What is a Book Map?
Updated: 7 days ago
A book map is a tool for the developmental editing stage of revisions.
Photo taken by Chris Lawton from Unsplash.
What does it look like?
So far, most of the editorial book maps that I have seen and created are in an Microsoft Excel sheet or Google Sheet. That does not mean that is the only way you can create one. A writer's book map can look like a series of color coded post-it notes with scenes points on it for instance.
What does an editorial book map contain?
An editorial book map contains at least the following elements:
Main Character Arc Development.
Timeline.
Main and Subplot Threads.
Other elements can be:
Side Character Arc Developments.
Deaths.
Romance Meter.
Lore or World Building Notes.
War, Investigation, or Heist Progression.
End of chapter notes.
Why is it important and helpful?
A book map gives the editor and writer narrative distance from the story itself. You can see all of the pieces of your story laid out in a single document without being bogged down by the details. You can see where there are plot holes, character development issues, the romance is too heavy in one chapter and then ignored for 4 more chapters, or exposition dumps on a structural level.
As the writer, you can move the pieces around, revise scenes, balance the lore, and adjust the story to closer to your vision. On the second pass, your editor can evaluate the changes from the first pass and make sure the big picture is clear enough before moving onto the next stage of editing: line editing.
Updated 10/27/2026
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