The five parts stay the same across every kind of book, but what goes in them changes. A workbook prompt has to say how much of each chapter is exercises. A cookbook prompt has to fix the layout of every recipe. A picture book is counted in pages. Here are six full prompts to use as they are or adapt, each with a note on the line that matters most.
How-to guide
Write a practical how-to ebook about starting a vegetable garden in a small backyard. Reader: first-time gardeners with a busy job and a yard about the size of a parking space. Promise: by the end, they have planted, watered and harvested at least three easy crops and know what to grow next season. Structure: 8 chapters in the order they will do the work, from choosing a spot to saving seeds. Each chapter opens with a common worry, teaches one job in numbered steps and ends with a short checklist. Voice: warm and plain, like a neighbour leaning on the fence. Constraints: assume no special tools, give timings by season rather than by month, and define every gardening term the first time it appears.
Why it works: The season-based timing is a constraint that keeps the book useful in any climate. The checklist at the end of each chapter turns reading into doing. More on this kind of book: the AI ebook generator.
Write this book → Workbook
Write a workbook that helps freelance writers set and keep a weekly writing schedule. Reader: freelancers juggling client work who keep putting their own projects last. Promise: in six weeks, the reader has a schedule they have kept for at least three weeks running. Structure: 6 chapters, one per week. Each has a short lesson (no more than a third of the chapter), then two or three exercises with space to write, then one reflection question. Voice: encouraging and practical. Constraints: every exercise must take under fifteen minutes, label each exercise clearly so the pages print well, and avoid productivity jargon.
Why it works: A workbook prompt has to say how much is teaching and how much is doing. "No more than a third" stops the lessons swallowing the exercises. More on this kind of book: the workbook generator.
Write this book → Lead magnet
Write a short free guide I can give away as a lead magnet for my bookkeeping business. Topic: five ways to cut a small business's weekly admin time. Reader: owners of one-to-five-person businesses who do their own books on Sunday nights. Promise: each tip saves time this week without buying new software. Structure: 5 short chapters, one tip each, with a quick example and a two-line action step. Voice: friendly, plain and brief. Constraints: no sales pitch inside the chapters, end the last chapter with one clear next step and a placeholder [booking link], and keep it easy to skim on a phone.
Why it works: Lead magnets fail when every page sells. This prompt keeps the pitch to one placeholder at the end, so the guide earns the click first. More on this kind of book: the lead magnet generator.
Write this book → Cookbook
Write a cookbook of quick vegetarian dinners for busy weeknights. Reader: working couples who start cooking after 6pm and want something better than pasta again. Promise: dinner on the table in about 30 minutes, from a weekly shop that fits in one bag. Structure: 8 chapters grouped by base (pasta, rice, beans, eggs, tray bakes, soups, salads, sides), four recipes in each. Every recipe has servings, active time, ingredients with quantities and a numbered method. Voice: friendly and encouraging. Constraints: use ingredients from a normal supermarket, give metric and cup measures, and note common allergens.
Why it works: Cookbooks live or die on consistency. Naming the parts of every recipe gets the same layout in chapter one and chapter eight. More on this kind of book: the AI cookbook generator.
Write this book → Children's picture book
Write a 12-page children's picture book about a shy hedgehog who learns to make a friend at the autumn fair. Reader: children aged 3 to 6, read aloud by a parent at bedtime. Promise: a gentle story about being brave in small steps, ending warm and reassuring. Structure: one short scene per page, one to three sentences each, with a repeated line children can join in with. Voice: soft, rhythmic and calm. Constraints: simple words a young child knows, every page suggests one clear picture, and the hedgehog's name and look stay the same throughout.
Why it works: Picture books are counted in pages, not chapters. "Every page suggests one clear picture" helps the text and the illustrations agree. More on this kind of book: the AI picture book maker.
Write this book → Novel
Write a cosy mystery novel about a retired lighthouse keeper who finds a stranger's diary washed up after a storm. Reader: adult readers who like gentle mysteries with small-town characters. Promise: a fair-play puzzle the reader could solve, and a satisfying reveal in the final chapters. Structure: 20 chapters. Each moves the investigation forward with one discovery and ends on a question. Plant every clue before the reveal. Voice: close third person on the keeper, warm with dry humour. Constraints: keep names, places and the timeline consistent, show feelings through action and dialogue, and no graphic violence.
Why it works: For fiction, the promise is the kind of ending the reader is owed. "Plant every clue before the reveal" is the one line that most improves a mystery draft. More on this kind of book: the AI novel writer.
Write this book → 
