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Updated March 2, 2023
Subtitle
Here is a list of essential questions to help you write a foreword
Synopsis
Here is a list of essential questions you should think about to help you make sure you have written a complete foreword. Not all questions here will apply to your foreword. But these 26 questions will help you take a critical look at what you have written and help you fine-tune your foreword.
What You Will Learn
1. You will learn what questions to ask yourself before writing a book’s foreword.
2. You will learn why the reader’s wants and needs must come before yours.
3. You will learn what the basic format of a book’s foreword should look like.
Introduction
Here is a list of essential questions you should think about to help you make sure you have written a complete foreword. Not all questions here will apply to your foreword. But these 26 questions will help you take a critical look at what you have written and help you fine-tune your foreword.
When answering these questions, you must remember that a book’s foreword is essential for a book’s critical and financial success. The foreword will play a crucial role in the marketing of the book. And as the foreword author, you will also use this foreword for your marketing and promotion.
A. The Initial Questions
1. Did you read the book?
2. And understand it?
B. The First Section
3. Does the first section of your foreword explain how you know the book’s author?
4. Do you explain your connection to the book’s author?
5. Do you know the author personally? How and why?
6. Do you introduce yourself to the reader in the first section?
7. Did you tell readers why you are qualified to write the foreword?
8. Do you tell the readers what you are famous for?
C. The Second Section
9. Does the second section show why the author is a credible person to have written this book?
10. Do you explain the contents of the book to the reader?
11. Do you explain the benefits of reading this book?
12. Did you explain why this book should be relevant to the reader?
13. Do you connect the book’s content to experiences or feelings that the reader can identify?
14. Do you mention some of the good points of the book?
15. Do you give a very brief synopsis of the book?
16. Did you use any anecdotes about the book and the author?
17. Did you use a real-world example illustrating the book’s theme?
D. The Conclusion
18. Does the conclusion remind the reader why you are writing the foreword?
19. And why it matters?
20. Do you bring the foreword full circle by referencing something from the first section?
E. Signing Your Name
21. Did you put your name, title, and location at the end of the foreword?
22. Did you include your own book’s title?
F. Additional Questions
23. Throughout the foreword, did you keep the tone simple and personal but keep your writing tight?
24. Did you ensure your foreword has a beginning, middle, and end?
25. Did you ensure each section has a beginning, middle, and end?
26. Did you spell check several times?
Conclusion
At first glance, these questions might appear too simple. And, maybe for a very experienced writer or someone that has written many forewords, they are too obvious. But 99 percent of writers have never written a book’s foreword.
And, unfortunately, too many of the other 1 percent only write mediocre or overly self-serving forewords – especially from a marketing perspective. These questions are a quick and easy way to remind us of the essential questions to consider when writing a book’s foreword.
Questions to Think About
1. Which of these questions did you find especially helpful?
2. Do you have any other questions that should be included on this list?
