Wizards for Authors

Wizards for Authors is more than a set of templates for Word. As the name indicates, Wizards for Authors is a set of wizards. Each wizard automates the tedius chore of setting up your manuscripts, leaving you more time and energy to put toward the actual task of writing.

Wizards for Authors comes with Novel Wizard, Short Story Wizard, and Article Wizard. Running these wizards will set up the basics for each type of manuscript, including grammar and spelling options. All you have to do is start typing.

Two other wizards included with Wizards for Authors are the Character Wizard and the Plot Wizard.

Plot Wizard allows you to set up and keep track of plot points in your story as you see fit, allowing you to get an overview of where you are at any given point in the writing process. You can use Plot Wizard to define simple plot points or to give descriptions of various scenes. You can change and update the plot points as you go, keeping your story outline fresh and flexible.

The Character Wizard is almost a program all its own. I've seen software costing as much as seventy bucks that doesn't do more than this wizard does, which makes it a valuable asset. The Character Wizard allows you to define all elements of your characters in detail.

Yet another wizard, the Bookmaster Wizard, allows you to keep all the elements of your novel-in-progress together in one place. The Bookmaster Wizard also creates special databases for use with your character and plot Wizards.

Wizards for Authors includes wizards that will automatically create front matter for your novel (dedications, acknowledgments, etc), a wizard for joining separate files into one long file, a wizard for bursting long files into smaller chapters, and several repair wizards that will properly format material created in other word processors.

Also included in Wizards for Authors is the Book Doctor with Ghost Reviewer. The Book Doctor allows you to clean up your manuscripts, removing extra spaces at the ends of sentences as well as blank lines. Ghost Reviewer checks your manuscripts for a wide variety of grammatical and usage problems and marks the manuscript for you to review.

There are wizards for creating a query, a synopsis, or a proposal. There's also the Agent Wizard to assit you in your search for representation.

Wizards for Authors adds a special menu to Word. Some of the wizards have toolbars and menus unique to them. The grammar and style settings used throughout the program come from a number of reputable sources, including Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style.

One thing about Wizards for Authors I don't like is the way it changes many of your customized Word options behind your back. It's not a huge issue, though, considering all the funtionality the software offers, and most users will probably have no trouble living with the inconvenience.

Wizards for Authors is only one of several products offered by Recipes4Word. Visit the Recipes4Word web site to purchase Wizards for Authors ($119.95).