How to Write a Nonfiction Book with the S.L.A.M. System
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A few months ago, I received an email from a divorce attorney who was in a lot of trouble. She was struggling to write a nonfiction book while running a busy family law practice. Her book was about avoiding the most common and most costly mistakes that many of her clients make during the difficult transition of separation and divorce. The subject matter was so familiar to Samantha it seemed like she should have banged out a first draft in a matter of weeks. But that wasn’t happening. In fact, the more she wrote, the further she got from something that even resembled a readable book. She searched for a book coach and decided to work with me.
Samantha’s dilemma was something I see quite often as a professional book coach. I’ve even experienced the problem myself as a bestselling author. Subject matter experts often think that writing a book to boost their business is simply a matter of downloading what’s inside their brain onto a blank piece of paper. But it doesn’t work that way. It’s like throwing a bunch of wool into a basket and calling your effort a sweater. What’s missing in the process is a key ingredient: the pattern or organizing system that shapes and guides the project. Much like a person who is knitting or crocheting an article of clothing, the writer must have a template for turning the raw material into a satisfying and functional result.
My lawyer client was trying to meet a nearly impossible deadline. She had been asked to give the keynote speech at a large family law conference and wanted to have her book ready to sell to attendees after the presentation. I introduced Samantha to one of my favourite nonfiction book writing techniques: the S.L.A.M. System.
You can use S.L.A.M. as a repeatable pattern for each chapter of your self-help or leadership book. The pattern can be used again and again to organize your writing and give your readers a much more enjoyable experience. It starts like this:
‘S’ is for Story
You begin the pattern with an anecdote, a story from your life or business. It can be your story, a client’s or customer’s story, or it can be a story you read somewhere about someone else. All that really matters is that the story is relevant to the material you’re writing about because this story forms the foundation of the S.L.A.M. pattern you’re building.
‘L’ is for Lesson
Following the story is the lesson. This is the moral of the story — it’s the reason why you’ve told it. The lesson can be quite succinct. Sometimes it’s just a sentence or two. Alternatively, you can unfold the lesson over several paragraphs. If you’ve told the story well, the reader has probably already figured out what the lesson is before you explain it to them. Don’t worry about that. Even when the lesson is very obvious you still want to confirm what the reader has already arrived at.
‘A’ is for Application
After you describe the lesson of the story, you need to give examples of where or when the reader can apply this information. This is important because it’s unlikely someone will be dealing with the exact same scenario as the story you’ve written. You need to broaden the possibilities for your readers to use the knowledge you’re sharing. Don’t skip this step by assuming the readers will figure it out for themselves. Instead, spell it out. Give clear and relatable instances or situations where your target audience can apply this information.
‘M’ is for Methodology
Methodology is the payoff to the story, lesson, and application. For the final step in the S.L.A.M. System, the author details a step-by-step approach to implementing the message, mindset, improvement, or changes you’re advocating. This is the meat and potatoes of the pattern and the book you’re writing. The story hooks the reader and keeps them turning pages. The lesson is the “aha” moment. The application is where you transition from narrative to agency, from being entertained to taking action. Finally, with the methodology you are solving the problem that the reader has or the challenge they’re facing, which is the reason they purchased your book in the first place.
Here’s the S.L.A.M. method in action, using my client Samantha’s book as a very abbreviated example.
Samantha begins with a story about a couple in their late thirties who were going through a relatively stress free, nearly amicable, divorce. They were just a few days from signing the final paperwork and starting the next chapter of their lives. Then the husband moved in with his new partner and the negotiations collapsed. The couple ended up in court spending thousands of dollars battling over the division of parenting time because the wife was upset about the children living with her ex’s new girlfriend.
The lesson was about the potential for new relationships to derail the fragile process of achieving a separation agreement even when everything seems to be going smoothly.
The application described the most common flashpoints such as starting a new relationship, introducing children to your new partner, and moving in together.
For the methodology, my client gave a set of do’s and don’ts for handling all the significant steps of starting and developing new relationships, including when to slow down or even hold off on the next big relationship.
The S.L.A.M System gave Samantha’s book an organizing tool that resulted in a much more enjoyable experience for her reader. The stories were relatable to her clients and especially to the hundreds of lawyers at the conference. Some of her colleagues ordered dozens of copies to give to their own clients, helping them quickly understand the pitfalls to avoid during one of the most difficult periods of their lives.
One of the things Samantha really liked is that S.L.A.M. put the brakes on her tendency to ramble on in legal jargon where she would cite cases and quote legal scholars as if she was making an argument in court in front of a judge. By sticking to the pattern, she had very little room for boring and arcane details of jurisprudence because they didn’t really didn’t fit anywhere within the S.L.A.M. System. Her book went from a hefty 70,000 words to a much more digestible 38,000. The slimmed down book cost her much less to self-publish and print which added up to a good return on the investment of her time and money. She’s since been invited to speak at several other conferences due to the success of her book project.
The S.L.A.M System is something you can customize as well. In Samantha’s book she told only ten stories (one per chapter) and so repeated the S.L.A.M. pattern ten times in the book. Other authors I’ve worked with repeat the pattern two or three or even four times in every chapter because their stories and methods are relatively short. Some authors will add a second story at the beginning or in the methodology section to contrast examples. In the first story, the scenario might not go well. It’s a cautionary tale. The second story is an example of a similar situation where the author’s method is implemented successfully.
I’ve also had clients who mixed application and methodology together. They will give an example of a situation where the lesson can be applied and then describe a step-by-step process to use specifically in that particular kind of environment. Then the author writes about a different opportunity to apply the learning and customizes the methodology just for that kind of scenario. Whether you use S.L.A.M. exactly as I’ve described or customize it (as I’ve done with my own writing), the benefits of an organizing structure are crucial to the success of your nonfiction book.
First of all, the power of a proven pattern helps shorten your writing process because it is more focused. You won’t be wandering down rabbit holes like Samantha the lawyer. Secondly, your readers will have a much better experience with the finished product. Your work will be tighter, crisper, and the pages will keep turning. Finally, an organizing structure like S.L.A.M. allows you to easily leverage your information in other formats. Each pattern sequence is a stand-alone sound bite that can be repurposed in speeches, blogs, podcasts, and social media posts. If you’re giving a presentation at your local Chamber of Commerce, you can choose one, two, or three of your S.L.A.M. patterns (depending how long they are) and voila — your talk is organized!
Like Samantha, I was introduced to the S.L.A.M. System by a writing coach. Prior to that, it took me ten years to write my first book. I knew what I wanted to say but I didn’t know how to organize my writing. The words were like that big pile of wool in a basket: disorganized and formless. With a little coaching and the discovery of a pattern that worked for me, I was able to finish my book. And with 200,000 copies sold, it’s a bestseller I’m still proud of.
Writing your own nonfiction book doesn’t have to be a torturous journey of trial and error. Learn from what the pros do. Use a pattern like S.L.A.M. and stick to it. Following a script you know works will take the guesswork out of assembling your book. You’ll enjoy the writing more, and you’ll have a much better product to show for your efforts.
Steve Donahue is a professional speaker, book coach, and the author of two bestselling nonfiction books. His works have sold over 100,000 copies and have been translated into Korean, Turkish, Russian and Greek. Steve helps new and experienced authors turn their book ideas into well-crafted publications that delight readers and inspire change. To learn more, visit his website at MyBookCoach.ca.
