Book tips #2: Building a Table of Contents

With bookmarking and online search functions, who needs a Table of Contents anymore?

1. First impressions for the reader – the first page which online book stores (such as Amazon) usually takes you to when you click ‘Look Inside!’ is the Table of Contents ‘ToC’ page.

So, it makes sense, at the very least, to put a bit of effort into this…and at the very very least, to have one there in the first place!

And remember, the reader could equally mean the person who is going to buy your book, or the person who is going to commission it (such as an agent or publisher)!

2. Ease of navigation – even though there are online search functions, the ToC should be the first port of call for any reader, and with embedded links, they can jump straight to the relevant chapter/section of the book.

3. Useful structure for the writer – when putting a book together at the planning stage, I tend to start with the ToC, to get a ‘Mind Map’ of what the book will look like.

This enables me to write the book in segments, rather than chronologically.

For example, the last chapter I ever tend to write is the Introduction…and the first thing I do is the plan, which becomes the draft ToC!

How to put together a Table of Contents?

If you’ve planned your book in advance, and have used your Style Guide throughout [see Book Tips #1] when writing your book, it really is simple. Worryingly simple.

How to insert a ToC

• Put your cursor at the beginning of the document
• Insert / Index and Tables / Table of Contents / Select the style you want – Traditional, Classic…etc / OK
• Et voilá!

OK, there are also some clever little dinky bit you can do, such as define which Style Levels you want to appear in your ToC, how many levels and sub-levels you wish to appear…etc, but you can look through those in time.

Remember, that a ToC can be just as invaluable for a Report as for a book – just follow exactly the same principles

Related articles

http://www.nobleword.co.uk/book-tips-1-define-style-gallery/