Outlines are either loved or…not.

What is the most beneficial thing you can do to get the writing flowing toward a completed ebook?

Write an outline!

It may seem obvious if you are a natural plotter/outliner/well-organized person, but most people about to embark on this journey ask how they should get started.  I am a pantser, meaning, I write from by the seat of my pants, no outline. This is what a lot of you say you do.We all have an urge to dive right into writing, but all too often after the first few pages – we get stuck. Follow the advice here to help build yourself the perfect outline foundation for your upcoming success.

We all want to dive right into writing, but usually after the first chapter – we get writer’s block/or story block. Try the advice here to help outline and see if it will get you to “the end” quicker.

What Good Does an Outline Do?

It will:

1. Allow you to develop your ebook via small, workable parts. Each area will have its own breakdown, its own part in the story.  They will be easy to look at and manage and you can see where the story is going and fill in where needed.
2. Make it easy to see how close you are to getting to the goal of being finished.
3. Make it easier to move stuff around and take stuff out if needed.
4. Get the story out of your head and in front of you in a nice organized way.
5. Give you ideas on how to broaden or narrow the scope of the story or book.
6. Create a great synopsis or outline tool for marketing the idea to agents.

An Example Ebook Outline

I’m going to make up an ebook outline so you can see what all this means. This is a quick little ebook on how to find a literary agent.  Why I am using this for my subject is because 1. some writers still want to gain an agent for their work 2. some writers like more organization on important things like writing ebooks 3. writers write and they need help doing it when it seems like all the information they have gathered will NEVER come together and make itself into anything. 

GET AN AGENT outline would look like this: 

GET AN AGENT

• Introduce yourself and why you are the person for this book to be written by – maybe share your agent info if you have some
• Table of Contents
• Section one: Why get an agent?

(A)They can get you more money
1. book deals
2. promo pkgs

(B)They can get you better contracts
1. Internationally
2. Film tv rights

(C)They can advise you on best methods to get published
1. Synopsis
2. Blurb

• Section two: How to get an agent?

(A) Online
1. Websites
2. Other sites

(B) Offline
1. Conferences
2. Through another contact

…and so on and so forth…

Last section could be :
Wrap up
and or about the author (with web links etc)

You don’t have to write in order, either. You could easily start writing the offline agent contacts section as you could the why to find an agent part. It’s when you are finished that you move things around and put them in a logical order.

And even as I look back on this simple outline that isn’t even complete, I am thinking of other things that could be added, such as types of agents. You could have a section on the history of literary agents. Really, the world is your oyster. Crack it open and pull out that pearl! Though this is just a made up ebook, you can see how writing an outline could make your book become even better.

So try it. Create an outline. If you need something easy to work from, try outlining someone else’s book.