How to Plan a Book, from Idea to Outline

Lay the foundations for success with time-honoured book planning tips and techniques


Whether you have a dozen book ideas or none when it comes to writing a book, how you execute the idea is as important as the idea itself. Small mistakes during the planning phase early on can become deal-breaking errors in your manuscript during the publishing phase.

That means not just choosing an idea, but the right idea for you and your intended readers. It means adding colour and depth to your idea with brainstorming and research. It means establishing a framework for your research, characters and plot that’ll help you organise your ideas and get your manuscript finished faster.

There’s no one-size-fits-all book planning process that works for every writer, but there are tools, techniques and concepts that successful authors use to execute their ideas effectively.

If you want to know how to turn an idea into a story, this package is for you.

What you’ll learn in Package 1: How to plan a book


The How to Plan a Book package is part of our Module 1 Bundle – the first instalment of our Ultimate Blueprint of Successful Publishing course. It’s designed to equip you with the knowledge and time-honoured techniques you need to start writing your book – and lay solid foundations to maximise its success.

It focuses on finding a book idea that will resonate with readers, brainstorming and research techniques to develop that idea, and writing a book outline that helps you finish as well as you started.

Sessions in this package

  • How To Choose Your Book Idea

    Find an idea you’re passionate and uniquely qualified to write about – and a premise there’s a market for.

  • Brainstorming Techniques For Writing

    Learn to master power brainstorming techniques that successful author used to develop their books.

  • Using A Ghost-Writer

    If this is the path you choose, we show you how to hire the right ghost-writer or co-authoring service for your book to avoid ownership and intellectual property rights disputes.

  • Research

    Learn the best research strategies to enhance your productivity and improve the depth and richness of your sto

  • How To Write A Book Outline

    Understand outlining methods and find the type that will help you create a framework for your book without sapping your story

About Insider Expert online writing courses


Our user-friendly online creative writing courses are designed to be your go-to resources for all things writing and publishing. They can be watched from anywhere at any time, so you can learn and write whenever and wherever it suits.

Each package contains a collection of stand-alone lessons honing in on a specific skill, concept or technique, and you can take them in any order you like. Keep track of what you’ve learned or skip to the lessons you want the most in your personalised dashboard, and easily find any lesson you’ve missed.

Your Course Checklist

Every Insider Expert course offers:

  • Video training designed to increase your knowledge retention

  • Easy to use templates that will let you focus on what's really important

  • Creative handouts that you will want to refer to again and again

What People Are Saying

Mark

DevelopmentProducers.com

Great content. I'm loving the quality of information and finding myself much more inspired. The range of tools are fantastic and the handouts alone would be great value at the price. After going through the planning phase I have at least 10 more ideas, plus I now have an understanding of effective outlining. Highly recommend this to anyone.

Mary Allen

Children's Author

These courses offer a comprehensive and engaging path for the journey of a writer from the conception of an idea to the publishing of a book. It is very useful to have all aspects tied together. Both fiction and non-fiction are examined, which is effective as there can be an emphasis on fiction alone. The explanations and examples would engender confidence in those who might feel strongly about writing but hesitate to start.

Set yourself up for success

Empower yourself with the tried-and-tested tools and insider knowledge you need to turn your brilliant idea into a captivating story.