The Authaurus Library
Come in. Relax. Have a browse. No rush; your writing can wait. You've earned a moment away from the desk. And if something here catches your eye and sends you rushing back to write the next chapter, well, that's rather the point.
47
Guides
2
Floors
24
Open to read now
9
Rooms
Colour Key
Craft
Practical
Mindset
Publishing
Reading paths
The floors below are arranged by topic. These five paths put the guides in reading order for each stage of your book. For the tools that help at each stage, see How it Works.
Pale: Open. Mid: Ticket. Dark: Members, on a paid plan, opening when Authaurus Draft Lite launches.
Plan the book, meet your characters, choose a shape and a schedule, and set up your files before chapter one.
TipWriting non-fiction? Read A6 before the rest of this path.
Get moving again first, then strengthen your scenes, pacing and dialogue while the draft keeps growing.
TipStuck on chapter 3? Start with C1, then C5. The craft guides can wait.
Step back, then revise it yourself: structure first, prose second, then fresh eyes from beta readers.
TipPut it away first. Two weeks or more before the first read makes every guide here more useful.
Choose the right kind of editing, work well with the people you hire, and prepare a manuscript that is truly finished.
TipNot sure which edit you need? E4 ends with four questions that tell you.
Decide your route first, follow the traditional or the self-publishing group, then finish with the guides for published authors.
TipUndecided? H1 compares both routes before you commit.
Ground Floor
The Writer's Level
How this works
24 guides are open to everyone, no account needed. A Ticket tag means the guide opens when you log in to your Authaurus account. Create one at no charge in WordTracker, or after using WordPlan Builder, and every Ticket guide opens. A Members tag is for writers on a paid plan, and those guides open when Authaurus Draft Lite launches.
Click any book to open the guide
A
Stage 1 · Read first
8 guides
Every book starts with decisions: how long, what story, who's in it. Get those sorted here before you write a single chapter. The last two are habits, not decisions: start them now and keep them running for the whole manuscript. Keep an eye out for the Story Bible again on the shelf in the Drafting Room; it earns its place in both.
B
Stage 1 · Read before you draft
5 guides
As you start writing. Two of these earn a second shelf further along: Story Structure comes back into play in the Editing Room, and your Writing Schedule matters just as much mid-draft as it does now.
B1: Story Structure
B2: Building a Writing Schedule
Ticket
B3: Point of View
B4: Setting and Atmosphere
Soon
B5: Finding Your Voice
Soon
C
Stage 2 · Dip in while you draft
9 guides
While you're writing your first draft
This is the most demanding part of the journey. Most writers face their hardest moments here. This room and the Prose Workshop next door work together, not in sequence. Pick whichever guide answers the problem in front of you today. The last two on the shelf are old friends, your Writing Schedule and your Story Bible, both worth reopening while you're actually drafting.
D
Stage 2 · Dip in while you draft
4 guides
We get more technical here: dialogue, tension, subtext, the sentence-level craft. These sit alongside the Drafting Room, not after it. Use both while you're actively writing scenes. Dialogue is worth a second look later too, in the Editing Room.
E
Stage 3 · Once your draft is done
8 guides
Your first draft is finished. Now the real editing starts. This room covers every layer, from tightening prose line by line to checking the shape of the whole book holds together. Story Structure and Dialogue both earn a second shelf here, worth another look now you can see the finished manuscript instead of just the plan.
First Floor
The Publishing Level
F
Stage 4 · Managing the process
3 guides
Editing done, book ready for professionals. This room is the practical machinery: who to hire, how to brief them, and how to format a manuscript so it's ready to go out the door.
G
Stage 5 · Traditional route
6 guides
Choosing to submit to agents and publishers rather than going it alone? Everything for that route sits here: the synopsis, the query letter, finding the right agent, and what happens once one says yes.
H
Stage 5 · Self-publishing route
5 guides
Going it alone instead? This room covers the practical side of self-publishing: costs, platforms, cover design, and getting your book in front of readers without a publisher behind you.
I
Stage 5 · Either route, once published
5 guides
Whichever route you took, this room applies once your book is out in the world. Royalties, rights, and treating writing as an ongoing career rather than a single finished project.