May

13

New Published & Profitable table of contents planning MindManager template helps authors plan and write their books faster

Filed Under Mind mapping, Step 2: Write

Tuesday’s writing tip for authors

Published & Profitable members are invited to download my updated Table of Contents planning template intended for use with Mindjet’s MindManager mind mapping software. Mindjet’s MindManager is a software program that permits authors to display the contents of their books on a single screen, or printed on a single sheet of paper.

The revised Table of Contents planning template is based on careful analysis of the chapter organization of dozens of best-selling business and self-help books. Titles analyzed in Published & Profitable’s AUDIOS + MAPS section included:

  • David Allen’s Getting Things Done
  • David Roam’s Back of the Napkin
  • Timothy Ferris’s 4-Hour Workweek
  • Dan Pink’s Whole New Mind
  • Yanik Silver’s Moonlighting on the Internet

In every case, the individual chapters were grouped in sections typically called parts or steps. Organizing chapters into sections makes it easier for authors to write their books and easier for readers to read their books. In each case, sections break reading into chunks, or segments, which provide a context for the information contained in each chapter.

The new Published & Profitable chapter planning mind mapping template helps author better-organize their books in terms of the steps needed to accomplish the desired change that their books offer readers. The revised template also makes it easier for authors to schedule their work and visually track their progress as they write their book. Mindjet’s MindManager offers Task Icons that allow authors to see which chapters have been completed as well as the amount of work remaining to be done in each chapter.

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