10 Steps to Planning Your Illustrated Non-Fiction Book

The #1 mistake most authors make? Skipping the flat plan and hoping for the best.

If you’re producing an illustrated book, flat planning is one of the most important steps you can take. It ensures your vision translates into a cohesive, organised final product. Here's how to do it:

1. Research competitor titles: Analyse the structure and features. Look for: box outs, quotes, images, tables, illustrations, top tips. Take note of common layouts, standout elements, and their overall length to understand industry expectations.
   

2. Decide on the book length: Base your length on competitor research and the type of book you’re creating. Ensure the book fits the genre norms for word count, page count and design.
   

3. Plan your chapters: Decide the number of chapters based on the topics you want to cover and make sure the ideas appear in a logical oder.
   

4. Get chapter deep: For each chapter, write a short description about the overarching theme and goal. Then bullet point sub-topics within that chapter.
   

5. Leverage competitor reviews: Always look at customer reviews for similar titles to find any areas of opportunity. Try to identify common complains and gaps in information. Use this to refine your book’s focus and USPs.
   

6. Create a sample: Develop a sample to communicate your vision. This should include the front and back cover (complete with blurb), contents spread, and a few double page spreads of content. Share this for feedback and to validate your ideas.
   

7. Estimate Visual and Text Needs: Use the sample to determine how many images and additional features you will have throughout and the approximate word count per spread, per chapter and overall. You can use this as a basis if you’re looking to have the book translated in future.
   

8. Start a flatplan: Lay out the essential pages, half title, copyright page, title page, double page spread for contents, credits/ acknowledgements.
   

9. Chapter flatplanning: Allocate space for your chapters, making sure the start of your chapters always appears in the same way, whether that’s on the right as a single page or as a double page spread. Ensure each chapter has adequate pages for its topic while maintaining the desired word and page count.
   

10. Image flatplanning: Make sure you note where you intend to include double page or full page images. This will help you to make sure you don’t overwrite.
    

Now get writing... but remember to stay within the word count. It’s easier to add than to cut. You are the expert and it’s your job to prioritise what’s essential to the book's narrative.

Not your copy-editor.

Top tip: There are plenty of downloadable flatplanning tools that will help you seamlessly add and remove pages.