How to Build Book Chapters That Keep Your Readers Reading to the End
earmabrown
Reading to the End. Create a fabulous framework to house
each chapter of your book...
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TITLE: Build Book Chapters That Keep Your Readers Reading
AUTHOR: Earma Brown
CONTACT: earma@...
COPYRIGHT: C2006 by Earma Brown. All rights reserved
WORD COUNT: 358
FORMAT: 65 Characters per line
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How to Build Book Chapters That Keep Your Readers Reading
The best non-fiction books have a set structure to house their
chapters. That structure provides the framework for each
chapter. It's stressful to re-invent the wheel every time with a
blank screen.
Most people including the author are intimidated by a blank
screen. Instead of starting from scratch each chapter, use
repeating elements to create structure. In John Maxwell's "21
Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will
Follow You" foreword by Zig Ziglar contains repeating elements
that house each chapter. Each chapter has the same basic form.
To build chapters that keep your readers reading include these 8
elements:
1. Chapter title: The title immediately followed by a subtitle
emphasizes and explains its meaning.
2. Brief quote: Following the title are one to two quotes from
your speeches or other authorities in your field which support
the title.
3. Introduction: Each chapter begins with a six to eight
paragraph of introduction that may include a story presenting
the chapter's main principle or underlying thesis. For short
books 3 to 4 paragraphs sound great.
4. 7 to 10 points: Following the introduction may be lessons or
tools used to achieve the goal presented in the introduction.
Condense your material as you develop each point. Some lessons
may require one paragraph and others may need several.
5. Case studies: Each chapter may include one or more story
form case studies that support the chapter's central idea.
6. Self-evaluation tools: The chapter may include brief
questions that permit readers to measure their progress with
each of the principles described in the chapters.
7. Conclusion: Each chapter may end with four to eight
paragraphs that summarize the central idea and supporting points.
8. Other Engagement Tools: The chapter may include other
engagement tools such as worksheets, note sheets, lists that
work to engage your readers and make them active participants in
the book instead of just observing.
Step out of your comfort zone prepare your marketing plan, mine
your existing knowledge and create a framework for each chapter,
speed write your book and you'll be surprised at what you
accomplish by following the simple steps of an easy writing
program.
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