A Table of Contents (TOC) is an essential element of any book. It is a quick reference guide that helps readers navigate the text easily. You probably have a TOC in your current works. Whether you call it an outline, framework, or chapter list, it serves exactly the same purpose. Readers can click on a link in the TOC and be taken to the corresponding chapter or section. This makes following along much easier. You should not underestimate the power of a TOC.
Why Should I Explain How to Write a TOC in My Book?
You should explain how to write a TOC in your book for several reasons. First, if you are a new author, your publisher may ask you to do this. In the publishing world, there is no exact science to predicting what will sell and what will not. However, there are some patterns that emerge. One of them is that non-fiction memoirs and biographies often feature a very strong TOC. This is probably because those types of books require a lot of research and require a clearer direction as to where the book is going. A strong TOC is essential for those books. In those cases, the writer basically does all the groundwork before they start writing. This means they will probably have a lot of materials to work with. A TOC is a great place to start organizing all this information. It also helps make the book seem more authoritative and less like a patchwork of ideas. A strong TOC makes the whole book seem much more coherent and complete. The same thing can be said for a business book that features a very strong TOC. A TOC should be an integral part of every book.
What Elements Should I Include in My TOC?
The TOC of your book should include the following:
- The table of contents
- An indication of the number of pages
- A brief description of the contents
- A short biography of the author
- A list of related books (if you are writing a series)
- Contact information
The above list represents the most basic elements of a TOC. However, there are a few other things that you should consider adding. For instance, you might want to include the following:
- A note about the genre of your book
- A short overview of the history of your book’s main characters
- A timeline of the events that the book covers
- A list of main sources
- A selection of keywords
- A short glossary of terms
- A section on the setting
- An epigraph
- An index
The above list is not comprehensive. You can include whatever you think will be useful to your readers. The important thing is that your TOC reflects your own thinking and ideas. It is not a copy of someone else’s work. You can always come back and add more things later. Your TOC is a work in progress. You can always update it whenever you feel necessary. Your goal is to have something that is as complete and detailed as possible.
How Long Should My Table of Contents Be?
The length of your table of contents will depend on a variety of factors. If you are writing a short book, you may want to keep it relatively short. Conversely, if you are writing a long book, you may want to expand your TOC to cover more territory. There is no exact science to this, but you can use a little common sense. If you have a lot of material to include, you may want to add more sections or even chapters to your TOC. Conversely, for a short book, you may simply want to include a chapter at the end that sums up all the major points. Think of the above list of things to include in your TOC and match them to the length of your book. In general, you should include the most important information first and work your way to the least important information. In a nutshell, make sure that your TOC is comprehensive enough but does not get so big that it is cumbersome to read.
Organizing your material into sections or chapters will also make it much easier to write an effective table of contents. You should create a chapter or section heading for each sub-topic or major point that you will cover in your book. This makes it much easier to find what you are looking for. It is advisable to write a few sentences that briefly describe the contents of each chapter or section. This will add more coherence and completeness to your book.
How Do I Write the Table of Contents?
The best way to write a table of contents is simply to use the outline that you created for your book. You can copy this directly into your document or blog post. For inspiration, you can look at other books in your genre that have a strong TOC. Some good examples include:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) by Mark Twain
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1885) by Mark Twain
- The Bible (The New International Bible)
- A Child’s Book of Colors (1936) by Roger Toryolo
- The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955) by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Oxford English Dictionary (1989)
- The Princess Diaries (1997) by Stephanie Myeroff
- Tuesdays with Morrie (1995) by Mitch Albom
- War and Peace (1868) by Leo Tolstoy
- What Is Life (1921) by Sigmund Freud
For each sub-topic or section, you should write a few sentences that briefly describe the contents of the chapter or section. Take your time with this and make it as complete and thorough as possible. Once you have written the introductory material, you should go back and add more details. Take your time with this as well and make it as thorough as possible.
This will not only make your book much more comprehensive but will also help establish your book as an authoritative guide to the topic. If you want to write a book on history, make sure that your TOC includes all the major events that you will cover. If you want to write a children’s book, make sure to include all the important information concerning the characters. The more you write, the more you will realize the value of a good table of contents. It is a quick and easy way to get a feel for the whole book while still being able to find what you need quickly.