VICKI’S FOUR QUESTIONS ©

VICKI WEILAND, Writer-Editor

P.O. Box 641796, San Francisco, CA  94164-1796

“VICKI’S FOUR QUESTIONS” ©  (for Writers and Authors)

by Vicki Weiland

In all of the years I have been a developmental editor I have discovered that all would-be and continuing authors actually do have a precise idea of what they want to say, why they want to say it, and how they would like their book to look and feel.

If you try your hand at answering the four questions below, I hope you too will find this to be true:

1. What is your vision of the book? (What are the three most important   qualities, i.e., elegant, academic, thought-provoking, informative, “change the world,” reflective, dramatic, etc.)?
2. What is the most important thing you want readers to have learned after they have read your book?
3. What would you most like readers to feel when they close your book?
4. What three words would you like most for a book reviewer to say about your book?

• Question 1 addresses your desired “author’s voice” and the overall “tone” you would like the book to convey;

• Question 2 provides the “focus,” and is the backbone for developing an outline so as to incrementally educate  and drive the reader through the content;

• Question 3 is your heart-line that will flow throughout the book, your deeply desired outcome for writing it; and

• Question 4 motivates you to think about marketing—who your readers are and what would propel them to buy your book.

Be sure to keep your answers nearby so that you can look back on them regularly to see if you are still “on track.”  If you are not, you may discover that your original ideas have changed.  If that is the case, you will want to ask yourself the questions again.

All my very best to you, and “Write On!”

Sincerely,

Vicki Weiland

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