For some reason, I hate outlining before I write. Maybe because the concept of outlining reminds me of school or work. Or maybe because I feel that instead of outlining, I could just be writing. As I revise a draft of a novel though, I realize this might be a good time to pick it up, as I restructured the whole stupid thing and now can't remember what happens where. Nice.

Writer JA Konrath though knows outlining (and publishing):

Q: How long does it take to write an outline?

A: Outlines are hard. They require a lot of thought, because you're plotting the entire book--every scene, every twist, every dramatic moment. It usually takes me a solid week of 8 hour days to knock out a forty page outline. But once I do it, writing the book is easy, because I already got all of the hard stuff out of the way.

Q: Do you use action or dialog in the outline?

A: Sometimes. It's sort of like describing a movie to your friends. Sometimes you quote dialog. Sometimes you mime some action. But the thrust of it is "What Happens Next?"

More thoughts (as well as a sample) from him here.