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▶Novel and Author Planner
Log a writing session. It counts the words a day to finish on time, projects your finish date, keeps your streak, and totals every chapter.
Every writer with a deadline has the same question at the end of a session: am I going to make it, and what does tomorrow need? Most novel planners are pretty pages you fill in by hand. This one does the arithmetic.
- Words a day to finish on time, projected finish at your real pace, and ahead or behind against a straight target line, all worked out from the log
- One row a session: date, minutes, words, chapter; words an hour, the running total and where you should be are worked out beside it
- Chapters that total their own words from the log, an act balance against a quarter, a half and a quarter, and the next chapter to write named for you
- A beat sheet placed by word count: type a percentage for each beat and the file gives it a target word and the chapter it lands in
- Portable formulas that open in Excel 2016 and later, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers; NaNoWriMo ready with 50,000 words over November
Overview
Log a writing session. It counts the words a day to finish on time, projects your finish date, keeps your streak, and totals every chapter.
Every writer with a deadline has the same question at the end of a session: am I going to make it, and what does tomorrow need? Most novel planners are pretty pages you fill in by hand. This one does the arithmetic.
You log a writing session once: the date, the minutes, the words, the chapter. From that one row the file counts the words a day you need to finish on time, projects the day you will actually finish at the pace you have really written, says whether you are ahead of or behind a straight target line, keeps your streak, totals every chapter from the log, and places your beat sheet by word count so you know which beat you are in. In the shipped sample an invented author is 34 days into a 90,000-word draft due November 30: 23,395 words written, 775 a day to finish on time, 1,355 words behind the line, and a projected finish of December 8, eight days late.
What's Included
One workbook, 13 connected tabs, in four color editions:
- One ZIP with the workbook in four color editions plus the three-color bundle
- A two-page Quick-Start PDF: the four things to do first, what every tab is for, and the honest warnings
- A START-HERE file naming which file to open and how the colorways work
- A worked sample draft in every tab, so nothing is blank until you replace it
- A link to the narrated video tutorial that walks every tab of the real file
Key Benefits
Why this one
Words left divided by days left, rounded up: the number you need to hit tomorrow. Your real pace since the start date, and the finish date it lands you on. Ahead or behind against a target line that climbs evenly from the start date to the deadline. Move the deadline on Setup from November 30 to December 31 and words a day drops from 775 to 570; log a good session and the projected finish moves in.
The Writing Log is the only place you ever type. Date, start time, minutes, words, chapter, where you wrote and how you felt. Words an hour, the running total, the day of the project, where you should be by now and ahead or behind are worked out beside every row, ahead in green and behind in red. Three hundred rows, which is a whole book.
Tag a log row with the chapter number and that chapter adds up its own words against the target you gave it, shows the percent done and its status, and counts its scenes from the Scenes tab. The act balance shows Act I, II and III against a quarter, a half and a quarter of the book, and the next chapter to write is named on the Dashboard.
Type your beats and a percentage for each, in any structure you like. The file gives every beat its target word, names the chapter it lands in, tells you which beat you are writing now and how many words to the next one. The shipped beats are one common three-act pattern; retype them to Save the Cat, the Hero's Journey or your own.
Scene cards with goal, conflict and outcome, and a card missing one of the three turns red. The cast with want, need, flaw and arc, and a live count of the scenes each character appears in. The world and its rules, with where each appears. Five revision passes with a focus each, chapter by chapter, and the known problems with a priority. Nothing lives in a second notebook.
The agent list with genres, a wishlist match rated one to five, status, the date sent, the materials, the response and the days waiting, counted from the send date and amber when it passes ninety. The logline, the pitch paragraph and the comps sit at the top so the query is written once and copied. Sixty rows.
Who It's For
Built for
- Novelists with a deadline who want to know what tomorrow needs, not just how many words they have
- NaNoWriMo writers who want 1,667 a day tracked against the calendar without a website
- Plotters who want the beat sheet, the scenes and the cast in the same file as the word count
- Authors querying agents who want the days waiting counted and the pitch in one place
How It Works
Up and running in minutes
Open Setup and type the book, the target word count, the start date, the deadline, your writing days a week and the chapters you plan. The sample has a date typed in so the numbers hold still; clear it and the file uses today.
One row on the Writing Log: date, minutes, words, chapter. The running total, where you should be and ahead or behind follow.
The Dashboard says the words a day to finish on time, the day you will finish at your pace, and how far ahead or behind you are.
Chapters, scenes, the beat sheet, the cast and the world are one tab each. The chapters total themselves from the log.
Five revision passes by chapter, then the agent list with days waiting and the pitch.
Why It's Different
Not another template
The shelf sells novel planners that are printables and Notion pages: outline templates and word-count trackers you fill in by hand, and none of them tell you what tomorrow needs. This one runs the pace math in plain formulas you can read, places the beat sheet by word count, totals the chapters from the log, and opens in Excel 2016, Google Sheets and Numbers without asking for an account. It never reads your manuscript; you type the day's words, and that is the whole habit.
Delivery & Compatibility
Instant, and it opens in what you already use
As soon as your order is complete you get instant access to download the ZIP: the workbook in four color editions, the three-color bundle, a two-page Quick-Start PDF and a START-HERE file.
One ZIP, instant download. Portable formulas only — no macros, no add-ons, no account and nothing to cancel. Opens in Microsoft Excel (2016 or later, Mac or PC) and Google Sheets; to use Sheets, upload the .xlsx to Drive and open it with Sheets. Apple Numbers opens it too. The four colorways are the same workbook: pick one and stay in it.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Does it read my manuscript?
No. Nothing here connects to Word, Scrivener or Google Docs. You type the day's word count from your word processor, which is also why it works everywhere and never breaks.
Will it do NaNoWriMo?
Yes. Type 50,000 words, November 1 and November 30 on Setup and it says 1,667 a day before you have written a word, then tracks every day of November against the line.
Will it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Every formula is portable. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Sheets; formulas, dropdowns and conditional colors carry over.
One book per file?
Yes. Save a copy for each book and keep them all. Every tab reads the target, the dates and the log of the one book in that file.
A planning and record-keeping tool for writers that calculates from the sessions and plans you enter. It does not read, edit or store your manuscript, and it does not connect to any writing app, website or agency database. The target line is a straight line and real drafts are lumpy; the How the Math Works tab says so in full. The workbook ships with an invented sample draft so every tab has something in it; delete it and type your own.
