How to Outline a Book (Nonfiction and Memoir): A Method and Template

How is outlining a nonfiction book different from outlining a novel?

A novel outline is built around conflict: what the character wants, what stands in the way, what changes. A nonfiction or memoir outline is built around the reader: what they need to understand, in what order, to arrive where the book promises.

That means the core unit isn't a scene. It's an idea (for nonfiction) or a turning point (for memoir). And the main job of the outline isn't to invent a plot. It's to choose, from everything you know or remember, what belongs in this book and in what order.

The good news: because the material already exists in your head or your life, outlining nonfiction and memoir is usually faster than plotting fiction. Most people can draft a working outline in a single evening.

Step 1: Write the book's one sentence

Before listing chapters, write one sentence that says what the reader gets from the book. It decides what's in and what's out.

Nonfiction: 'This book helps first-time managers run their first 90 days without losing their best people.' Memoir: 'This is the story of the year I moved my family back to my mother's village, and what I learned about who she was.'

Pin this sentence to the top of your outline. Every time you're unsure whether something belongs, check it against the sentence.

Step 2: How do you gather ideas for an outline?

Take 30 to 60 minutes and list everything you might include, one item per line or card: ideas, stories, memories, steps, questions readers ask, mistakes, examples. Aim for quantity. You'll throw away a third of it, and that's the point.

For a memoir, this is your memory list: places, people, turning points, objects. For nonfiction, it's your knowledge dump: every lesson, tool and story you use when you explain your subject to someone.

For the first-time manager book, a few cards might read: 'the one-on-one I canceled three times', 'how to say no to your old teammates', 'first performance review script', 'why new managers stop doing the work they're good at'. For the memoir about moving back to a mother's village: 'the bus from the airport', 'her sewing machine', 'the neighbor who knew her as a girl', 'the argument about the roof'.

Step 3: Group the cards into chapters

Sort the items into piles that belong together. Each pile that answers one question, teaches one thing or covers one turning point is a candidate chapter. Name each pile with a working title.

Then test the piles. A pile with one item is probably a section inside another chapter. A pile with thirty items is probably two or three chapters. Items that fit no pile and don't serve your one sentence go into a 'not this book' file.

Most nonfiction books and memoirs end up with 8 to 20 chapters. If you have fewer than 6, you may have a long article; if you have more than 25, check for overlap.

Don't agonize over which pile a card belongs in. If it fits two, put it in the first chapter where the reader needs it, and move on.

Step 4: Put the chapters in the reader's order

Now arrange the chapters. There are five common orders. Pick the one that matches how your reader needs to receive the material.

You can mix them. A memoir might move chronologically but open with a present-day scene. A self-help book might follow problem-to-solution overall, with step-by-step chapters inside the solution section. What matters is that the reader always understands why this chapter comes next.

Step 5: Give every chapter a purpose line and bullets

For each chapter, write one purpose line. Nonfiction: 'After this chapter, the reader can…'. Memoir: 'In this chapter, I… and the reader learns…'. If you can't finish the sentence, the chapter isn't ready.

Under the purpose line, add three to five bullets: the main points, stories or scenes the chapter will include. That's it. You're done when you can read the purpose lines alone, top to bottom, and see the whole book.

Two examples. Nonfiction: 'After this chapter, the reader can run a 30-minute one-on-one that surfaces problems early.' Bullets: the canceled-meeting story; the three questions to ask every time; what to do when someone says 'everything's fine'; a one-page template. Memoir: 'In this chapter, I arrive in the village and realize nobody there knew the mother I knew.' Bullets: the bus from the airport; the neighbor's story about her at sixteen; the photo on the wall; the first night in her old room.

A copyable book outline template

Copy this into a document and fill it in. It works for nonfiction and memoir; delete the lines that don't apply to your book.

WORKING TITLE:
BOOK TYPE: nonfiction / memoir / life story
ONE SENTENCE: This book helps [reader] to [result].
          or: This is the story of [experience] and what it taught me about [theme].
READER: (one real person, described in 2-3 lines)
ORDER: step by step / problem-solution / chronological / thematic / question-led

INTRODUCTION
  Purpose: why this book, why me, what the reader will get
  - Opening story or scene:
  - The promise:

CHAPTER 1: [working title]
  Purpose: After this chapter, the reader can... / In this chapter, I...
  - Point, story or scene:
  - Point, story or scene:
  - Point, story or scene:

CHAPTER 2: [working title]
  Purpose:
  -
  -
  -

(repeat for each chapter, usually 8-20)

CONCLUSION
  Purpose: what the reader does or understands now
  - Closing story or image:
  - Next step for the reader:

NOT THIS BOOK: (ideas and memories saved for later)

How detailed should a book outline be?

Detailed enough that you never sit down without knowing what the next chapter is for, and no more. For most books that's two to five pages. If your outline runs past fifteen pages, you're probably drafting in disguise; start writing the real thing.

Expect the outline to change. Drafting always teaches you something: a chapter splits in two, a story belongs earlier, a whole section turns out to be unnecessary. Update the outline to match the book, not the other way around.

Once the first draft is done, try a reverse outline: go through what you actually wrote and note one line per chapter describing what it really does. Compare it with your original outline. The gaps between the two, a promised idea that never arrived or a chapter that does the same job as another, are your revision list.

How do you turn your outline into chapters in Novelleo?

In the Novelleo app (iOS and Android), choose your own story (memoir, life or family) or something you know (a guide, ideas or expertise), and answer a few questions about your book. Novelleo sets up a title, premise and a 4–20 chapter plan, which you can shape to match your outline.

The AI drafts each chapter with you. Before each next chapter, you follow the plan or add what's missing, and you edit every line. Export the finished book as a PDF or Word file. The first AI chapter is free.