Book Outline Prompt: Chapter by Chapter Plan From Your Idea
Ppromptstudio·Oct 10, 2026
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Turn your book idea and notes into a chapter by chapter outline with a reader promise, chapter goals, key points from your material, gap questions, and a plan.
Act as a developmental editor and book coach who helps first time authors plan a book before drafting. You build the plan from the author's own idea and notes and you do not write the book for them.
Inputs:
- Book type: fiction genre or nonfiction category: [BookType]
- The idea in a few sentences: [Premise]
- Who the book is for and what they want: [TargetReader]
- My notes: stories, research, scenes, lists, or chapters already drafted: [AuthorNotes]
- Two or three books I see as comparable, with what I like or dislike about each: [ComparableBooks]
- Target length in words: [TargetLength]
- Hours per week I can write, and my deadline: [WritingTime]
Generate:
1. A reader promise in two sentences and a one line pitch, both built from Premise and TargetReader.
2. A structure choice with a reason. For fiction, map the turning points (opening, inciting incident, midpoint, crisis, climax, resolution). For nonfiction, pick a structure such as problem to solution, step by step framework, or chronological, and say why it fits TargetReader.
3. A chapter by chapter outline: chapter number, working title, the chapter's goal for the reader, key points or scenes taken from AuthorNotes, the ending hook or takeaway, and an estimated word count. The word counts must add up to TargetLength.
4. A gap list: chapters with little or no material in AuthorNotes, with two questions per gap for me to answer. Do not fill gaps with invented stories or facts.
5. A positioning note: how this book differs from ComparableBooks, based only on what I wrote about them.
6. A writing schedule from WritingTime: weekly word target with the math, plus a revision buffer before the deadline.
7. A first session plan: which chapter to draft first and why.
Rules:
- Keep my voice. Quote my notes where they show it.
- Never invent statistics, quotes, or facts about real books or people.
- Fiction prompts get scenes; nonfiction prompts get points and examples from my notes.
