Author Sweets
Sign in

Guides

Longer reads on the craft and the practicalities, written by the people who build Author Sweets. No sign-up, no newsletter box. Stuck for a scene instead? There are seventy-two writing prompts, each one a tap from the editor. Something you would like covered? Write to [email protected].

  1. How to outline a novel in an afternoon

    Know the ending, choose a shape, list the turning points and turn them into scenes. A way to plan a whole book in one sitting without a forty-page document.

    6 min read · October 15, 2026

  2. Scenes and chapters: breaking a book into pieces you can write

    A scene is a unit of change and a chapter is a unit of reading. How long each should be, one point of view per scene, statuses as a workflow and where to break.

    6 min read · October 15, 2026

  3. Daily word goals that actually stick

    Pick a number you can hit on a bad day, do the arithmetic once, count words added rather than words typed, and use streaks and sprints to start, not to finish.

    5 min read · October 15, 2026

  4. How to run a beta-reader round

    When to ask, how many readers, what to give them, the questions that get usable answers, and how to read the feedback without rewriting the book for each reader.

    6 min read · October 15, 2026

  5. Formatting a manuscript for print and ebook: what actually matters

    An ebook reflows and a print book has fixed pages, so they need different things: metadata and a real contents list for the EPUB; trim size, margins, type and page count for the PDF.

    7 min read · October 15, 2026

  6. How to format dialogue

    Where the comma goes before said, when to start a new paragraph, tags against action beats, interruptions and trailing off, thoughts, and speech that runs over several paragraphs.

    4 min read · October 16, 2026

  7. How to write a one-page synopsis

    What an agent reads a synopsis for, the present-tense third-person voice, a four-paragraph shape that fits on one page, why you must give away the ending, and what to leave out.

    3 min read · October 16, 2026

  8. Revising a first draft in three passes

    Let the draft rest, read it straight through without fixing anything, then a story pass, a scene pass and a line pass in that order, with a way to cut without fear and to know when you are done.

    3 min read · October 16, 2026

  9. Standard manuscript format: what agents and contests expect

    The page agents and contests ask for: Times New Roman 12, double spacing, one-inch margins, a title page with the word count, a running header, chapter openings, scene breaks, and when to deviate.

    4 min read · October 16, 2026

  10. How to write a query letter

    The one-page letter that asks an agent to read your book: a personal opening line, a short pitch, the title, genre, word count and comparable titles, a brief bio, and what gets a letter passed over.

    5 min read · October 16, 2026

  11. How to write a novel in a month

    Fifty thousand words in thirty days is a first draft, not a book, and it is doable: the arithmetic, a week to prepare, a daily hour without rereading, falling behind, and day thirty-one.

    7 min read · October 16, 2026

  12. How to write a memoir

    One story from a life, not the whole life: pick the turning point, give it a before, during and after, write the moments you still see, keep the two narrators apart and be fair to the people in it.

    6 min read · October 17, 2026

  13. How to write a nonfiction book proposal

    Nonfiction sells on a proposal, not a finished book: the overview, the reader and the market, the comparable titles, your platform as it is, a chapter outline and sample chapters, and how to send it.

    5 min read · October 17, 2026