Monday’s planning tip for authors
Before beginning to write your book, study the way successful nonfiction authors take the time to create a system or process that provides a framework for the information they want to communicate. A system or process helps engage readers and makes information and books more memorable.
An example is Russell Versaci’s Creating a New Old House: Yesterday’s Character for Today’s Home published by Taunton Press, a leader in residential architecture books. Study the way the author used premise and system to add story value that sets Creating a New Old House apart from competing photographic books on traditional residential architecture.
The book’s premise (or mission statement) is simple: it’s often easier to build a new home with “old house” features and flavor than it is to try to renovate and upgrade older homes. This premise creates a “storyline” that engages readers and sets the book apart from competing photographic portfolio books emphasizing homes with traditional architectural values.
8 Pillars of Traditional Design
But, the author didn’t stop there. He identified 8 characteristics–which he calls “pillars”–which help define a successful new “old” home. These pillars resonate throughout the text and photographs that makeup the book. The 8 pillars of Traditional Design are:
- Pillar 1: Invent Within the Rules. Create new designs within the rules of a style.
- Pillar 2: Respect the Character of Place. Your design should complement the land and local building traditions.
- Pillar 3: Tell a Story Over Time. Imagine changes made by successive generations of owners.
- Pillar 4: Build For the Ages. Use time-tested construction techniques and durable materials.
- Pillar 5: Detail for Authenticity. Add character with authentic details.
- Pillar 6: Craft with Natural Materials. Combine fine craftsmanship by featuring the timeless beauty of natural materials.
- Pillar 7: Create the Patina of Age. Build with salvaged antique materials, aged by natural weathering processes.
- Pillar 8: Incorporate Modern Conveniences. Integrate contemporary functions, but hide their technology.
After setting the stage for the book with a description of the 8 Pillars in a brief chapters, “Reviving the Classic Homes of the Past,” the author then profiles 17 “new” old homes located throughout the country. The 8 Pillars are referred to in the the text accompanying the photographs of the various styles of newly-constructed “old” homes.
The New Old Home faces a lot of competition in the residential architectural portfolio field. Without the premise and the 8 Pillars “system,” this would be just another book. The premise and the system, or process, however, set the book apart from the competition.
What are the “8 Pillars” of your book?
Before writing too much of your book, review your table of contents from the point of view of premise and system (or organization).
- Premise. Does the information in each chapter relate to, and strengthen, your book’s central idea, mission statement, or premise?
- Framework. Have you identified a simple and logical framework to “hang,” or organize, the information in each chapter. It doesn’t matter whether your framework consists of ideas, characteristics, procedures, or steps. What matters is that the framework be simple, logical, and visible throughout each chapter.
An added benefit: after your book is published, the simplicity and “obviousness” of the system, or “pillars,” will make it easier for your book to benefit from positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Question: Does your book pass the “premise” and “pillars” test?
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