I clicked on one of those ads the other day.

You probably get them too—especially if your phone knows that you're trying to write a book.

This one read, "Outline Your Million Dollar Book Idea in 15 Minutes!"

So it clicked because, yeah, I've written a good number of books. But none of them have yet to make me $1 million, and none of them were outlined in 15 minutes.

The ad sent me to a $17 digital product, and I figured that was worth paying, if only so I could see what the competition had to offer.

What I got was a video masterclass. And, honestly, the advice was fine. I can sum it up without giving away anyone's intellectual property.

Step 1:

I was instructed to use KDP Rocket to do competitive keyword research in my industry and find a niche that was underserved.

Step 2:

Next, I was supposed to grab a stack of sticky notes and start jotting down everything I knew about my topic, clustering those sticky notes together into what would eventually become chapters.

Step 3:

Finally, I shouldstart filling in the gaps with content I've already created from my blog, my podcast, workshops that I've done, etc.

Voila! Million-dollar book idea outlined.

Look. I love sticky notes.

And I'm obviously simplifying this coach's (admittedly generic) advice.

The thing is, that approach will absolutely work if you just want to knock out a quick book on your topic and pop it up on Amazon to say that you've written a book.

But I have strong doubts that book is going to make you a million dollars—and I have even stronger doubts that the outline you just created will survive contact with the actual writing process.

Outlines just don't survive drafting.

I have not spoken with a single author who created a detailed outline of their book and stuck with it to the end.

(If that's you, please hit reply because I'd love to know your secrets!)

I have spoken to many authors who struggled with their outline and didn't know what to do.

Maybe they were having trouble forcing themselves to keep writing. Maybe the outline no longer fit what it seemed like they had to say. Maybe the outline just stopped making sense.

Because here's the thing.

A book outline is like a business plan.

Your plan may sound great when you sit down to write it in January all fresh and clean, but if you don't know how to strategically analyze and pivot the year goes along, your business plan becomes a straightjacket instead of a useful tool.

Same with an outline.

You learn new things as you write the draft. Even if you feel like you're intimately familiar with your material and your stories (and if you're an expert, you are), the process of writing the book will help you see things in a new light.

An outline that doesn't shift and grow as your understanding of the book does will choke the life out of your writing process

So forget outlining.

You need a Story Map.

A map charts your way to where you want to go, but it's flexible and purposeful. If you hit a road closure, you don't abandon the trip—you take a different turn, because you still know where you're headed. You just have new information now.

When I build Story Maps with clients, we always start with three things:

1. Your personal goal: Why this book, and why now? What makes it so important to you?
2. Your business goals: what do you want this book to do for you, professionally?
3. Your audience's goals: what does your reader need to hear to get where they want to go?

Next, we go through their pre-existing content—both outside their brains (in blogs, case studies, workshops) and inside their brains (which we extract through interview).

Once we know all that, we build a roadmap that reflects those goals and charts a path to get there.

See the difference?

An outline dictates what goes in each chapter.

A Story Map tells you why, which means when a new idea shows up in chapter three, you know whether it belongs. (And whether you need to rework your outline to fit it in!)

The story map allows for the way writing unearths new things. It's a living, breathing document that keeps you on track.

Try this on your book idea.

Answer these three questions:

1. Why, personally, do you want to write this book right now?
2. What do you want this book to do for your business or career?
3. What does this book need to accomplish for your reader?

Then hit reply and tell me what you're thinking.

If answers to those questions came easily, you've got the start of a story map. If you're struggling, it's all good. Something's coming Thanksgiving Week that I think will help.

Keep an eye on your inbox! ;)

Talk soon,

Jessie

P.S. I've never done anything like this before—so I'm nervous! But if you want to be first in line, join the early bird list here. There's a little gift in it for you!