How to write a self-help book

A self-help book must be complete. You must include all the information the reader will need to acquire the skill you’re teaching. For example, if the first step of Systematic Desensitization is to learn relaxation techniques, you need to teach relaxation techniques first.

To effectively teach skills, a self-help book must proceed step-by-step. Put the first step first, the second step second, and so on. Don’t leave out any steps. In this respect, many New Harbinger books resemble technical manuals rather than traditional psychology books.

Include just as much theory, history, and motivational writing as the reader needs to understand and acquire the skill at hand. A few sentences of inspirational or motivational writing can help, but keep your focus on the practical and factual. When you have the choice of explaining a complex theory or just giving a simple instruction, give the simple instruction. If you discuss theory, give a brief, clear explanation.

Audience

Many of our books are double-targeted: they’re meant to be read by both lay and professional audiences. The best way to reach both groups is to write your book directly to the client—to the person with the problem you’re writing about. The language should be simple and the tone supportive. If you include enough historical background, theory, and further readings, then the professional will get the whole story, too. After all, mental health professionals buy our books for the same reason laypeople do—because our books are clear, simple, and complete. Professionals report that they prefer our step-by-step approach over the abstract and abstruse material usually offered to the professional audience.

Write assuming your reader knows absolutely nothing about your subject. Explain every step so that a person who is completely naive could follow your directions. Ask yourself after each instruction or exercise, “Could I do this if I’d never been exposed to any of these concepts or methods before?”

Getting Started

Research

First, do your own homework. Go to bookstores and libraries. Peruse the Internet. Talk to colleagues. Query associations and other professional groups. Find out what is already available on your topic and get copies of the best materials. See how other authors have approached the topic, and learn from both their successes and shortcomings. Make sure that the book you want to write hasn’t already been written. Figure out how your book is going to be different and better.

Organize Your Book

Decide on a working title and a table of contents before you start writing. For a 200-page book, you should have at least ten chapters to break up the book and provide resting points in the narrative. Unless your book will be in the Companion Series format, don’t have more than fifteen chapters, or your book may become too fragmented.

Try to arrange your contents according to a single organizing principle. For ex ample, you could organize a book on relaxation according to the various techniques that can be employed to reduce stress. A book on a specific treatment strategy could focus first on the general theory and then on each step of the process. Whichever organizing technique you choose, make sure that it is logical and easy to follow. Too many ideas presented all at once can be confusing.

After you complete your table of contents, go on to outline each chapter. Make a brief listing of topics to be included in each chapter; this may save you from having to revise a lot of chapters later.

One good way to work is to build your outline using headings and subheads. So, after you’ve decided on your chapters and their titles, start filling in what the headings would logically be. Remember, headings act as a sort of outline or guide within the book. A-heads are the largest (“Why Relax?”), followed by B-heads (“Relaxation Can Be Learned”), C-heads (“Relaxation Techniques”), and finally D-heads (“Progressive Muscle Relaxation,” “Release-Only Relaxation,” etc.). Creating a table of contents complete with headings (even just A-heads) will give you a ready-made outline from which to work.

Start Writing

When you know what chapters you will have in your book and what will be in each chapter, you’re ready to start writing. Write the chapter you’re most familiar with first, regardless of where it is in the table of contents. Save the introduction for last—you have to know what the whole book is like before you can introduce it.

Each chapter should cover just one concept, skill, theory, problem, or technique. Use A headings and a lot of B-heads and C-heads so that the reader can know at a glance where the chapter is going. (Chapters in Companion Series books are so short they don’t need headings.) In a chapter that teaches a skill, proceed step-by-step in exactly the sequence the reader should follow to master the skill. Teach any prerequisites first or in a previous chapter. Put the most important, most general, and most applicable rules or concepts first. Save the special cases, exceptions, and special considerations for the end.

Teach by Instruction, Example, and Exercise

To effectively teach an individual step of a skill, follow this sequence: state the rule, precept, or instruction first. Be clear and to the point. Then give an example of how someone else did this step. Finally, provide an exercise for the reader to perform. This gives the reader three ways to learn the skill: intellectually by precept, emotionally through modeling, and experientially through action.

You can use one long-running example throughout a chapter, give several different examples, or do both. For a complex procedure with many steps, it helps to give one long example at the end of the chapter to show how it all goes together.

Note that examples are not case histories. In fact, you may not be able to find enough real-life case histories to illustrate all the material that needs examples. You might have to make them up, striving for enough quirky details and complications to make them seem real. Don’t feel guilty about making up examples—it might be a dubious practice in a journal article, but it’s perfectly acceptable in a self-help book. The purpose of a self-help book is to teach, not provide case monographs.

Stylistic Decisions

Tone—From Me to You

Write directly to the reader, referring to him or her as “you.” Avoid references to “one.” Addressing the reader as “you” might feel uncomfortably intimate or presumptuous, but it is one of the best ways to achieve the warm, personal, supportive tone that is so important in a self-help book. You may be  used to writing reports, case histories, or journal articles, and this style may seem unnatural at first, but it can be used to impart almost any kind of information. If using “you” feels confrontational or accusatory in certain circumstances, you can refer occasionally to “people” or “everyone.”

Refer to yourself as “I,” or if possible, don’t refer to yourself at all. Write as if you were addressing a trusted friend. This will create an omniscient, anonymous author persona.

We like an informal style. Use occasional contractions like “won’t” and “you’re” instead of “will not” and “you are.” A little slang or vulgarity, particularly in examples of how people really talk, is desirable.

Headings and Subheads

Headings are the elements of bigger type that break up a book into sections. At New Harbinger, we use four kinds of headings: A heads, B heads, C, and D heads. As you can probably surmise, they descend in terms of generality, from A to D. So, an A head in the chapter called "Keeping Your Cat Healthy" could be "Your Enemy the Flea," followed by the B head "Flea-Borne Ailments," and so on. In a sort of outline form, the A head denotes the broad topic (within the broader sphere of the chapter title/subject and the broadest of the book's title/subject), and the subsequent heads denote subordinate topics within the broader subject. It works just like an outline.

After you complete your table of contents, go on to outline each chapter. Make a brief listing of topics to be included in each chapter; this may save you from having to revise a lot of chapters later.

One good way to work is to build your outline using headings and subheads. So, after you’ve decided on your chapters and their titles, start filling in what the headings would logically be. Remember, headings act as a sort of outline or guide within the book. A-heads are the largest (“Why Relax?”), followed by B-heads (“Relaxation Can Be Learned”), C-heads (“Relaxation Techniques”), and finally D-heads (“Progressive Muscle Relaxation,” “Release-Only Relaxation,” etc.). Creating a table of contents complete with headings (even just A-heads) will give you a ready-made outline from which to work.

Literature Citations

Avoid citations unless they are absolutely necessary to explain the background of a concept or technique. Citations are necessary, for example, any time you are quoting directly or referring to a concept, idea, or opinion that is directly attributable to another source.If a reference is needed, don’t use footnotes. Instead, cite the author’s name and the date of the work. If possible, work the citation into the sentence: “In 1986, Dr. Joyce Williams found that white rats like rock and roll.” Otherwise, it should look like this: “Research has shown that white rats like rock and roll (Williams 1986).”

Include a References section at the end of the book. New Harbinger uses the APA documentation style exclusively for books intended for a professional audience. For all others, list books in your references section like this :

Smith, A.B., and Z. Jones. 1986. Title of Book. New York: Publisher.

List journal articles by date, volume, and page numbers:

Wolfe, N. 1971. “Title of Article.” Name of Journal 6:16–23.

Be sure that the References section includes complete and accurate references for all works mentioned in your text. Only books cited in the text should go in the References section—any other books that you recommend can go in a Recommended Reading section. For more details on how to format your references, please see our References Guide. This can be requested from your acquisitions editor.

Sentences and Paragraphs

Try to have no more than one subordinate clause in your longest sentences. When you use long sentences, alternate them with short sentences to give the reader a rest.

Each paragraph should have just one idea. Don’t be afraid of short paragraphs—if you’ve completely covered the idea, end the paragraph and start another one.

It’s best to begin paragraphs with a general-idea sentence and follow it with sentences giving specific examples of the idea, or exceptions to the idea. Don’t skip from the general to the specific then back to the general—it’s very hard for the reader to follow.

A general-idea sentence can also end a paragraph when the sentences before it give specific evidence for a general conclusion. Again, it’s the movement back and forth between the general and the specific that confuses your reader.

Avoid Repetition

A little repetition is okay for emphasis, but don’t overdo it. Try to explain things as clearly as possible the first time; re-explaining yourself can lead to confusion. Also, beware of your favorite expressions, sayings, aphorisms, and clichés cropping up too often.

Obtain Permissions