3 Questions to Ask Before Using a Story in Your Book

Consider these scenarios:

You are in the middle of a bitter divorce and decide to write a book to help other women cope with the ending of a marriage. Your business partner just embezzled ,000 from you and you want to write a book to warn other business owners of this danger. You just helped a client heal from a major life trauma and plan to write a book detailing the process you created.

Marriage

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All these situations have one thing in common: the inspiration to use a personal story for a book. However, depending on some very crucial distinctions, these three situations may NOT be ideal times to use your personal story in a book.

3 Questions to Ask Before Using a Story in Your Book

When you use a story in a book, and I highly recommend that you do, you give readers the chance to get to know you better, to learn not only from the facts in your book but from the stories, and have a more enjoyable reading experience. People love stories and will remember them more than anything else in your book.

However, you have to be cautious when selecting which stories from your life to include in your book so that the stories serve the reader and the message of your book in the most effective way. Use these three questions to guide you:

1. If the story recounts a painful time in your life, are you healed from that event so that you can write about it without bitterness or anger?

It is easy to write stories with subconscious intentions to get revenge on another person, tell your side, or show how you've been wronged. If you are using a story about a painful time in your life, like a divorce, business failure, or attack of some kind, be sure that enough time has gone by for you to have worked through the emotions and have a feeling of peace about the event.

2. Does the story reveal anything personal about another person that could hurt them?

If you discuss your sister-in-law's eating disorder in your book without her permission, she could be deeply hurt. This would be akin to gossiping around the world's biggest water cooler. When using a story of a client, friend, or relative, get their written permission to use the story or change the details significantly and let your readers know that all stories in the book are composites to protect the identity of the people involved.

3. Will you want this story about yourself or your business to be read by your children or future customers?

I once reviewed a manuscript that revealed very private details of the author's extramarital affairs. She was still married but her husband and adult children had no idea she'd been unfaithful multiple times. For some reason it had not crossed her mind that publishing this story in her book had the potential of creating serious harm to her relationships.  

When you are selecting stories to use in your book, imagine that you and your book are being profiled on the Today Show. If you could easily tell your story on national television without blushing, cringing or harming others, you can use it in your book.

Remember that the goal of a story in your book is to illustrate a point, like a parable. When you select stories that teach, and screen them using the three questions above, you will feel confident that the stories in your book entertain, enlighten and educate your readers.

3 Questions to Ask Before Using a Story in Your Book

Want to create a successful book? Free monthly author training calls with successful authors at http://www.SparkforAuthors.com. Lynne Klippel is a publisher, best-selling author and book coach who specializes in helping authors write great non-fiction books and use them to build their business and profits.

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