At an elementary level, if you want to earn money from writing e-books, you will need to know how to structure your material so that it forms a coherent message. In this post, I look at a strategy for structuring your work through the use of chapters.
The Introduction Chapter
The introduction speaks for itself. In this chapter, we tell our readers what they can expect from reading our e-book. We also outline some of the problems associated with the topic we are writing about. It is at this juncture we also tell the reader how our e-book will help them to overcome these problems.
Identifying your reader’s problems and then telling them how your e-book could possibly help them is all part of the process of building a rapport with your audience. Once this has been achieved, the reader will be more receptive to your ideas on how to solve their problems.
Chapter One
Most writers have heard of the Aristotelian three-act play theory in one form or another. The Aristotelian theory states that every play has a beginning, middle and an end. This seems quite logical. However, in its simplified form, the three-act play theory lacks the sophistication to be a useful writing tool. Instead, I prefer to use the Conflict, Development and Resolution concept.
The conflict and resolution on a timeline are much shorter in length than the development. This is because the setting up of any conflict requires fewer words than the development, likewise the resolution. The development of any story takes much longer because you need to address the conflict before you can present a solution.
In chapter one of ‘How to Succeed as a Newbie E-book Author,’ I set out to dispel the myth that everyone can make money from writing e-books. I also tell the reader some of the reasons why people don’t make money from writing e-books, and then I offer a solution. The solution, however, is not a standalone mantra but is part of an integrated strategy to help the reader develop their e-book writing skills.
Here is an example of the conflict I set up in chapter one.
There are several reasons why many wannabe e-book writers will never cut the mustard when it comes to turning their writing into cash. The most obvious reason is the lack of effort on the part of the wannabe writer to write effectively.
These two sentences capture the conflict that every e-book writer will encounter – we need to know how to write correctly before we can begin to write for profit. It is here that we set the course for the first chapter and every chapter that follows. In short, the conflict determines the route our project will take. Get this part of our writing project wrong, and our reader is going to look elsewhere for his or her reading material.
The Middle Chapters
Our writing project is like a journey, and as with all journeys, there is always a danger of being sidetracked. It is, therefore, imperative when planning our writing project to think about the sequence which our middle chapters will follow. The last thing we want to do is to take a wrong turning which might lead our readers and ourselves along the garden path. The middle chapters, or our development chapters, must address the issues set up by the conflict in a sequential order that is clearly understood by our readers.
In chapter one of ‘How to Succeed as Newbie E-book Author’ I address the issue of being able to write clear and accurate sentences. I then went onto offer tips or solutions to some of the other problems that writers encounter while writing.
In chapter two I explored the process of finding a topic to write about. I could have very easily placed this chapter much further down the development process and moved directly to the chapter on the writing your e-book. Although the chapter on writing dovetails neatly into chapter one, it is not necessarily the logical choice. Put simply, in order to begin our writing project we must first have something to write about. Consequently, it made sense to explore how to choose a topic for our writing project before we do anything else.
The next two chapters, packaging and marketing your e-book, continue to build on the development process. They address each of the issues related to writing for profit until we finally come to the resolution – the summary.
The Summary Chapter
The summary chapter brings all the threads and potential solutions related to our conflict into one easy to read and discernable package. It is here that we reinforce the ideas we have written about throughout the course of our e-book.
Most writers normally write their summary at the end of their work, but I am not one of them. I find it useful to write my summary prior to writing the main body of my work. I do this because it gives me a focal point to work towards. Used together with my aims and objectives, the pre-written summary provides a useful addition to my writing tool kit.
Knowing how to sequence chapters will lend structure to your work and make writing your e-book that much easier.
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