Ghostwriting Tips – Creating The Perfect Book Outline

If you’re thinking of writing a book or want someone to ghostwrite a book for you, then creating a book outline is a great place to start!

We often get inquiries from clients that have a great idea for a book, but they’re not sure about what the next step is or how to get started, and a book outline is the ultimate starting point. A good book outline is like a detailed and thorough map of your final destination. Your completed manuscript.

Obviously, if you haven’t got the time or the skills to write a book yourself, then a professional ghostwriter is an option. If you want to create a book for a self-publishing platform such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or IngramSpark Publishing, but don’t have the time or experience to write it yourself, then a ghostwriter is an excellent alternative.

Now, if you do want to hire a ghostwriter, then having a detailed book outline is a huge plus because it allows you to have more control over how your book finishes. Also, from the ghostwriter’s point of view, it gives them a clear idea of what you are looking for, how much work is involved, and how long the project is going to take.

Please note book outlines aren’t for everyone.

Some authors prefer to start writing without a very detailed plan and allow the story to develop naturally. However, if you plan on writing your book yourself and think a book outline would help, then we have five tips for writing the ultimate book outline!

5 Tips For Creating Your Book Outline

One. Craft Your Premise

Your premise is the underlying idea of your story.

A great way to identify your premise is to ask yourself, ‘What would happen if…?’ An example of this would be what would happen if the pirates attacked and took over the castle leaving the heroes with nowhere to go. Another example could be what would happen if four brothers were sent to different parts of the world to build their fortunes and reunited twenty years later.

Now, try and answer some key questions that will help expand the premise. Try things like:

• • • • • • Who is the main protagonist in the book?
          • What is the current political/economic/social climate?
          • How will the protagonist and characters evolve throughout the novel?
          • How do these events unfold?
          • What is their ultimate goal?
          • Do they get what they want?
          • What do they have to overcome to achieve their goals?
          • What’s the central conflict in the story?

Once you have a few of these details sorted out, you want to sit down and write a one-paragraph pitch or breakdown of the novel.

Two. What Is the Setting for Your Novel?

The setting for your novel is just as important as your characters. Your readers want to feel a sense of what is happening and where it’s happening. If you plan on setting your novel in the real world, do some research and gather books or photos about the locations.

Try to imagine yourself at that location. What can you see? Is there a smell? What would the environment look like? The more detail you can put into your book, the better it will be and the easier it will be for readers to feel immersed in the story.

Three. Getting To Know Your Characters

A good way to create your characters is to make small character profiles for each character. Think about what journey your characters are going to undertake and what skills or attributes they might need to complete their journey. Do they have hobbies or skills? Do they work? What do they look like? What’s their family history? Do they have backstories?

One method many authors use to create their character profiles is to interview them in a Q & A style interview. Then, create a series of questions to ask each of your characters.

Four. Construct Your Plot

It’s time to create a timeline of events and plan your novel out from beginning to end. It’s important to remember that your story needs a beginning, middle, and end.

• • • • • • The Beginning – This is where you introduce your hero or main characters, the villains, and the storyline. You want to grab your reader’s attention with your beginning.
          • The Middle – It’s not unusual for tension to evaporate in the middle of your story, so it’s a good idea to know what the ending is going to be and how to build up to it.
          • The End – Remember your original question? The answer to that is your ending. Your ending is time to tie up any loose endings.

Five. Write Your Scenes

You can put as much work into your scenes at this stage as you like and then drop them into your outline. Think about where the scene is taking place. Who is in the scene, and what else could be influencing that scene?

Ghostwriting Tips – Creating The Perfect Book Outline – Conclusion

Now that you have your outline prepared, you’ll be ready to talk to a ghostwriter or even start writing your book yourself! If you need help outlining or writing your book, then don’t hesitate to contact us about our affordable and professional ghostwriting services in Australia.

If you are an Australian or New Zealand author or writer and have any questions about the self-publishing process, including ghostwriting or creating a book outline, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

At Author Services Australia, we support Australian and New Zealand self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, manuscript uploading assistance, social media and marketing.

Are you an outliner or panster? Drop a comment below! We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to avoid missing out on any future author news and updates.