- If you're wondering what the right number of chapters
for you non-fiction book is
or maybe just how many chapters you should have in your book
then, this video is for you.
(upbeat rock music)
Hey, there, I'm Julie "the book" Broad.
I'm an Amazon overall number one best selling author
and the founder of a fabulous company called Book Launchers.
Our superpower is caring more about you and your book
than anybody else as we help you write, publish,
and sell a non-fiction book
that will boost your brand and make you money.
We help entrepreneurs
and professionals write their book in two main ways,
one option is that the author works with a writing coach
to guide them, support them, and cheer them on,
and help them through every step of the writing process
and we have writers who will do the same thing,
but they give the author and assist
and have the added benefit of doing a lot of the typing
and wordsmithing along the way.
In both situations, this subject comes up.
How many chapters does my book need?
How long is a typical chapter?
And can I have some really long chapters
if most of my chapters are short?
Now, here's the problem.
There are no rules.
There isn't a right or a wrong answer to these questions.
There are, however, some important considerations
and that's what I have for you today.
A good non-fiction chapter should contain one idea
or key point.
So, if you're writing a book about how coffee is life
to the parent of a toddler
that wakes up at 5:48 AM every darn day, then,
each chapter of the book could be one benefit of coffee.
So, chapter one, Coffee Stimulates Conversation.
Chapter two, The Hidden Fat Burning Benefit
of Caffeine Consumption Before 6:00 AM.
I'm making this up,
but, if it's true and you're an expert
that could write about it,
let's do it, I have a lot of case studies
or I could be you guinea pig (laugh).
The point here, is that each chapter is a single main idea
that fits with the hook of your book.
You remember that, right?
We've talked about that before.
And you can include research, case studies, examples,
stories, sub-ideas, but you wouldn't mix two ideas together.
The other really important point to consider
is who is your reader
and what so they need and want from you?
For example, out client, Tom Gabor, wrote
this powerful book called,
Enough! Solving America's Gun Violence Crisis.
His reader is not gonna be reading it expecting humor
and short punchy chapters.
His reader is going to expect thoughtful explanations
of each idea he presents fro a chapter
with research, exploratory examples, and explanations.
Compare that to The Green Wizard's Guide,
spells to turn your yard green,
add more nutrients to your garden and veggies,
and save money for your summer vacation.
This is a fun and punchy book.
The reader is going to expect quick solutions presented
in a fun and maybe even quirky manner.
So, you have to match your reader's expectations
with your chapters.
Now, if you're wondering,
how many chapters should be in your book.
Well, there's companies that will sell you on the idea
that a non-fiction book should be 10 chapters.
It's a smart marketing move on their part,
but the reality is,
if you only have eight great ideas for chapters,
don't make it 10 just to hit 10,
and if you have 12 great ideas,
don't try combining four ideas into two just to hit 10.
But, if you don't have at least eight chapters,
you either don't have enough material for our book yet
or you're putting too much into each chapter
and you probably should look at breaking it up.
Beyond that, just do what feels right for you
and your reader.
Most non-fiction books will have somewhere
between eight to 24 chapters,
but this doesn't mean that's the right answer.
Some books have a lot of chapters.
One of my favorite books of all time,
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
breaks all the rules.
Some chapters were only one paragraph long.
Seth Godin goes against convention in so many of his books
even making cartoon books for adults.
So do some critical thinking
and make sure you aren't putting too much into one chapter
and that you have enough content for your book.
And when you do that,
make sure it's something your ideal will enjoy
and benefit from.
But, that all might beg the question of chapter length
and as I noted, I can give you examples
of really short chapters or successful books
that do everything different,
but generally, think of a chapter as a really long article.
Think magazine length article length.
So, 25 hundred words,
usually not more than five thousand words.
Personally, I'm not a fan of chapters that are really long.
I feel like if you've got a chapter
that's eight thousand words or more,
you probably should look at breaking it up,
but that's just my opinion and nothing more.
What I can say is you need to have a flow
and a rhythm to your book.
You don't need uniformity to your chapter lengths.
You can have one that's a thousand words
and another that's ten thousand words,
but that might not have good rhythm.
It might be jolting to the reader.
So, I'd probably look at breaking up that big chapter
and maybe adding a little bit to the shorter one,
but you don't have to.
I'm not saying can't or shouldn't,
but think about it from a reader experience.
Everyone likes to feel like their making progress
and if you have a chapter
that takes three sittings for someone to read,
they might give up on your book.
I love the idea of minimum effective dose,
so give your reader the minimum they need
to get your point across without boring them.
Remember we're all about no boring books at Book Launchers.
In fact, we even put it on a hoodie (laugh).
Smash that thumbs up button, try it, it feels good.
And I'm curious, do you have a preference
for chapter length in books you read or write.
Share that in the comments below
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New content every Tuesday and Friday.
Since we're talking about chapters,
this video on starting your chapters in a engaging way
is some must watch viewing,
but if you've seen that already,
then this is a cool little tip.
Either way click on one of them so we can keep hanging out
'cause I'm enjoying our time together
and I'm not quite ready for it to end.
See you on the next video.
(upbeat rock music)