The Novel Kickstarter Course
Find your story and write a novel
From the glimmer of an idea to a complete first draft
Find your big idea and learn the secrets of storytelling, then turn your story into a fearless first draft.
Reasons not to take the first steps on a big adventure
But I don’t have the time!
One hour per day. That’s all the commitment we ask of you. Just one hour a day to make your writing dreams a reality.
But I don’t have a story!
Then you’re in the right place. Step one of the course—The Classic Storytelling Class—is designed precisely to kindle your ideas and ignite your voice.
But I’m not sure I have any talent!
Not all writers suffer from imposter syndrome. Only the good ones. The art of storytelling can be learned. And our bestselling author coaches are the best in the business at teaching it.
At the heart of The Novelry is a warm, welcoming writing community. We offer a collaborative environment, not a competitive one.
Everything you need to come up with a big idea and write a first draft. With confidence-building coaching!
The Novel Kickstarter is a carefully structured program to guide you through coming up with the story idea using the ‘secret sauce’ of the all-time bestselling classic novels, and on to writing your full-length work of fiction.
We want you to become a prolific writer in a way that works with the realities of your daily life. Our one-hour-a-day method is a tried-and-tested model for getting your first draft done no matter how busy you are.
When you join The Novelry on a course, your plan includes membership and access to all our online writing workshops and events. With bestselling authors and a writing community that’s open day and night, come on in—you’ve found your tribe! You’ll make friends and grow as a writer.
Come up with the big idea for a powerful story that excites you with The Classic Storytelling Class
Dive into The Ninety Day Novel to prepare and submit your storyline for review
Get feedback from your coach on your outline before you start writing
Take a lesson a day to pace your writing and get actionable feedback on the development of your story in your regular coaching sessions
Power through your lessons and enjoy live writing classes and workshops every week with new writer friends as you complete the first draft of your novel
The Novel Kickstarter Course
Find your story and write a complete first draft of your novel.
The Classic Storytelling Class
Come up with a fantastic idea for a page-turner. Plan a storyline that excites you and learn how to bring to life complex main characters. Outline and develop the world of your tale to capture the reader’s imagination page after page.
Find the Idea
Once Upon a Time
The Process
World-building
Heroes and Villains
The Reader
The Author
Farewell
The Ninety Day Novel Class
Prepare and develop your initial idea, construct your novel from the ground up, develop a productive writing practice, power through the middle with bold plotting, and raise the stakes toward a satisfying ending.
The Inspiration and Preparation Phase
The Construction Phase
The Swim Phase
The Heat Phase
The Enlightenment Phase
The Home Phase
‘I simply have to love the idea. I’ll go through dozens of workable ideas until I find the one that lights my fire’
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Andrea Stewart
Andrea Stewart is the Sunday Times bestselling, award-winning author of the Drowning Empire trilogy (The Bone Shard Daughter, The Bone Shard Emperor and The Bone Shard War) and a finalist for numerous awards, including the Goodreads Choice Award and the British Fantasy Award.
Piers Torday
Piers Torday is the award-winning and bestselling author of seven books for children dubbed ‘the new master of children’s fiction’ by The Times.
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Clare Mackintosh
Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of seven Sunday Times bestselling novels, including the New York Times bestseller I Let You Go, which won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and was the fastest selling debut crime novel in the year it was released.
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Bea Fitzgerald
Bea Fitzgerald is a Sunday Times bestselling, award-winning author. Her debut novel, Girl, Goddess, Queen, was published to rave reviews including five-star write-ups in the Telegraph, Glamour and Culturefly. It went on to become the bestselling YA hardback debut of 2023. Girl, Goddess, Queen won Romance Novel of the Year 2024 at the RNAs and has been shortlisted for numerous other awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Young Adult Book Prize, and the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards.
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Anissa Gray
Anissa Gray is the author of two novels published by Penguin Random House, praised by the New York Times for her beautiful prose and stories about family, love and loss. She is an award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in the Washington Post, CNN and The Cut.
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Evie Wyld
Evie Wyld is the award-winning author of five novels and a memoir. She is the only novelist ever to have won both the Miles Franklin Award and the Stella Prize for fiction in Australia. She is also the recipient of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, a Betty Trask Award, the European Union Prize, the Jerwood Fiction Prize, and the Encore Award.
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Heather Webb
Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of ten novels with 23 years of coaching experience.
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Libby Page
Libby Page is the bestselling author of five novels. The Lido became a Sunday Times bestseller within its first week of publication and has been published in more than 23 territories around the world.
Tasha Suri
Tasha Suri is the award-winning author of the Books of Ambha duology (Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash) and the epic fantasy The Jasmine Throne. Empire of Sand was rated by TIME magazine as one of the best fantasy novels of all time.
Melanie Conklin
Writing coach Melanie Conklin is the award-winning author of five middle-grade books for children, and winner of the International Literacy Association Teacher’s Choice Award.
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L.R. Lam
El, or L.R. Lam, is the Sunday Times bestselling, award-winning author of nine novels, with three more under contract. Their books include the epic fantasy romance Dragonfall, the beginning of the Dragon Scales trilogy, cyberpunk near-future thrillers, space opera novels, and a near-future thriller.
Kate Riordan
Kate Riordan is the bestselling author of seven novels, and has been a Richard and Judy Book Club choice. Her novels are published by Penguin Random House.
Katie Khan
Katie Khan is the author of two speculative fiction novels, Hold Back the Stars and The Light Between Us, published in the U.K. by Penguin Random House and in the U.S. by Simon & Schuster. Her debut novel Hold Back the Stars is being adapted for film by the producers of Stranger Things. Katie’s books have been translated into more than 20 languages and nominated for awards. Katie is Creative Director at The Novelry.
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Gina Sorell
Gina Sorell is the author of The Wise Women (HarperCollins), a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Good Morning America Buzz Book, a People Magazine Best New Book Pick, and Washington Post Summer Selection. Her debut novel, Mothers and Other Strangers, was a Refinery29 and Self Magazine Best Book Pick.
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Alexis Henderson
Alexis Henderson is the author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger. She is a Goodreads Choice Award finalist. Writing in the horror and fantasy genres, the New York Times has likened Alexis to ‘a modern-day Anne Rice.’
Mahsuda Snaith
Mahsuda Snaith’s debut novel, The Things We Thought We Knew, saw her named an Observer ‘New Face of Fiction.’
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Tara Conklin
Tara Conklin is the New York Times bestselling author of three novels, personal essays, and short stories. Her books have been selected by Read with Jenna, the Today Show Book Club, Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, as a No.1 IndieNext Pick and other accolades. Her work has been translated into eight languages. She is based in Seattle.
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Colleen Oakley
Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of five novels. Colleen was awarded Georgia Author of the Year.
Amanda Reynolds
Amanda Reynolds is the bestselling author of six novels. Her number one ebook bestseller, Close To Me, was adapted into a major TV series.
Emylia Hall
Emylia Hall is the award-winning author of four women’s fiction novels and a six-book cozy crime series. She is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.
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Urban Waite
Urban Waite is the author of four novels, available in over 40 countries and 12 languages. He has received multiple book deals from Simon & Schuster U.K., Little Brown, and William Morrow, among many other book and film deals throughout Europe, Asia, and the production companies of Hollywood.
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Ella McLeod
Ella McLeod is a Branford Boase-nominated author whose debut novel, Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My Hair, was published in July 2022 with Scholastic and in June 2024 with Little Bee in the U.S.A. Rapunzella received rave reviews in Kirkus, the Irish Times, the Guardian, and a star review in Foreword Magazine. Her second novel, The Map That Led To You, was published in June 2024 and is a pirates-and-mermaids swashbuckling adventure story full of queer romance and radical self-acceptance.
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Alice Kuipers
Alice Kuipers is the bestselling, award-winning author of five novels, and six books for younger readers. She has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. She is also a bestselling ghostwriter experienced in writing memoir.
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David Solomons
David Solomons is the author of middle-grade children’s novels. His children’s books have won the British Book Industry Best Children’s Book and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
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Lesley Kara
Lesley Kara is a Sunday Times Top Ten and Amazon #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. She is the author of The Rumor, Who Did You Tell?, The Dare, The Apartment Upstairs and The Other Tenant.
Kickstarting a writing career
‘The Novelry has given me the structure and guidance I needed to finally write a novel, and an understanding of the long road of novel-writing. Even more importantly, it’s provided an incredible community of writers and tutors who I feel constantly connected with, so the process isn’t so lonely. I love this community!’
‘The last few weeks have been transformative in a way that is hard to describe other than to call it a kind of “rebirth.” Dedicating my time and mental space to truly and wholeheartedly writing has been so fun and fulfilling. Why didn’t I have the courage to start earlier? The Classic Class was a brilliant way to start here at The Novelry because it helped me get into the habit of showing up for myself and get some writing done in the process. Immersing myself in the work of some of my favorite authors was a wonderful bonus. I really loved the 10 min and 20 min tasks. I always did both sets of tasks because they helped me confront many glaring gaps in my idea. The tools are also a lovely addition to my now overflowing toolkit, and it was so helpful to see how other authors are excelling at their craft. I’ve gained a lot of confidence in the process, and I’m using that momentum to take a leap. A leap into the future I want, where the books I write may one day provide a modicum of comfort and solace.’
Katerina Zafeiri
‘I have a first draft! I wasn’t sure I could make the jump from non-fiction to fiction. It feels like so much has changed in doing the course that I can barely remember the before. All of the lessons seemed to come at exactly the right time for me. When I needed support, I got it. The coaching sessions were the best. I am so glad that I chose The Novelry. The lessons are like spices for the experience—some new, some comforting, some exotic—that allowed me to really savor the experience of writing a first draft. Though I wrote alone, I was never lost or lonely.’
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Maggie Huffman
‘Taking the course has opened up a whole new world and community to me. It’s brought with it much joy and excitement. It’s enabled me to tap into my creative and imaginative self and be amazed at what I found. I signed up to The Novel Kickstarter Course at The Novelry with hope in my heart but also with a certain amount of reservation about my ability to succeed. I am now so pleased that I decided to do it. I have a story I want to write and The Classic Class has helped me form what I hope is a workable plan/outline for my novel. I have chosen to trust the process and believe I will have the support to help me write my first draft.’
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Gerri Crossley
The Novel Kickstarter Course
Progress at your own pace
Course and community access for an entire year.
Stay a little longer
Life. It happens to the best of us.
Money-back policy
Our Happy Writing guarantee.
Write with the best in the business
Award-winning authors. Publishing editors. Leading literary agents.
40+ workshops a month
In addition to your class.
Genre expertise
What’s your style?
Video masterclasses
From the likes of Kristin Hannah and Yann Martel.
A supportive writing community
Find your people.
More 5-star reviews
Than any other writing course. The Novelry is the world’s top-rated online writing school.
Flexible pricing
Pay up front or monthly.
Created by a Booker Prize-listed author
We don’t just talk the talk.
Better value than a university course
With a practical outcome.
Shall we begin?
The Novel Kickstarter Course
- Membership (1 Year)
- The Classic Storytelling Class
- The Ninety Day Novel Class
- 6 Coaching Sessions
FAQs
If you’re bursting with questions we haven’t answered here, check out our full FAQs page or feel free to get in touch.
Writing a novel is not so much about the writing, or at least not in the way you think. Nobody ever stayed glued to a book for the complexity of its vocabulary.
Writing is about storytelling, and readers and publishers alike want great stories. And here’s a secret—storytelling can be learned. Hey, guess what, you might just be very good at it. Why not find out?
Writing is not a God-given gift or innate talent. It’s not something you are born with, or can or can’t do. It’s something you learn, because you want to learn it.
Sure, you’re going to need to read some books. And here’s another secret. Writers learn from other writers. Just like with any craft or trade, they take apprenticeships or courses and work with published writers.
The story doesn’t happen to you, you happen to the story.
You don’t need to be wise and have all the answers. Stories are about questions. One question after another. What happens next? Why did she do that? What will he do to escape? How come there’s no door to the house? Will they work out that guy’s a villain?
We’ll get you asking the right questions, in the right order, to invite your reader into your wonderful world.
A notebook, a pen and a computer with a decent internet connection for use of our online learning platform and coaching sessions.
Our online learning platform is easy to use, even for the less tech-savvy among us. We are supportive and responsive to our writers, available by email and at our online members’ community around the clock, worldwide, so that you can relax and enjoy your writing.
Your coaching begins after the first week of the second phase of your program, The Ninety Day Novel, where you will write and refine your draft novel alongside a currently published bestselling author in your genre of fiction.
Before your first coaching session, we’ll guide you on how to create an outline for a commercially viable novel. You’ll be nudged in the course to use our interactive tool to submit that to us (on a regular basis as you develop your story). We’ll look at your planned storyline as a team, and if we think another writing coach would be best suited to your story, we’ll drop you a line, but you’ll be able to make the final decision (and can always swap coaches later if you wish).
Every writing coach reviews your storyline in advance of the session via the interactive tool we call ‘The Plan.’
Your first coaching session begins with your writing coach understanding your intentions and aspirations for your book and writing career. That’s your brief to us, and allows us to give you the dedicated and personal guidance and support you need to achieve your ambition.
The coaching sessions are 45 minutes online, and you’ll find that’s plenty of time to get help with story development and troubleshoot any problems to stay on track with your writing. All sessions are recorded for you to keep. You may schedule your coaching sessions whenever you wish during your year with us and will be able to browse our diaries to select a time that works for you, in your time zone. Some like to stay on track with a coaching session every two weeks of their writing period, for example, and others like to pace themselves with one a month or get more help up front or more guidance and advance later on. You can get the support you need when you need it.
During the writing of a first draft, our focus is on your storyline, and we work with you to creatively develop and expand the story together, reviewing development in every session and answering your questions for your story.
You can, additionally, book Paid Feedback Sessions which include a report and a live debrief. We suggest you leave getting feedback on your work until later in your program, after the first draft.
Unlike other writing courses, we advise you don’t share or ‘workshop’ the novel at this stage where your confidence and the story are still vulnerable. Some courses have first-time writers on first drafts advising others in their position, and we think this is a bad idea and at best a waste of your very precious time.
At The Novelry, we’ll keep you and your story safe within a one-on-one relationship of trust and care with wise guidance from a published author who cares about your success and will believe in you and your story.
You can browse our writing coaches and find the author you would most like to work with, then book your coaching session from your Library.
You may wish to book with an author experienced in the genre you are writing.
Another great way to consider who you want to write with is to take a peek inside the first pages of their published books on Amazon and see whose writing style appeals to you most strongly.
The wonderful thing about The Novelry is that you can work with the writing coach of your choice but also book sessions with any other writing coach whenever you wish. So if things change for your story, say you swap genre, or need more help on specialist technical matters from another coach, we’ve got you covered.
‘The coaching sessions were the best’
‘I have a first draft! I wasn’t sure I could make the jump from non-fiction to fiction. It feels like so much has changed in doing the course that I can barely remember the before. All of the lessons seemed to come at exactly the right time for me. When I needed support, I got it. The coaching sessions were the best. I am so glad that I chose The Novelry. The lessons are like spices for the experience—some new, some comforting, some exotic —that allowed me to really savor the experience of writing a first draft. Though I wrote alone, I was never lost or lonely.’