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A Book A Week: How I Outline and Draft a Full Novel in Just A Week
My first published novel took me five YEARS to write. The second took months. Now? I draft each of my novels in about a week. We live in a fast-paced world, and not everyone has the time to spend months or even years working on a novel. This book is a comprehensive guide over how I get a book from concept to fully-edited in the course of about a week. (It can take less or more depending on the length of the novel or my time constraints). This process can work for any genre of fiction, as I have used it for every novel I've written after the first. *** Kate Hall is a bestselling author who is known for her quick success and high earnings in the Paranormal Romance genre. In this guide, she shows how you, too, can write books fast to potentially increase your publishing income.
91 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2020
291 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
September 7, 2022
I've seen this book around and I want to see how someone could outline and write a book in just a week.
The guide starts off with information about self publishing, in particular the book a month rule that some indie authors put out. I honestly don't know how Kate Hall or anyone else manages to keep the pace up. It must be exhausting!
Anyway, next up is how the author outlines and how she manages to get so many words in such a short time. Lastly, there's some editing and layout tips.
It's a fairly short book and after I'd finished, I decided to try it out.
Did I write a book in a week? No.
Did I come close? Also, no. But I managed to get almost double of my usual weekly word count, which was fantastic.
My favourite thing about the book was the simple outline, which I found a lot less confusing than the one in Save The Cat writes a novel.
I'll be honest, there is no way I'm going to write a book in a week. I realised while I was trying this method out, I just don't have the concentration it takes to sit a bang out that many words. However, I got some helpful tips from this book that I'll be using in the future.
If you are a beginner writer and looking for straightforward, no nonsense writing advice, then I would recommend this book to you.
The guide starts off with information about self publishing, in particular the book a month rule that some indie authors put out. I honestly don't know how Kate Hall or anyone else manages to keep the pace up. It must be exhausting!
Anyway, next up is how the author outlines and how she manages to get so many words in such a short time. Lastly, there's some editing and layout tips.
It's a fairly short book and after I'd finished, I decided to try it out.
Did I write a book in a week? No.
Did I come close? Also, no. But I managed to get almost double of my usual weekly word count, which was fantastic.
My favourite thing about the book was the simple outline, which I found a lot less confusing than the one in Save The Cat writes a novel.
I'll be honest, there is no way I'm going to write a book in a week. I realised while I was trying this method out, I just don't have the concentration it takes to sit a bang out that many words. However, I got some helpful tips from this book that I'll be using in the future.
If you are a beginner writer and looking for straightforward, no nonsense writing advice, then I would recommend this book to you.
June 22, 2021
A great how-to guide.
June 3, 2021
Simple, concise, and straight to the point.
Plotting is always a challenging process for me. Kate offers some wonderful, practical tips for writing more rapidly. This is a very quick read. Kate doesn't waste time. Instead, she gets into the meat of the information rather quickly. I can't wait to try her method, especially plotting out of chronological order.
Plotting is always a challenging process for me. Kate offers some wonderful, practical tips for writing more rapidly. This is a very quick read. Kate doesn't waste time. Instead, she gets into the meat of the information rather quickly. I can't wait to try her method, especially plotting out of chronological order.
May 29, 2021
Solid, easy to follow, practical advice for starting out.
July 4, 2021
I outline my books but I’m always open to seeing how other authors outline. I’ve been trying out Kate Hall’s 3 Act Structure. It’s been a great way to jumpstart the brainstorming process and expand the outline. I highly recommend to any writers.
May 17, 2021
She acknowledges in the beginning that she’s able to write 6 hours a day because she doesn’t have a day job. Also, her books are only 40k AND she says she’s formulaic. This might be or for the course for indie publishing, but it dies t inspire confidence as a reader. The only interesting part was how she describe outlining from the midpoint. But this was otherwise a waste of time. Not worth purchasing.
December 29, 2021
May be useful for NANOWRIMO people, but a little too basic. I'm skeptical of the quality this approach will produce.
February 9, 2023
Thin
A summary of how she did it. Some misleading information. If you are a beginning writer, don't use this as your only source!
A summary of how she did it. Some misleading information. If you are a beginning writer, don't use this as your only source!
January 30, 2023
Basic Outlining/Drafting, More About Thrift than Speed
This is a short, basic explanation of outlining that’s useful for beginners. For anyone who has spent much time learning about structure and digital publishing, you probably won’t find anything new, unless you’re looking for some thrifty formatting/editing suggestions for kindle publishing.
TL;DR - Kate Hall suggests that, to avoid larger developmental edits down the line, she outlines with the hero’s journey/save the cat story structure, makes character and location profiles, and drafts using writing sprints. She writes short novels and so can complete one in a week while averaging about 10k per day.
She then explains how she formats her brooks for free on google docs, edits with grammarly, and publishes on kindle.
Nothing profound, but not bad advice. About 50% of the book is explaining the Hero’s Journey/Save the Cat story structure. The only real twist is that she outlines these story beats out of order, starting from the midpoint.
There are a few tips sprinkled in, but it’s more like a cliff-notes version of Save the Cat plus a guide for formatting for free.
This is a short, basic explanation of outlining that’s useful for beginners. For anyone who has spent much time learning about structure and digital publishing, you probably won’t find anything new, unless you’re looking for some thrifty formatting/editing suggestions for kindle publishing.
TL;DR - Kate Hall suggests that, to avoid larger developmental edits down the line, she outlines with the hero’s journey/save the cat story structure, makes character and location profiles, and drafts using writing sprints. She writes short novels and so can complete one in a week while averaging about 10k per day.
She then explains how she formats her brooks for free on google docs, edits with grammarly, and publishes on kindle.
Nothing profound, but not bad advice. About 50% of the book is explaining the Hero’s Journey/Save the Cat story structure. The only real twist is that she outlines these story beats out of order, starting from the midpoint.
There are a few tips sprinkled in, but it’s more like a cliff-notes version of Save the Cat plus a guide for formatting for free.
October 27, 2025
Another quick read. It feels like there was some hand-waving here, but maybe there’s just nothing more to say. I swear I read another book with the same premise around the time this one was written. I wonder if it was more substantive.
The process is basically:
1. Write a very fast outline using her slightly modified hero’s journey structure
2. Sit down and write in mad 100% focus sprints
3. Use the grammar checker in Google Docs and Grammarly, go through it yourself for a few hours, and call it good enough. She says her readers notice two mistakes per 40,000 words on average. However, the Goodreads reviews of her example books say otherwise. (She did say she hates Goodreads readers! Maybe this is why.)
She says she formats the books in Google Docs and designs the covers herself. They’re remarkably good, given that! And apparently she was quite successful.
I’m very curious whether she’s still a full-time novelist. I’m going to read the book she used as an example in this book and see how it came out. Maybe check out her website.
The process is basically:
1. Write a very fast outline using her slightly modified hero’s journey structure
2. Sit down and write in mad 100% focus sprints
3. Use the grammar checker in Google Docs and Grammarly, go through it yourself for a few hours, and call it good enough. She says her readers notice two mistakes per 40,000 words on average. However, the Goodreads reviews of her example books say otherwise. (She did say she hates Goodreads readers! Maybe this is why.)
She says she formats the books in Google Docs and designs the covers herself. They’re remarkably good, given that! And apparently she was quite successful.
I’m very curious whether she’s still a full-time novelist. I’m going to read the book she used as an example in this book and see how it came out. Maybe check out her website.
April 13, 2021
Easy to read and follow.
June 24, 2021
Fantastic Outlining Strategy
I love learning other authors methods for plotting a book. This easy to follow guide takes the guesswork out of wondering if you forgot something in the story. Additional tips about increasing writing speed are very helpful too.
I love learning other authors methods for plotting a book. This easy to follow guide takes the guesswork out of wondering if you forgot something in the story. Additional tips about increasing writing speed are very helpful too.
August 26, 2023
Simple, straightforward, and concise.
February 10, 2024
Very Informative!
Kate Hall is a rock star! She walks the talk and is the real deal. Lots of information to take in and she makes it easy to follow! Highly recommend!
Kate Hall is a rock star! She walks the talk and is the real deal. Lots of information to take in and she makes it easy to follow! Highly recommend!
September 18, 2020
Great Resource For First-Time Self-Pub Authors
Barebones break down of story structure and basic self-publishing. If you're thinking about writing a book or are intimidated by the idea of self-publishing this is a good place to start.
Not the best resource if you have a few books under your belt. But it's always good to read how others break down plots of their books.
Barebones break down of story structure and basic self-publishing. If you're thinking about writing a book or are intimidated by the idea of self-publishing this is a good place to start.
Not the best resource if you have a few books under your belt. But it's always good to read how others break down plots of their books.
March 11, 2021
Good tips on outlining
Enjoyed the outlining tips and the writing tips. I wished there were exercises for me to try out or a quick template for me to download but what is defined in the boom is good enough. I’ll be checking out Katy’s other books.
Enjoyed the outlining tips and the writing tips. I wished there were exercises for me to try out or a quick template for me to download but what is defined in the boom is good enough. I’ll be checking out Katy’s other books.
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November 2, 2023The hardest part about writing a book is writing a book. This author shares her tips and tricks, but it ultimately comes down to knowing what happens before you write, and writing quickly enough so you don't get bored.
October 30, 2022
A Book A Week: How I Outline and Draft a Full Novel in Just A Week is the first book in the Self-Publishing Success series by Kate Hall. On her Amazon author page, Hall also has a series of seven plot journals for different genres, but she must publish under a pen name because I couldn’t find the paranormal romance novels that she mentions in the book.
This is a short, simple overview of how the author outlines, writes, and publishes her books. It’s less than 100 pages, and there are so many images that it takes even less time to read than you’d expect. The other books in the Self-Publishing Success series look equally quick, and they’re also free on Kindle Unlimited, so I will probably check them out at some point.
There is a summary of the book on my blog, here. https://therighterwriter.biz/book-abo...
I would recommend this book to someone who wants a (very brief) overview of one person’s writing process. Most of what’s in A Book A Week is very subjective, but since it works for Hall, it might work for you, too. I give it four stars instead of five, though, because the book isn’t very satisfying—I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment when I finished. It tries to cover too many topics, so I didn't feel like it covered any of them in enough depth. The descriptions of the beats were clear and easy to follow, but the actual writing process, editing, and formatting were barely touched on at all. I wish the author had skipped those and devoted the space to more information about the character and location outlines.
Kate Hall says in the introduction that she wrote the book in less than a week. I believe it. It took me very little time to read, and it was free for me because I have Kindle Unlimited; those are the only reasons I gave it four out of five stars.
This is a short, simple overview of how the author outlines, writes, and publishes her books. It’s less than 100 pages, and there are so many images that it takes even less time to read than you’d expect. The other books in the Self-Publishing Success series look equally quick, and they’re also free on Kindle Unlimited, so I will probably check them out at some point.
There is a summary of the book on my blog, here. https://therighterwriter.biz/book-abo...
I would recommend this book to someone who wants a (very brief) overview of one person’s writing process. Most of what’s in A Book A Week is very subjective, but since it works for Hall, it might work for you, too. I give it four stars instead of five, though, because the book isn’t very satisfying—I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment when I finished. It tries to cover too many topics, so I didn't feel like it covered any of them in enough depth. The descriptions of the beats were clear and easy to follow, but the actual writing process, editing, and formatting were barely touched on at all. I wish the author had skipped those and devoted the space to more information about the character and location outlines.
Kate Hall says in the introduction that she wrote the book in less than a week. I believe it. It took me very little time to read, and it was free for me because I have Kindle Unlimited; those are the only reasons I gave it four out of five stars.
August 30, 2021
Reading notes: A Book a Week by Kate Hall
• What is the location significance? What important things happened here that mark some emotional significance?
• Write any sensory details.
• Do you have a photo or art inspiration for this particular location
• Type of weather.
• What can I hear there?
• Any sensory (smells) details?
• Does the air have a weird taste?
• Do you have an aftertaste in your mouth?
• Do you have a memory connection with something you ate?
• How do I want my readers to feel from the scene?
• This author starts writing = at the midpoint, then writes the earlier stuff.
• She doesn't name the characters at first.
• The midsection has the least action.
• Early obstacles are usually emotionally plot points, not physical obstacles.
• Write in sprints--five minutes with two-minute breaks and build up to longer sprints say 30 minutes with 15-minute breaks or longer.
• Set the initial font to cosmic sans and then change when editing. Don't final print with this font.
• If you get stuck. It can only be caused by either (1) you don't know what's happening next, or (2) you missed something before. If (1) outline the plot points for each chapter to know to pick up at. If (2) keep outline on screen while you write.
• She formats it in Google Docs for publishing on Amazon.
• She uses the grammar on Google Docs, plus Grammarly. Special Note: don't let Google Docs changes to past tense if writing in the active tense.
• What is the location significance? What important things happened here that mark some emotional significance?
• Write any sensory details.
• Do you have a photo or art inspiration for this particular location
• Type of weather.
• What can I hear there?
• Any sensory (smells) details?
• Does the air have a weird taste?
• Do you have an aftertaste in your mouth?
• Do you have a memory connection with something you ate?
• How do I want my readers to feel from the scene?
• This author starts writing = at the midpoint, then writes the earlier stuff.
• She doesn't name the characters at first.
• The midsection has the least action.
• Early obstacles are usually emotionally plot points, not physical obstacles.
• Write in sprints--five minutes with two-minute breaks and build up to longer sprints say 30 minutes with 15-minute breaks or longer.
• Set the initial font to cosmic sans and then change when editing. Don't final print with this font.
• If you get stuck. It can only be caused by either (1) you don't know what's happening next, or (2) you missed something before. If (1) outline the plot points for each chapter to know to pick up at. If (2) keep outline on screen while you write.
• She formats it in Google Docs for publishing on Amazon.
• She uses the grammar on Google Docs, plus Grammarly. Special Note: don't let Google Docs changes to past tense if writing in the active tense.
February 1, 2022
I loved A BOOK A WEEK, but I will say that I found it short and a bit too spread out for the price point (lots of empty space on the pages). For this reason, I can't give it four stars. (Definitely buy the e-book if you're interested. The paperback is not worth the price.)
Anyway, for the good stuff! It was so easy to follow and a really quick read, but I feel that I've gained so much from it. I've been a pantser for so long that I gave up on even attempting to plot. Every time I've tried, I just wound up frustrated and jumped back into pantsing again. Pantsing works for me--don't get me wrong--but I'd love to be able to plot a course and possibly write even faster.
Kate Hall broke down the steps and explained each one in a simple, understandable way that I feel like it finally clicked in my head. Fingers crossed! (And her examples helped SO MUCH.)
This book might not be for you if you already know how to plot well, but if you're a true-blue pantser like me, give it a shot.
Since finishing the book yesterday, I've already *almost* completed three plot outlines for my upcoming releases, which is UNHEARD OF for me.
But now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to plot (and write) some more "trash literature"! ;-)
Anyway, for the good stuff! It was so easy to follow and a really quick read, but I feel that I've gained so much from it. I've been a pantser for so long that I gave up on even attempting to plot. Every time I've tried, I just wound up frustrated and jumped back into pantsing again. Pantsing works for me--don't get me wrong--but I'd love to be able to plot a course and possibly write even faster.
Kate Hall broke down the steps and explained each one in a simple, understandable way that I feel like it finally clicked in my head. Fingers crossed! (And her examples helped SO MUCH.)
This book might not be for you if you already know how to plot well, but if you're a true-blue pantser like me, give it a shot.
Since finishing the book yesterday, I've already *almost* completed three plot outlines for my upcoming releases, which is UNHEARD OF for me.
But now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to plot (and write) some more "trash literature"! ;-)
December 4, 2022
Indie authors will call any damn thing a novel these days, bragging about how they write one a week and then admitting their books are 30-40K words. This author promises she outlined and wrote this very writing book in a week and it's under 100 pages.
At any rate...we have a basic 3-act structure here, illustrated with the beats from Mad Max: Fury Road, and some surprisingly helpful formatting tips. As is often the case, there seems to be a pretty sizable gap between what the author tells you to do and the finished product. It's unclear how much character work she does. Having a hard time writing? Try creating a detailed outline of your chapter, duh! (Let's not talk about how not knowing how to create that outline is kind of the whole problem.)
I am impressed and inspired that this author makes what seems to be a full-time living writing and selling her short novels on Amazon. Food for thought here.
At any rate...we have a basic 3-act structure here, illustrated with the beats from Mad Max: Fury Road, and some surprisingly helpful formatting tips. As is often the case, there seems to be a pretty sizable gap between what the author tells you to do and the finished product. It's unclear how much character work she does. Having a hard time writing? Try creating a detailed outline of your chapter, duh! (Let's not talk about how not knowing how to create that outline is kind of the whole problem.)
I am impressed and inspired that this author makes what seems to be a full-time living writing and selling her short novels on Amazon. Food for thought here.
June 28, 2024
I probably would have found this more valuable had I not self-published a book already. I’m stuck in a rut on book 2 and was hoping this would give me some pointers to move forward, but it didn’t.
I appreciate that it gives actual practical advice and discussed the mechanics of publishing and editing. I can see how the formatting chapter would be helpful to some people. I was excited when she said she used Scrivner, since I do as well and was hoping for some pointers, but didn’t really get any.
Overall, the book was a bit superficial and didn’t teach me anything I hadn’t already head before.
Also, she keeps mentioning her pen name and purposefully obfuscates it, but I think it would have been helpful to actually tell us what it was so that we could see how many books she has written and more stats on them.
I appreciate that it gives actual practical advice and discussed the mechanics of publishing and editing. I can see how the formatting chapter would be helpful to some people. I was excited when she said she used Scrivner, since I do as well and was hoping for some pointers, but didn’t really get any.
Overall, the book was a bit superficial and didn’t teach me anything I hadn’t already head before.
Also, she keeps mentioning her pen name and purposefully obfuscates it, but I think it would have been helpful to actually tell us what it was so that we could see how many books she has written and more stats on them.
March 1, 2025
Some thoughts:
- super quick read
- first in a series so it introduces some common notions for self-publishing (rapid release, write to market, writing sprints, quick editing, formatting) but it doesn't feel "complete" because you're supposed to continue reading the books to know more. I would have preferred the book to concentrate only on drafting instead.
- The "secret" is 3-act structure.
- The character sheets look useful.
- That model of self-publishing depends on Amazon. Would the situation have changed since the publication in 2020?
I don't regret reading this book. I'm not ready to self-publish anything yet, I might revisit it if it happens. It also didn't blow my socks off, so 3* sounds fair.
- super quick read
- first in a series so it introduces some common notions for self-publishing (rapid release, write to market, writing sprints, quick editing, formatting) but it doesn't feel "complete" because you're supposed to continue reading the books to know more. I would have preferred the book to concentrate only on drafting instead.
- The "secret" is 3-act structure.
- The character sheets look useful.
- That model of self-publishing depends on Amazon. Would the situation have changed since the publication in 2020?
I don't regret reading this book. I'm not ready to self-publish anything yet, I might revisit it if it happens. It also didn't blow my socks off, so 3* sounds fair.
September 3, 2021
Excellent outlining system
I read this little book for a bit of inspiration during a writing slump. There’s a lot in there that I’ve seen before (I.e. writing sprints using the Pomodoro method). However, my favourite parts of the book were the rapid outlining system and the author’s breakdown/adaptation of the three-act story structure, which she then applied to her outlining methodology. I’ve seen and tried many different story structure systems over 20 years as a trad and indie published author, and found this little book was able to offer something new, fresh and inspiring.
I read this little book for a bit of inspiration during a writing slump. There’s a lot in there that I’ve seen before (I.e. writing sprints using the Pomodoro method). However, my favourite parts of the book were the rapid outlining system and the author’s breakdown/adaptation of the three-act story structure, which she then applied to her outlining methodology. I’ve seen and tried many different story structure systems over 20 years as a trad and indie published author, and found this little book was able to offer something new, fresh and inspiring.
January 29, 2022
This is a bare-bones book that could be good if you are very new to writing. It gives some basics on 3-act structure and some tips that she uses to write faster. I will still read the rest in this little series because I am curious about her free promo strategy.
For me, this wasn't groundbreaking but it gives you an idea to move forward. I would say Monica Leonelle has better help in terms of productivity to write faster as does Chris Fox.
And I prefer the 3-act structure from Super Structure by James Scott Bell. But I could see myself recommending this to newbies that need a foundation to build off of.
For me, this wasn't groundbreaking but it gives you an idea to move forward. I would say Monica Leonelle has better help in terms of productivity to write faster as does Chris Fox.
And I prefer the 3-act structure from Super Structure by James Scott Bell. But I could see myself recommending this to newbies that need a foundation to build off of.
May 11, 2023
Good source of information
This is short and to the point. The author gives real, manageable solutions and tips on how to successfully self publish books quickly.
Some of the advice is untraditional and unorthodox, but....it's worked for her, so there is some merit to it. Each author is different and use different methods, Kate Hall is simply telling us what has worked for her and her students in simple terms.
She evem has pictures to demonstrate certain points and how step by step formatting tips.
Good source of information. Plan on continuing to read this writers series. Took some good tips away and looking forward to trying them and finding what works for me 😊
This is short and to the point. The author gives real, manageable solutions and tips on how to successfully self publish books quickly.
Some of the advice is untraditional and unorthodox, but....it's worked for her, so there is some merit to it. Each author is different and use different methods, Kate Hall is simply telling us what has worked for her and her students in simple terms.
She evem has pictures to demonstrate certain points and how step by step formatting tips.
Good source of information. Plan on continuing to read this writers series. Took some good tips away and looking forward to trying them and finding what works for me 😊
January 5, 2024
As some of the reviews have stated, this book felt that it was more about speed than quality. Personally, I believe that the reason I have yet to finish a draft is that I simply can not write with a formula, and frankly as a reader, formulated books get old and take the fun out of things. You no longer wonder when something will happen and know the conflict and villain before you're even a quarter through.
Some tips were okay, however the majority felt like something I could find online. It was a quick read and I almost read it in one sitting.
If you want a book on how to DIY you writing start to finish (and make it look DIY), then this book is for you.
Some tips were okay, however the majority felt like something I could find online. It was a quick read and I almost read it in one sitting.
If you want a book on how to DIY you writing start to finish (and make it look DIY), then this book is for you.
April 22, 2025
I found the advice itself useful and interesting to consider. However, the Introduction starts with the author saying "I wrote this book in a week." It's not book length by any stretch. While the description says 91 pages - that would be short pages of less than 150 words. I would say it's a good advice manual under 15K words. It has good ideas to consider, but needs more to explain the process of writing 40K quality words (and editing) in a week. Experienced writers can already produce something this length (15K) within a week. I have no problem with the length, but it should be clarified (hence the 4 stars).
March 11, 2022
Lives Up To Its Title
This short read does a surprisingly thorough job in explaining how the author uses a modified 3 Act structure to outline her self-published books. I appreciate how she uses examples from her own work as well as movies that have become part of pop culture (specifically Star Wars and Mad Max: Fury Road) to explain her thought process.
I give the author extra credit for detailing how she proofs and formats her work using Google Docs and Amazon’s Kindle publishing service. It adds authenticity and makes me want to give the process a try.
This short read does a surprisingly thorough job in explaining how the author uses a modified 3 Act structure to outline her self-published books. I appreciate how she uses examples from her own work as well as movies that have become part of pop culture (specifically Star Wars and Mad Max: Fury Road) to explain her thought process.
I give the author extra credit for detailing how she proofs and formats her work using Google Docs and Amazon’s Kindle publishing service. It adds authenticity and makes me want to give the process a try.
February 8, 2023
Just What I Needed
Kate does a great job off getting to the heart of the matter. Finally, I've found a book that doesn't seem like it's been stuffed with a lot of unnecessary filler.
I've been struggling with writer's malaise and this was the help I needed to get me back on track.
I recommend this book to anyone that is ready to get down to the business of writing. There's no discussion of arranging your writing desk or picking out playlists here -- just honest and straightforward writing instruction.
Kate does a great job off getting to the heart of the matter. Finally, I've found a book that doesn't seem like it's been stuffed with a lot of unnecessary filler.
I've been struggling with writer's malaise and this was the help I needed to get me back on track.
I recommend this book to anyone that is ready to get down to the business of writing. There's no discussion of arranging your writing desk or picking out playlists here -- just honest and straightforward writing instruction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews