[Kindle Publishing] Episode 3: "Living as my true self" doesn't resonate—Write the After with "visible changes"
Up to the last episode, we decided on the project and the target reader. From here on, we finally get into the content. It's about what order to arrange things in to make it a single "story".
The thing I struggled with most in the structure was, "How should I write this so it reaches the reader's heart?" At first, I missed the mark significantly here. The After that I thought I had summarized neatly turned out, upon rereading later, to be words written in every other book.
Episode 3 will cover how to assemble the Before/After, including that failure.
Don't solidify it with how-tos. Arrange it as a life story
The first thing I decided on was the framework for the entire book. If I made it a technical book that just lists methods, it would clash head-on with existing good books. I cannot beat experts in terms of the sheer volume of knowledge.
So what I chose was to arrange it not as a book that teaches know-how, but as a story of one person's life changing.
I set the chapter structure in this order.
Collapse → Defense → Organizing thoughts → Reconstruction → Life takes a turn for the better.
I entered from the events that happened on the outside and gradually dived into the inner self. There is a reason for this sequence. If you place the "scene from when things were falling apart" first, it is easier for the reader to overlap it with themselves and enter the story. From there, we can descend into the inner self together, little by little. It should be much easier to read without being left behind than starting with inner thoughts right away.
In fact, for the first chapter, "Collapse," I didn't just write that it was painful; I made sure the cause and effect—"why I became unable to move as if I had been force-quit"—was visible from the table of contents.
Don't write the After with pretty words. Write it with visible changes
The part I redid the most was the After—the part about "what the person who finishes reading can become."
What I wrote at first was, "I became able to live as my true self," and "I became able to make choices with conviction." I thought I had chosen good words myself. But when I reread it, this is something written in every self-help book. It doesn't convey at all whose change it is.
So, I deleted all the abstract "good words" and rewrote it using only visible changes.
For example—
・I couldn't stop pushing myself until I was force-quit by facial nerve paralysis, but now I can distance myself before I get exhausted. ・I used to escape into greasy dining out due to stress, but now I can notice the small joys of daily life. ・I was exhausted from chasing "society's correct answers" like promotions and connections, but now I have stepped off that competition and can work at my own pace.
What I was most careful about here was not to exaggerate the story. I felt that if I crafted a dramatic Before/After, the reader might think, "Isn't this too good to be true?" and quietly close the book. So, no exaggerations or made-up stories. I just laid out the life-sized changes that actually happened, exactly as they were.
Rather than pretty words, unexaggerated specifics are much stronger. I think that is what allows the reader to imagine, "Maybe I can change like this person too," as if it were their own story.
Don't skip the Before. The most read part is the record of the "rock bottom"
What was surprising was that what the reader wanted to know most was not the story after I had recovered.
The daily records from when I was falling apart, which I thought were mundane, turned out to be the most read parts. People in the same situation are more likely to feel that "someone understands me" from the Before, aren't they?
That is why I didn't cut the Before, but rather carefully kept it.
And one more thing.I placed this Before and After at the very beginning of the book. Anyone can read the "Introduction" of a Kindle book as a free sample. In other words, the beginning is the place to show "this is what you can become if you read this book."
What I was careful about here was not to make the reader think, "The author is too talented, this is impossible for me." It's not a success story of an amazing person, but a record of someone who was falling apart moving forward half a step at a time. I chose my words so it could be read that way.
Here are the key points of Episode 3.
・Instead of a technical book, arrange the chapters as a "story" of collapse → reconstruction → improvement
・Write the After not as "being myself," but with visible changes (e.g., being able to distance yourself before getting exhausted)
・Do not cut the Before, and place the Before/After at the beginning of the book (free sample)
Episode 4 is finally about the writing process. It's a story about how, while using AI to create the foundation of the manuscript, the actual work was more about "stripping away" than "adding."
Is there anything in this past year that you feel has changed even a little bit? Small things are fine. That will be the first line of your Before/After.
By the way, the story assembled in this way is this book.
"I felt easier to breathe once I decided to stop meeting expectations." You can read it for 0 yen with Kindle Unlimited. I would be happy if you could check how the Before/After is placed, even just by reading the "Introduction" at the beginning.
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