This is the fourth article in the series Publishing Your Own eBook series.
To simply start writing and go at a document of this size would be unreasonable and ineffective. Writing the document is up next, but we need to organize our thoughts without investing too much time into it. That way, if we do not like an idea, we do not feel invested in it and too tied to keep it. This will help us make the best eBook possible.
Here are four tips to mind mapping and outlining for your eBook.
- Draw A Mind Map What is a mind map? It is the idea of putting your entire collect thoughts onto a graph. You can use a pen and paper, but there are great programs out there to organize your thoughts. I personally have used MindNode for another project that is not out yet and for the Effective Blogging eBook, I used XMind and it was great! A couple of tips: Do not censor your ideas at all because you never know what could come out of them and go from big overarching ideas and work your way down to the smaller, more detailed thoughts.
- Create An Outline Now that we have a mindmap, let’s take ALL of the ideas and create a great outline. Again, we are not yet filtering what we want to write, so this is going to be a rather long document. Organize the thoughts into a well crafted outline that has several layers to it. If you have some further thoughts on specific points that you want to get out, now is the time to write out a sentence or two on those topics. With this visual, we are beginning to see the document come alive!
- Filter Out Only The Great Ideas The topics are written down and the outline is done. The only thing left we have to do before we begin to write is to eliminate what does not belong and reorganize orphan sections. We took an extra amount of time to put together a well-crafted topic that was clear and doable and it might be something that you need to revisit right now to see if you have kept on track. For those thoughts that do not hold true to the original premise of the book, either redirect them or remove them from the outline. For thoughts that are similar, consolidate those ideas to provide a better flowing eBook. And finally, for sections that are too small to address (they only have a few points and would stand out from the rest of the book), consider making them a single point in the book or simply do not write about it this time around. Be brutal. We need to get rid of the good stuff to make way for the great stuff.
What does your mindmap look like? Share it in the comments.
Myersbaker says
I like MindNode.