Make a Table of Contents to Plan Your Ebook Writing

As a freelance writer eager to maximize your online earning potential, you want to learn how to write as efficiently as possible. That means not only learning to write your articles in series to save research and writing time, but also carefully planning those articles series in advance.

So instead of putting your ebook Table of Contents after you’ve finished writing your book, you will put together your Table of Contents at the beginning of the process. Why should writers plan the Table of Contents first?

Avoid Writer’s Block Through Pre-Planned Writing

Have you ever sat down at the computer and wasted an hour trying to decide what to write? What if you already knew exactly what the next ten articles to write should be? The next twenty?

When I begin writing and I know what I need to be working on, it’s a lot easier to set concrete goals. “Today I need to finish Week 12 in my Pregnancy Week-by-Week Series” is a lot better than “Hmm….I wonder what I should work on today”.

Stay Motivated With Clear Goal Achievement

When writers do not make concrete goals for themselves it becomes too difficult to tell whether those goals are being met or not. On the hand, when you can look back and say “Wow, I am halfway through this book!” that is very motivating as a writer.

Write Ahead to Pre-Sell Your Ebook

If you are writing a weekly column and plan to sell an ebook created from a compilation of these periodic articles, you want to be able to get your book out there as soon as possible. By writing all the articles and book content ahead of time, you can slowly release each individual weekly piece, while already having the book ready to go. This allows you to capitalize on the readers already coming to view your articles.

For example, I am writing a series of story stretcher articles to help parents use children’s literature to teach their preschool children. I can write 20 of these articles now, this month, and then use them as my weekly column pieces for the next four months. Each week, my new article will be published, with a note at the bottom that tells readers “This article is part of the Use Children’s Books to Teach Your Preschooler ebook available at TypeAMom ebook store.” and include a link where your readers can choose to purchase the entire book you’ve created.

Look over the brainstorm you created when you learned about writing an article series and choose one topic to write about first. Brainstorm a bit further until you’ve jotted down a rough draft Table of Contents. Remember, this book isn’t set in stone and so is completely flexible as you begin to actually write the content, but this will give you a plan. And having a plan is half the battle!