How Many Stories Do You Need in Your Book?

As you might suspect, there are no hard and fast rules about how many stories to include, what length they should be or who tells them. A book can include long and short stories, told by you or others. Some authors set up a standardized way their chapters will be structured, and place their stories at regular intervals. Others allow themselves a lot of latitude by using different chapter structures with un-standardized need for stories. We'll take a look at two books that illustrate the difference between these styles:

Take the U Out of Clutter
I will use the book I co-authored with Mark Brunetz, Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on Style Network. Our book was divided into three sections and we used a different structure in each part:
Part One: You Make the Meaning / We used the Developmental Model
Part Two: Stories That Hold Us All Back / We used the Modular Model
Part Three: Clear the Clutter from the Inside Out / We used the Step-by-step Model
Even though the book used different types of book structure, our chapters followed a similar pattern, except for the first and last chapters. In the first chapter, we introduced ourselves and told our own stories about clutter to engage the reader. In the last chapter we briefly summarized the book and invited readers to contact us through our web sites.

For the chapters in between, we selected one story to be used throughout that chapter. Usually the story opened the chapter, but occasionally we made a few points prior to starting the story. Each story was presented in the first person by the main character in that story and a client of Mark's and included details of their interaction. The stories we used were based on real clients that Mark or I had worked with, but the identifying features were changed. Our chapters were short and easy to read with a structure that followed this basic pattern:

* Opening Story
* 2 or more points we presented that were identified by chapter subheads
* Practices to Live Out, Follow, or Apply (Exercises)
* Affirmations

Here is the opening of chapter 7: Sort Your Stories, Not Your Stuff
An airline pilot who has traveled the world many times over, Jorge has collected souvenirs from every place he has flown. When we met him, many of these items were still in their boxes, unopened. In addition to his stash of mementos, Jorge's garage held furniture, boxes of photos, gardening tools, and just plain junk.

Jorge told us:
I know that Mark has worked with a lot of people with clutter problems, but I think even he was surprised at how many things I was able to get into my garage. My wife, Arianna, is so irritated with me. We just bought her a new car and she wants to be able to park it in the garage. She told me if I didn't have it cleaned out by her deadline, she'd call in an expert. I missed the deadline. The next thing I new, Mark was here
Mark said, "Don't worry, Jorge. We'll get this garage in order in no time."
I liked his optimism but I had one question. "Where do we start?"

So, how many stories did Mark and I need for our book? We needed our two stories and then one story for chapters 2 - 15. Due to the fact that our book was highly structured, it was very easy to determine how many stories we needed. We needed 13 stories.

4-Hour Workweek
In contrast, is the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Tim writes with high-powered sales energy from start to finish, with a style all his own. Before his first chapter, he includes three introductory pieces that focused on his personal success story. Due to their unique nature, each piece had its own structure. They are:
FAQ-Doubters Read This
My Story and Why You Need This Book
Chronology of a Pathology
The remainder of his book is divided into four steps. The first letter of the titles of each section spell out the word DEAL. His last chapter is three pages long. It starts with an email, has a few remarks from Tim and then ends with a poem.
After the "last chapter" he includes a reading list and 7 bonus chapters. When you flip to the back of the book to read these bonus chapters, Tim informs you that in order to get them, you'll have to visit his web site. Very clever.

Without following the rules too stringently, most of his chapters are short, usually opening with a quote with two or more subheads. He ends most of his chapters with "Q&A: Questions and Actions" in which he gives assignments, answers FAQ and gives a pep talk to the reader. The stories Ferriss includes, and the way they are presented, are as varied as the rest of his book. Some chapters are devoted to one person's story. Other chapters he uses snippets of he tells in the first or third person.

Here's a short sample:
I once asked my mom how she decided when to have her first child, little ol' me. The answer was simple: "It was something we wanted, and we decided there was no point in putting it off. The timing is never right to have a baby." And so it is.

How many stories did Ferriss need? Since he used so many different approaches throughout his book, it would be very hard to predict all of the stories included. If your book follows in Ferriss's footsteps, a more accurate way of determining the number of stories you will need is to walk through a chapter and make a notation whenever you think one is needed.

The choice is yours to make. Will you use different stories in every chapter? Will you use one story per chapter? Will you use the same stories in all of your chapters? Decide upon a story strategy that aids your reader to better understand and apply your program.
Writing stories is my favorite part of authoring a self-help book. They bring a dimension of real life drama into an otherwise "instructional" narrative.

To learn how to get your book published download my free article, "The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract" at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.

3 Tips to Writing a Sensational Chapter Opening

Life is difficult.

So starts one of the best self-help books ever written, in my estimation, The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck. I've heard dozens of people quote this opening line, as if everyone who has read this amazing book were part of a special club. When anyone says, "Life is difficult," other members of that club smile and nod in agreement. It doesn't get much better than this.

As you can see, the first few words of your book will influence whether or not you will turn a book browser into a buyer and ultimately into a reader and fan. If a prospective buyer is reading your first chapter, he or she has taken a little tour of your book-first a perusal of the front cover and then the back cover. If there's interest, the table of contents is often the next thing to be read. If after looking over the book's contents the prospective buyer's interest is growing, the next step is often to turn to the first chapter.
A good opening will draw you in. You find yourself thinking, "Oh, yes. I want to know more." A great opening can consist of a few words, a long story or anything in between as long as you persuade the reader to keep reading. Books with ho-hum beginnings are often returned to the shelf. Books that grab the reader in the first few lines are books more likely to be bought.

3 Kinds of Chapter Openings
Most self-help books start with one of these three beginnings:

1. Dramatic statement
Starting your chapter with a dramatic statement can draw a reader right into your book. Dramatic statements come in several varieties:

* A statement that you write
Let me quote M. Scott Peck's opening in its entirety, starting with the chapter title: Problems and Pain
"Life is difficult.
This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."
Most of us who read self-help books expect good news-a new way to conquer the old troubling situations, so Peck first statement surprises us. Being told that life is difficult is not what we expect. But he doesn't stop there. In the next paragraph, Peck flips his first statement on its head by describing the paradox of what happens when one accepts that life is difficult-it is no longer difficult.

Here's another example of a surprise opening taken from Taking the U Out of Clutter, a book I coauthored with Mark Brunetz, Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on Style Network:

"Don't buy another organizer bin! Don't plan another yard sale! Don't call a local charity to pick up more donations! In fact, don't do anything but get a cup of tea and sit with us for a little while."

Most de-cluttering books promote the activity of de-cluttering. But our book didn't. Since we believe that the stories we attach to each item keep us stuck, not the items themselves-our hook. Until the reader understands and accepts our premise, there's no point in sorting through one's belongings. Traditional approaches simply do not work. Our opening lays the foundation for the rest of our book.

* Quotations
Many authors open their chapters with quotations from other people. They give the reader a preview of what the chapter is about, and serve as support for the author's view. Match a great quotation with your own awesome first line, and you'll have a dynamite opening to your book.
Quotations are easy to find-there are sites online that allow you to search by category. If you choose to use quotes, you might want to invest in a few quotation books that target your particular topic area. You can also find usable quotes in other books you've read.

* Statistics
Statistics are the least personal, but can be an equally effective way to open your chapter. The strongest statistics are those that surprise and even shock the reader like these:

* It's believed that over 50% of women in our society were sexually abused as children.
* China has more straight A students than the United States has total students.
* While we used to measure progress by decades, and then years, changes in technology are now measured in months. Before you can learn how to use a new gadget, it's already out of date.

2. Story
Starting with a story can grab a hold of your reader from the first word. We are naturally drawn into stories, especially if it's about someone like themselves. Your opening story can be about someone who is struggling with problems, or a success story. And don't feel constrained to use just one story. In Who's to Blame?, a book I co-authored with Dr. Mark Baker, we used a short story to get the chapter rolling.

Allen watched from his car as Janie walked into the restaurant. Through the window he could see her as she sat down with a handsome man at a table for two. Fuming, Allen leaped out of his car and stormed into the restaurant. How could Jannie go out on him behind his back like this? He had every intention of breaking up her little rendezvous.
Who's to blame? The man who creates an embarrassing public scene or the woman who betrays his trust?

I use stories to open many of my chapters. It's a great way to engage readers and draw them into the rest of your material.

3. Have you ever...
Another common way to start a chapter is to ask the reader questions that will get them thinking about their problem, or imagining what their lives would be like with their problem solved. You can fill anything you like into the sentence-have you ever wanted to make a million dollars? Or be healthy and fit? Or make the best pasta outside of Italy.

You can change the question to whatever fits your book style. There's:
Do you...?
Did you...?
What if you...?
Have you dreamed of...?
And so forth.

Now that your audience is defined, you can subdivide it into smaller groups and target those people directly. If you add a second question, you can throw a wider net to catch as many kinds of fish possible.
Do you... or maybe you...?
Did you...or maybe you...?
What if you...or if you...?
Have you dreamed of...or maybe of...?

The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Yearby Jennifer Louden is a good example of using questions to open a chapter:

"What if there was a way to organize and guide your life that more closely resembled lying back on an inner tube as the current carried you along (with you occasionally adjusting your course because you want to smell a wild rose onshore or because you hit a bumpy stretch) rather that a furious, exhausting upstream paddle? What if self-mercy and listening to your authentic desires were your truest guides, far more trustworthy than gauging how much you accomplish in a day or what you earn? What if feeling confusion and uncertainty was actually a sign that you were on the right path? What if you could erase your sense of never having enough time or energy by cultivating a constant loving connection with yourself?"

Practice these 3 types of openings: 1) Dramatic statement, 2) Story and 3) Have you ever...? So that you will be proficient in all three and can start your chapters in a way that engages your readers.

To learn how to get your book published download my free article, "The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract" at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.