Genres
Pick a genre. The rest follows.
A genre is not a label on the cover. It decides the chapter structure, the length a reader expects and the promises the book has to keep — and every chapter is held to them.
Fiction16 genres
Fantasy
Invented worlds, magic with rules, a journey that changes someone.
Typically 80,000 words
Science fiction
One changed premise, followed honestly to what it does to people.
Typically 80,000 words
Romance
Two people, a reason they cannot be together, and an earned ending.
Typically 55,000 words
Mystery
A crime, a puzzle the reader can solve, and a solution that was fair.
Typically 55,000 words
Thriller & suspense
Something terrible is coming and there is not enough time.
Typically 55,000 words
Horror
Dread that builds, and a threat that is worse for being half-seen.
Typically 30,000 words
Historical fiction
A real period, rendered from the inside by someone living in it.
Typically 80,000 words
Literary fiction
Interior life, precise language, a change you feel rather than see.
Typically 55,000 words
Contemporary fiction
People now, dealing with the things people now deal with.
Typically 55,000 words
Young adult
A teenage protagonist with real agency and a voice of their own.
Typically 55,000 words
Middle grade
Ages 8 to 12: adventure, friendship, and a problem they solve themselves.
Typically 35,000 words
Children's chapter book
Ages 6 to 9: short chapters, one clear problem, plenty of warmth.
Typically 12,000 words
Action & adventure
Movement, physical stakes, and a place that is itself an obstacle.
Typically 55,000 words
Humour & satire
A comic engine that keeps running, and a target worth aiming at.
Typically 30,000 words
Western
Hard country, plain speech, and a code that costs something to keep.
Typically 30,000 words
LGBTQ+ fiction
Queer characters whose stories are their own, not a lesson.
Typically 55,000 words
Nonfiction12 genres
Self-help
A problem the reader has, and a method they can actually follow.
Typically 40,000 words
Business & money
Your method, laid out so someone else can run it.
Typically 40,000 words
Biography & memoir
A life told as a story, with a reason for telling it.
Typically 40,000 words
History
A period or an event, narrated with people at the centre.
Typically 65,000 words
Health & fitness
A programme someone can follow, explained clearly enough to trust.
Typically 20,000 words
Psychology
Why people do what they do, explained without the jargon.
Typically 40,000 words
Religion & spirituality
A practice and a perspective, offered rather than argued.
Typically 20,000 words
Science & technology
A hard idea made clear, without making it wrong.
Typically 40,000 words
Politics & society
An argument about how things are, made properly.
Typically 40,000 words
Education & teaching
How to teach or learn something, in the order it should be met.
Typically 20,000 words
Parenting & relationships
Hard family situations, and what to try on Tuesday.
Typically 20,000 words
Travel
A place, described by someone who noticed things.
Typically 20,000 words