Free author workbook

Give every chapter a clear purpose.

At a glance

Turn a book promise into chapter questions, then record the evidence, examples and reader actions behind each one. Download the Excel workbook or create an outline in your browser.

Give each chapter a clear job

Define the reader and central argument, then plan what each chapter helps that reader understand or do. Keep an evidence question beside every claim that still needs checking. Use the blank workbook or the clearly labeled fictional example to begin.

Download the Excel workbookBlank CSV worksheetCompleted example CSVPrintable worksheet

The example follows an invented business book, not a client project. Its proposed evidence is a research task, not a verified result.

Build a working outline in your browser

Entries remain in this browser while you work. Download your outline to keep it. Mark confidential examples and permission questions in your own records before sharing a brief.

Test the sequence before you draft

  • Does each chapter answer a different reader question?
  • Does the order build the knowledge needed for the next chapter?
  • Which claims need a source, interview, calculation or permissions check?
  • Can the reader apply the chapter through an example, exercise or decision?
  • Where does the outline repeat a point instead of moving the argument forward?

Read the nonfiction outline guide or prepare the wider business book project brief. For writing and review arrangements, explore business book support.