Kingbird Press
Idea Track
Book Map Generator
Kingbird Authority Sprint™ — Phase 1
Your book is already inside you.
Let's find it.
Answer honestly and in depth. The best answers come from the third or fourth thing you think of, not the first. Go deeper than you think you need to.
Welcome
Before we begin
This questionnaire is the foundation of your entire book. Take your time. When you're done, we'll generate your complete Book Map — the architecture of the book that's already inside you.
What your Book Map includes
A full architecture including your core thesis, framework name, anchor story, transformation arc, chapter structure, and three title options — ready for your follow-up call.
01
Core thesis & argument
02
The villain blocking your reader
03
Your proprietary framework
04
Your anchor story
05
Tools & evidence
06
Chapter architecture
Your name
Your area of expertise or the subject of your book
Opening Questions
Tell us about your book
These four questions apply to every book on every track. Don't overthink them — honest and rough is better than polished and safe. We'll sharpen everything in the sections that follow.
Q1
Tell me about your book idea.
Don't worry yet if it sounds messy or confusing. We'll figure it out.
Q2
And why do you want to write it?
Not the polished answer — the real one. What is driving this for you right now?
Q3
When you picture your book on a bookstore shelf, what other books are around it?
Are you near Brené Brown? Dave Ramsey? Patrick Lencioni? Malcolm Gladwell? Don't worry about being right — a rough neighborhood tells us a lot.
Q4
Is there a quick way to position your book — a shorthand comparison that places it immediately?
For example: "I'm the Mel Robbins of HR" or "This is Atomic Habits for nonprofit leaders." A rough attempt is better than nothing — this kind of shorthand is enormously useful even if it changes later.
Choose Your Path
Which type of book are you writing?
Different books require different extractions. The questions you answer depend on the kind of book you're building. Choose the track that fits.
Idea Track
The Big Idea Book
Your book speaks to a universal human experience or challenge. The audience is defined by a shared struggle or aspiration — not a job title. Authority comes from what you've seen, done, or discovered.
e.g. How to find the book inside you · The creative process · A new way of thinking about an old problem
Authority Track — Element 01
What your industry gets wrong
Every authority book exists because its author believes something their industry ignores or has never named. This is your book's reason for existing.
Q1.1
What do most people in your industry get wrong?
A specific, debatable belief — not a complaint. Something a peer might push back on at a conference.
Q1.2
What advice do you give that surprises people the most?
The thing that sounds counterintuitive but becomes obvious once they hear it.
Q1.3
If you could change one thing about how your industry thinks, what would it be?
The bad belief or practice your book exists to correct. This is your villain.
Authority Track — Element 02
The system only you teach
You have a repeatable process you use with clients — even if you've never named it. This section pulls out its shape.
Q2.1
Walk me through how you actually work with a client — step by step from the beginning.
What do you do first? What comes next? Is there always a sequence?
Q2.2
What do you know after working with someone for a week that you didn't know before?
What are you actually diagnosing beneath the surface work?
Q2.3
What do your best clients have in common when they finish working with you?
The "after" state — what's measurably or observably different about them?
Spinoff — Don't have a named framework yet?
Many practitioners have built a proprietary approach without realizing it. The combination of tools you use, the sequence you apply them in, what you modify, what you add from your own experience — that's a framework. It just doesn't have a name yet. Answer these questions instead of (or in addition to) the ones above.
What tools, models, or frameworks do you regularly use with clients?
List them without judgment — even the well-known ones.
What do you always modify, adapt, or add when you use those tools?
Where do existing frameworks fall short, and what do you supply from your own experience?
What do you always do first — before any of the tools — that most people skip?
The thing you consider non-negotiable that others treat as optional.
If you had to give your combination a name — even a rough one — what would it be?
Don't overthink it. A bad name is better than no name. Names can always change.
Authority Track — Element 03
The narrative your thesis lives inside
The best authority books have one story that carries the entire argument emotionally — usually a personal moment or a found example from outside your industry.
Q3.1
Tell me the moment you knew you believed this.
Not a polished anecdote. The real moment — frustration, failure, or a surprising win that changed how you think.
Q3.2
What story do you tell that makes prospects lean forward?
The one that reliably lands in conversation. What do people say or do after you tell it?
Q3.3
When you've explained your book idea and it landed — what did you actually say?
The natural, unpolished version that made someone immediately understand what you're building.
Authority Track — Element 04
Belief made actionable. Authority earned.
A book with only belief is philosophy. A book with only tools is a manual. Great authority books are both.
Q4.1
What do you give clients — or have them do — that they couldn't get anywhere else?
Proprietary tools, frameworks, assessments, templates, exercises you reach for repeatedly.
Q4.2
What is the hardest result you've ever produced for a client?
The credibility anchor. The result a skeptic would have to respect.
Q4.3
Why are YOU the person to write this book — not your credentials, your access.
What have you seen, been inside, or survived that gives you a view no one else has?
Authority Track — Element 05
Who this book is really for
Authority books are not for everyone. The narrower you define your reader, the more powerfully the book speaks to them.
Q5.1
Describe your ideal reader in specific detail.
Title, industry, stage of career, what they're struggling with right now.
Q5.2
Where does your reader start and where do they end?
The before-state and after-state. The transformation arc of your book.
Q5.3
If your book had a one-sentence promise on the cover, what would it say?
Not a tagline — a promise. What will they be able to do that they couldn't before?
Idea Track — Element 01
The truth your book is built on
Every big idea book exists because its author has seen something clearly that most people misunderstand or have never named. This is the belief your book was born to defend.
Q1.1
What do most people get wrong about the subject of your book?
The specific misunderstanding your book exists to correct — applies to anyone who struggles with this, not just professionals in a field.
Q1.2
What does almost everyone try first — and why doesn't it work?
The default approach your reader has probably already attempted. Logical but fails. This is your villain.
Q1.3
What is the single insight that changes everything once someone understands it?
The reframe. The moment a reader would say "I never thought about it that way." This is the core of your book.
Idea Track — Element 02
The method or path you've discovered
Your book doesn't just name the problem — it offers a way through. This section finds the shape of the path you've already been guiding people down.
Q2.1
If you were sitting with someone stuck with this exact problem, what would you walk them through?
Step by step. What do you say first? What do you ask? What do you show them? This is your framework waiting to be named.
Q2.2
What is the turning point — the moment someone goes from stuck to moving?
There's usually one moment when something shifts. What does that look like? What causes it?
Q2.3
What does someone look like on the other side? How are they different?
Not just what they know — what they can now do, feel, or see that they couldn't before.
Spinoff — Don't have a named method yet?
You may have been guiding people through this problem for years without ever naming what you do. The path you take them down is already a method — it just needs a name. Answer these questions instead of (or in addition to) the ones above.
What approaches, practices, or tools do you draw on when helping someone with this?
List anything that comes to mind — borrowed ideas are fine, what matters is how you combine them.
What do you always add or adjust that makes your version different from the standard advice?
The thing that makes people say "I've heard versions of this before but yours actually worked."
What's the first thing you always address — the step most people skip entirely?
The thing you consider non-negotiable that most advice treats as optional or skips over.
If you had to give your approach a name — even a rough one — what would it be?
Don't overthink it. A bad name is better than no name. Names can always change.
Idea Track — Element 03
The story that carries everything
Big idea books are remembered for a story — often a personal one. It doesn't explain the idea. It is the idea, made human and unforgettable.
Q3.1
When did you first encounter this problem yourself — or watch someone else struggle with it in a way that stayed with you?
Not a polished anecdote. The real moment — frustration, confusion, or what made you think: there has to be a better way.
Q3.2
What story do you tell that makes people stop and say "that's exactly it"?
The one that creates recognition — the nod, the exhale, "I've never heard it described that way but that's exactly what happened to me."
Q3.3
When you've explained your book idea and it landed — what did you actually say?
The natural, unpolished version that made someone immediately understand what you're building.
Idea Track — Element 04
Why you and why now
Your authority comes from access — what you've seen, done, survived, or built that earned you the right to say what you're saying.
Q4.1
What have you done, built, or experienced that gives you a direct view of this problem most people don't have?
Your vantage point — not your resume. What have you been inside that others have only read about?
Q4.2
What examples, cases, or evidence can you point to that prove your idea works?
Real people, real outcomes — stories a skeptic would have to take seriously.
Q4.3
What tools, exercises, or practices have you developed — or discovered — that make the path concrete?
Not advice — actions. What would go in the workbook version of your book?
Idea Track — Element 05
The person carrying this unwritten book
Your reader isn't defined by their job title. They're defined by where they are right now — what they're struggling with, what they've tried, and what they're hoping exists.
Q5.1
Describe your ideal reader not by who they are — but by what they're going through.
What does their day feel like? What have they already tried? What are they afraid is true about their situation?
Q5.2
Where does your reader start and where do they end?
Who are they when they open the book versus when they close it?
Q5.3
What is the one thing you want a reader to do or feel differently after finishing your book?
Not everything — the one thing. If they only took one thing from this book, what would you want it to be?
Building your Book Map
This takes about 30 seconds. Please don't close this window.
Extracting your core thesis
Naming your framework
Identifying your anchor story
Architecting your chapters
Drafting title options
Composing your Book Map
Kingbird Authority Sprint™ — Book Map
Your Book Map
Generated from your extraction. Ready to refine in your follow-up call.