What’s Your Point? How to craft a core message for your self-help book

Last updated: July 15, 2026

We’ve all had the experience of sitting with a friend listening as they share a seemingly never-ending story about something mundane, like their drive to work that morning. They go on…and on.

As they’re talking, you’re mostly trying to figure out why they’re sharing this particular story. Perhaps, you interrupt them and ask, “Sooo…what’s your point?”

They might be surprised by the question. For them, the point is crystal clear. For you? Not so much.

“Oh,” they answer. “It’s because I don’t even remember the drive. All of a sudden, I was just at work. I was so zoned out! Totally not even there.”

If your prior conversation was about mindfulness, then perhaps their point is about their frustration of disassociating from their present reality on their drive. They didn’t take the time to notice the colors of the fall trees changing colors.

Or if they explain that they got a great new idea while “zoned out,” then perhaps their point is that sometimes doing boring things like driving allows our brains to quiet down enough that inspiration hits.

Same story, totally different points. This is why knowing your point is crucial to writing an effective self help book. You must know the argument you are making. Your point is the belief behind that argument.

What is a point or core message of a prescriptive nonfiction book?

As humans, we inherently want to know the point of any given story. Why are we hearing or reading this? How is it shifting our thinking or understanding of ourselves or the world?

As an author of self-help, or prescriptive nonfiction, knowing your point is crucial to crafting a book that works and that will transform readers.

It is one of the foundational pieces of your entire book. Without a clear point, your book will fall flat, wander, and lack the clarity you need to choose and organize the content that will give your reader the transformation that they’re looking for.

This idea of a nonfiction book’s point has several interchangeable names:

• AJ Harper, author of Write a Must Read, calls it the Core Message
• Twyla Tharp, author of The Creative Habit, and the Pixar story people call it the Spine of creative work
• Stuart Horowitz, author of Book Architecture, calls it the One Thing a book is about
• Jennie Nash, author of Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book, calls it the Point (which is what I use)
• You might also have heard it referred to as a book’s Big Idea

So, what, exactly, is this core message/point/one thing?

Your point is the truth your readers must believe in order to fix their problem.

It’s the belief you have about your idea or topic area that facilitates the transformation for your specific reader. It’s the underlying premise that drives that change.

Let me give you an example. I wrote a lengthy blog post about the work Tiffany North and I did on her book Enough: Heal Your Relationship with Food & Body Using Attachment Theory.

Her point is alluded to in her sub-title. Can you see it?

It’s: We are in a relationship with food and our bodies.

While she goes into great detail about diet culture, attachment theory, disordered eating, and negative self-image in her book, all of her stories, arguments, and points of each chapter are rooted in the belief that we are in relationship with food, just as we’re in relationship with our caregivers or partners. Food is much more than something that merely fuels our bodies.

It is this belief that drives the transformation she provides which is healing that relationship.

Why does your self-help book need a point?

Your point gives your book its parameters. It’s like doing the edges of a jigsaw puzzle first. A strong point provides the structure for your entire argument. It’s the container.

If you’ve got a piece of content that you want to include but you aren’t sure if it fits, you can run it by your point by asking: Does this specific piece of content support my point?

If it does, great. Include that content in your outline.

If it doesn’t, great. Now you know to set it aside. It doesn’t fit in this book, though it might be a great article or social media post.

How do you figure out your book’s point?

Grab a pen and paper and start writing. We’re going to see if you already know it. Answer the following question:

1. What’s your point?

Yes, this seems obvious, but if you’re like most of my clients, you’ve been pondering your idea for years. You’re an expert. You know SO MUCH already. The hard part is excavating everything you know and distilling it into a simple single argument that is foundational for your reader to make the shift you’re teaching them. So, start writing and see what comes up.

If you’re still not sure, think about your answers to the following questions to help you dig into your expertise and experience, so you can uncover your point:

1. What is the big picture problem that your book is addressing?
2. What is your reader’s biggest fear when it comes to your topic? The fear that they’re afraid to talk about?
3. What does your reader need to know or believe to shift that fear and get past it?
4. How is your solution different from the most common solutions or approaches to this problem?
5. What is the underlying belief that allows for your solution?
6. What is the thing that you find most fascinating about your idea? What draws you to it over and over?

Look through your answers to the above questions. See if you can find that belief that provides the foundation of your solution for your reader.

Next, craft your point into a single sentence. In defining your point, you want it to be:

• Succinct – you should be able to state it in one sentence
• Unique – Your point should differentiate your book from others out there but not so much that it differentiates it or niches it down so far there’s no market for it
• Solution oriented – it should address your solution to your reader’s biggest problem

Let’s go back to Tiffany’s book. Her point is short. It’s one sentence. It’s also unique. Her argument goes further than rejecting diet culture. She’s arguing for a different way of thinking about food and our bodies, and in order to make the change she’s advocating for, we need to believe in and understand her point, that we’re in relationship with food and our bodies.

It’s because of her point that her solution makes sense. If we don’t believe that we have a relationship with food or with our bodies, we won’t buy into or use her framework where she breaks down attachment theory to help readers identify their Food Attachment Style and how to move from an insecure to a secure attachment style.

A Great Book Needs a Solid Point

Don’t rush this process. Take your time with it and sit with your ideas. When you hit on it, you’ll know. It’s a goose bump moment!

If you need help with figuring this out, this is the work I do in monthly coaching. We drill down the foundational elements of your book so that you can write a book that works and has the impacts you desire for your readers.