A few years ago, I sat down for what should have been a routine book coaching project with a client — a professional speaker with expertise worth sharing. She hired me as her ghostwriter.
Initially, we talked about her vision for the book and the content she wanted to include. We discussed some of the ideas she wanted to cover and what she wanted the book to do for her.
Then our project began to crumble. She resisted when I asked her to create questions based on the content she wanted to cover, and we’d use them to record her answers during our sessions. Although we assembled some pieces of some chapters, she could not complete any chapters because she kept veering off in a different direction.
We weren’t writing a book. We were circling one and could not build momentum.
In our last session, she said, “Let’s just talk, and I am sure we can create a chapter.” Because she was the subject matter expert, I did not know enough of her content to guide her and ask the right questions. I firmly suggested she create a table of contents for her book so that we could see the whole picture, and give us the structure we needed.
She resisted this idea also and instead hired a person to design the cover for the non-existent book. She also invested $5,000 on a spot on a TV show, based on the assumption that the book would be done by the time the show aired.
After several thousand dollars and many hours, she shelved the project, and not because she lacked expertise. She abandoned it because she would not make a plan for how the chapters fit together, and without that plan, every session became a negotiation and an aimless wandering around the topic instead of a writing sprint.
I keep her cover image on my computer as a reminder of the need for an organized plan for a book. This was a learning experience for me, too, as it highlighted the critical need for an overview of the book. I’ve worked with several authors since then, and each time we start with a table of contents. It is common to add or combine chapters, as long as we have a foundation and a map for the book.
Why Sequence Matters More Than Most Authors Realize
When you’re an expert in your field, you already know your material. You can talk about it for hours, in almost any order, and you will sound smart. That’s exactly why so many authors skip the planning step. They assume the structure will reveal itself as they go.
It usually doesn’t. What happens instead is what happened with my client — repeated re-decisions and fragments that were not substantial enough to create chapters.
A logical chapter sequence does several things a scattered outline can’t:
- It gives the reader a reason to keep turning pages, because each chapter builds on the one before it.
- It gives you, the author, a clear target for every writing session, so you’re not reinventing your approach each time you sit down.
- It exposes gaps and redundancies early, while they’re easy to fix, instead of after three chapters are already drafted.
- It keeps a book coach or ghostwriting relationship efficient, because both of you are working from the same map instead of debating the map itself.
(A book coach guides the author, who writes the book. A ghostwriter works with the client to gather the content and then does the writing.)
What a Good Map Actually Looks Like
A logical sequence doesn’t mean a rigid formula. It means each chapter has a clear job, and that job connects to the chapter before and after it. For most business books, that often looks like:
- Establishing the problem — what your reader is struggling with, why it matters, and why you are the right person to help the reader.
- Introducing your perspective or framework — the lens you want them to see the problem through.
- Walking through the framework in practical stages — one chapter per major component, in the order the reader needs to apply it.
- Addressing objections or common mistakes — the places readers get stuck.
- Closing with implementation — what to do next, and how to sustain it.
- Call to action — how you help people just like the reader with this problem.
This isn’t the only structure that works, but the principle behind it applies to nearly every non-fiction business book: readers need a sense of forward motion, and that motion comes from sequence, not just content.
Plan Your Map Before You Draft
If you’re working with a book coach or a ghostwriter, the outline conversation is where the deep thinking happens. It’s tempting to skip ahead to drafting because that feels like progress. But an hour spent mapping chapter order and content before the writing begins saves many hours of rewriting, reordering, and second-guessing later.
Ask yourself at the beginning:
- What does the reader need to understand first for the rest of the book to make sense?
- Does each chapter lead naturally into the next, or are they interchangeable?
- If I moved this chapter, would anything break?
If the answer to that last question is yes, your sequence probably needs another look.
The Real Cost of Skipping This Step
My client’s project didn’t fail because her ideas weren’t good enough for a book. It failed because we never agreed on the shape and map for the book before we started filling it in. That’s a costly mistake. And we both had to live with the sense of failure that accompanied the end of the project.
If you’re planning to write a book this year, give yourself the plan first. Your future self and the person guiding you will thank you for it.
If you’d like help with your non-fiction book, please use the contact form here to request a call with me.
Pat Iyer MSN RN LNCC is a consultant, speaker, author, editor and book coach. She has written or edited 73 of her own books and worked with dozens of authors as an editor and book coach. Her most recent books include AI-Powered Video for LNCs book and workbook.
Pat is an Amazon international #1 bestselling author. Coaches, consultants, and speakers hire Pat to help release the knowledge inside them so that they can attract their ideal clients.
She delights in assisting people to share their expertise by writing. Pat serves international and national experts as an editor, book coach, and a medical and business writer.