How to Select A How to Book Writing System: Determining Your Needs

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So you realize you need some form of system in order to write how to books efficiently and effectively. Great. You could just try writing until you discover your preferred system. But you’ll have to fail at writing eBooks several times first. Or you could go out and buy a system.

But what type of system do you need?

The first step in choosing a system is to answer that question. In this video we help you understand your needs by creating a framework.

Writing fits somewhere along one of three dimensions:

  1. Organizational Base  (aka Time or Fact Base)
  2. Organizational Flexibility (aka Structured or Unstructured)
  3. Complexity   ( aka Simple/Complex)

Writing is organized either on a Time basis or on a Fact basis for the reader.

Not all writing, however, is equally bound by the base organization. Time based writing, for example, can run from time-line focused (structured to the base) to a sequential focus (still time but the base is no longer the central focus of the structure).

As the writing moves from structured (by the base) to unstructured (by the base), the writer has both more flexibility and the need to examine and select a structure for presentation. In other words, if your writing is structured time based (e.g. fiction) then you must select a time based structure. Your system will need to reflect that. On the other hand if your writing is unstructured fact based (e.g. a collection of recipes) you will need to determine what structure you will present to the reader.  Usually, this will be a fact based structure.   The key is that it is imposed and therefore your system will not require an imposed structure.

The final dimension is that of complexity. As your writing becomes simpler – e.g. blogs or short articles – the need for structure reduces. As the writing becomes more complex (i.e. books) the need for structure increases.

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