Think about your main ideas as you are writing notes for your introduction. Sketch out the overall themes of your book, so you have them ready.
For instance, if you are writing a book on birds, you could begin by telling a childhood story about how you tried to save a stuffed animal bird once by using office tape. Or you could talk about how many birds are in the world as a way of introducing them.
What’s the point of talking about birds? Why is this book important? Why would someone want to read it? If you can answer those questions in a couple of paragraphs, you’ve got a good start on your introduction.
Any person picking up the book should be able to determine whether it fits what they need it for, so you should go over the intended purpose of the book in the introduction.
Basically, you want the right reader for your book, and telling your readers who the audience is will help them figure it out. You don’t have to use the word “audience” in your introduction. Just give an idea of who the book is meant for, such as: “This book uses scientific language, but every term is explained thoroughly. As long as you are willing to learn, you should find this guide helpful even if you don’t have a background in biology. ” In those two sentences, you’ve told the reader that they might encounter scientific words they don’t know, but that you will give them an idea of what these words mean; you’ve also told them that maybe they should find another book if they don’t want to dig through scientific jargon. However, make sure you follow through on what your promise; that is if you say you are going to define your scientific words, make sure you do.
Consider providing a summary of each chapter. Not every introduction does this, but it does give your readers an idea of what to expect, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. Since you’ve already made a summary of each chapter for the outline above, read through them to make sure they are appropriate for your readers, and then insert them at the end of your introduction. Try to keep the summaries short, a paragraph or less.
Make your introduction straightforward and to the point, as your readers will be expecting an introduction that progresses in a logical line.
You can often have a bit more freedom when introducing a book of poetry. In fact, it can be more poetic. However, like an anthology of stories, it really depends on the context. If you are just writing an introduction for an old friend’s book, it can be more poetic and playful, but for a book in an academic setting, it may need to be more informational.
