How I Got Lost in the UK and Why You Need a Roadmap for Your Book
- Chrystle Fiedler
- Apr 9
- 3 min read
I’m an Anglophile, so in 2023, I left the US and traveled to London, England for the third time. Usually, I’m a planner but a friend of mind encouraged me to just book the first couple of days and see what I wanted to do next. In theory, this should have been fine, in practice, not-so-much.
That’s because much of my energy while traveling was divided between where I was and where I was going next when my booking ended, which involved research, reservations, and a travel strategy which had to factor in frequent rail strikes to get there.
If I’d planed ahead, for example, I would not have had to travel from Stratford Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace to Bath by taking three trains and lugging a huge suitcase. There’s no doubt that if I’d planned my trip and created a roadmap before I left, I would have saved myself, time, money and aggravation.
Lost in Chapter 6
It’s the same thing when you write a nonfiction self-help book. Recently, I worked with an author who was mid-book – she’d written 6 chapters and had 6 chapters to go - and had lost her way. She’d sold the book about PTSD to a publisher as a self-help book but somehow it had turned into a memoir.
This is easy to do when you’re writing something that you’re passionate about or something that has been incredibly difficult for you. Writing can be cathartic and it’s easy to lose the thread by going down rabbit holes of emotionally charged content that don’t always relate to the core mission of the book. Instead of making the path easier for readers by teaching them what you did to get through a crisis, a diagnosis, or a problem you get bogged down in it.
1-2-3
I often talk about 1-2-3, three things to establish before you start writing.
1. Define the idea that solves a pain point or problem for the reader.
2. Clarify the method, plan or approach that you use with clients or patients.
3. Use it to establish a structure or Table of Contents that transforms readers.
Here, the idea was solid. What I needed to do was help her to make it less memoir and more how-to or self-help.
How did I do it?
Start with Structure
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I started with the Table of Contents and quickly realized that the structure that she’d set up for herself wasn’t working as well as it could. The chapters didn’t always progress in a logical fashion and didn’t flow naturally from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12.
I reorganized the structure of the book and added sections to divide part 1, 2 and 3 to further define it. Next, I created a chapter template which gave her a roadmap for the chapters. Each chapter would have an introduction that related to her story that could be used a springboard to practical how-to content.
How-To & Self-Help
Practical self-help content includes things like sidebars packed with information, boxes, lists, activities, scripts and examples for readers to follow. So instead of just learning about the problem, readers can take action to help them deal with it more easily.
Foundation First
Establishing a roadmap before you start writing makes writing easier, which makes is much more likely that you’ll finish your book. I focus on this in my Natural Health Self-Help Book Roadmap, as a first step.
Within weeks, she had finished the book, and it was ready to go to press.
I Needed a Roadmap
Similarly, if I’d had a roadmap before I left the US for the UK, my trip would have been more fun, easier and lot less stressful.
You Need a Roadmap for Your Book
Before you write your nonfiction natural health self-help book it’s a good strategy to also have a roadmap. You’ll travel faster and more easily and reach your destination: A completed manuscript that’s reader-friendly and market-ready.
Need help? I’d love to talk about your book. Email me: info@thenaturalhealthbookcoach.com to sign up for a free book coaching strategy call this month to explore working together and learn more about how to turn your idea into a reader-friendly and market-ready manuscript. Or schedule a session here:
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