Custom Story Bible
Imagine: You totally forgot your main character's stepbrother's eye color...
At first, it wasn't all that significant, but you're writing the next book in the series, and the stepbrother is back, and his eye color is now important foreshadowing for a big plot twist.
But you can't find the note where you wrote it down, so now you have to go back and reread the entire series to find his eye color. Your writing progress could be stalled for hours!
Fantasy and sci-fi are packed full of tiny details, and readers are sharp—they'll find any discrepancies and point them out, sometimes not so kindly.
But what if you had a way to find little details like this in minutes, or even in seconds? What if all the details of your story were compiled in one place, organized and searchable? And even better, what if you didn't have to create it yourself?
That's exactly what a custom story bible is: a place where all the small yet important story details go to live, created just for your series!
Say goodbye to disorganized piles of haphazard story notes, and say hello to organization and functionality, all put together for you while you get back to writing!
So what exactly is a story bible?
The phrase comes from screenwriting, where they call it a "show bible." It's a document that contains detailed information about various aspects of a story so that details won't accidentally or unwittingly be changed later. TV writers compile this document so that new or returning writers won't accidentally alter something important, but authors compile this document because who has the brain space to keep track of all that stuff???
You might have heard other authors refer to this as a "series bible," a "story encyclopedia," or a "series encyclopedia." They're all the same thing.
Your custom story bible will contain detailed info about:
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Narrative Style. Tense, point of view, story structure, number formatting, etc.
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Characters. Physical appearance, relationships, held items, backstory, etc.
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Setting. Place names, populations, relative distances, climate, etc.
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Vocabulary. Made-up jargon, spelling choices, etc.
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Timeline. Dates and times, historical records, major events, etc.
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Chapter Summaries. A brief breakdown of what happens in each chapter, so you can easily find what you're looking for without having to reread the whole book.
Basically, if you wrote it, it'll get put into the story bible.
And even better: It's color coded!
Every detail of your story will be right at your fingertips.
What will I actually get, though?
Your custom story bible will arrive in a set of 2 to 4 documents, depending on what software you choose.
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The story bible. This is what you're here for! It will be delivered to you in the software of your choice. (Scroll down to see software options!)
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Story bible user guide. This PDF booklet (pictured left) gives you a tour of your story bible and explains exactly how to use and maintain it.
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Story bible parts.* Microsoft Word and Google Docs exclusive. (Other software allows me to include this as part of the story bible itself, so it will still be included, but not as a separate document!) It contains any parts you might need to maintain your new story bible yourself, easily copy-pasted over as you wish.
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Custom dictionary.* Microsoft Word exclusive. This is a custom .dic file to install in Microsoft Word, where it will keep track of all the unique words and spellings in your story—no more squiggly red lines! (Unless you spell one of your unique terms wrong, that is!)
Story Bible Software Options
Microsoft Word
Notion
Google Docs
Microsoft OneNote
Scrivener
Other software of your choice (as long as it's PC-friendly)
When's the best time to get a custom story bible made?
Good: When the book is with the copyeditor/proofreader.
If you've sent your book off to a copyeditor or proofreader, that means most of the stuff inside isn't going to change much, aside from some fiddly stuff like grammar and spelling. That's a great time to have a story bible made, because it means you won't have to go back and update many things that might change in the course of editing.
Better: When you've reached the final draft at last.
Once you've got the final draft in your hands, you know not much is changing anymore! This is a fantastic time to get a custom story bible, because you can leave all the work to me without having to worry about going back in and updating the details if they get changed.
Best: When you're getting ready to write the next book.
After the first book is published is the perfect time to have a custom story bible made. All the details are set in stone at that point, so you can leave all the work to me while you get going on the next book in the series. It'll also make it that much easier during the next book's revision phase!
Who's putting the story bible together?
I'm Toni (she/her): SFF editor, bookworm, hobby writer, and obsessive list maker.
I have a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a certificate in editing. I'm also a lifelong bookworm—which means I've read A LOT of books, and I have a knack for knowing what kinds of details are important to keep track of in a story!
A story bible is basically a giant list, and I LOVE making lists.
You can rest assured that all your story details are safe in my hands. And as a longtime fantasy and sci-fi fan, I won't get overwhelmed by unique terms, complex worldbuilding, converging and diverging plot threads, or made-up languages, critters, or settings. I live for this stuff, and it'll all go into your story bible in an organized fashion.
$300 USD
for the first book in a series.
If you need multiple books done at once, or if you'd like me to do your story bible maintenance instead of handling it yourself for later books in your series, I can offer you a discount! Email me directly (toni@editsbytoni.com) to work out the details.
How much will this cost?
Why would I pay you to do this when I can do it myself for free?
Having me create your story bible for you has one huge benefit:
It saves you time.
Creating your own story bible takes a lot of time and effort! In fact, depending on how complex your story's timeline is, how many characters you have, how many languages you created in your worldbuilding, how many different setting pieces there are, and whatever other amazingly detailed and complex stuff you have going on in your book, it could take over 17 hours to create your story bible. How much of the next book in the series could you get done during that time? How much is your time worth to you?
Besides that, my story bibles come with cool bells and whistles, like color coding!
You can use my extensive experience in Microsoft Word to your advantage by letting me set up handy stuff like custom dictionaries and color-coded styles to make your story bible even more useful. All while you keep working away on the next book. (Or take a well-deserved break!)
But with all that said, you absolutely can create your own story bible. I'm not here to tell you that you can't, and there's never any shame in the DIY game!
FAQ
Do you do story bibles for all genres?
I primarily work on fantasy and sci-fi, since those genres are where I have the most experience. But if you're still interested in having a story bible done for your book that's a different genre, I'm willing to discuss. Send me an email!
How soon will my story bible be finished?
Most story bibles take about two weeks to complete, but if your book is especially long or if you've requested a software I have less experience in, then it may take a month or even up to six weeks. I'll provide a timeline estimate when you book.
Is there anything you don't read?
Thanks for asking! I can handle most content, but my tolerance does go up and down depending on my current life circumstances. If you could provide a list of trigger/content warnings when you contact me, I would really appreciate it!
Can I get a story bible for a standalone book?
Sure! Typically, story bibles are for books that are part of a series (where it's easier for the author to forget stuff throughout the course of the story), but I'd be happy to provide a story bible for your standalone book as well. Ask and ye shall receive!
Other questions? I'm just an email away!
Or, if you're ready, book your story bible right now with the button below.