kind of book are you writing?
• How do you expect readers to read it?
• What other books do you like and why?
• What elements do you want to borrow?
• How do I want people to feel when they read it?
• Do I want it to sound like when I talk, or more formal?

Message

Your book is going to contain a lot of information; it could be somewhere in the realm of 60,000 words! While your readers may enjoy reading all of it, they’re not going to remember it word-for-word. And if you’re not clear on what you want them to take away, they won’t be either. That’s why it’s vital that you get clear on the overarching message or thesis of your book. Consider:

• What is the core idea or thesis of your book?
• What’s the one thing you want your readers to remember/ take away?
• What are the key messages that back up that idea? That answer questions, dispel myths, show the benefits or transformation, or demonstrate how you reached that conclusion?

Publishing

Finally, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to publish and launch your book, as that can affect timelines and how much control you have. Consider:

• Are you going to pitch to traditional publishers and aim to go down the bookstore route? 
• Will you publish it all yourself? 
• Do you need to find someone who can help you sort the formatting, design, print, etc?
• Where do you want to publish? Just in your own country, or do you want people to access it globally?
• What formats do you want your book to be in? Physical, ebook, audio?

Creating your Book Blueprint: The first step to a published book

Once you’re clear on the six elements of your Book Blueprint (Vision, Audience, Context, Style, Message & Publishing), then it’s time to create the structure for your book – but that’s a whole other newsletter so watch this space!

And if you’d like some help creating your Book Blueprint and book structure, you’re in luck – we’re temporarily opening up the doors to a Better Book Planning Sprint this October.

Over 30 days, you will:

- Define your vision for the book

- Articulate your core argument and key messages

- Capture all your IP in one place

- Create a clear structure for your book

- Get motivated to start writing so you can take advantage of time and space over the holidays

For just $1,200+GST, you’ll get:

- A one-on-one onboarding call with one of our thought leadership book coaches

- The planning modules of our Better Book Project online course

- Weekly group coaching calls for 30 days

- 2 x hands-on live workshops where you’ll do the work of planning your book with the help of our coaches

So if ‘write a book’ was on your 2024 bingo card and you haven’t ticked it off yet, now’s the time to take action and get your plan in place. Send me a message today to find out if the Better Book Planning Sprint is for you.