Write a novel prologue that holds — without losing the agent on page two.
A prologue is not an exposition dump, not an obscure prophecy, not a dream revealed as a dream. It's a precise doorway — another time, another POV, another voice — that prepares chapter 1 without doubling it. Extypis helps you build that prologue, verify it actually connects to the rest, and ship it in the format publishers expect.
Structure
Templates for the 5 types that hold, guardrails for the 4 that turn agents away.
Five types of prologue work — four kill a manuscript on the first page.
Types that work: historical flashback (Tolkien, Herbert's Dune), antagonist POV (Martin's Othor & Will in A Game of Thrones), in medias res (Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind), flash-forward (rare but powerful), external narrative voice (chronicler, witness). Types that kill: expository data dump, dream revealed as dream, vague five-line prophecy, prologue that should have been your chapter 1.
From the obsessive image to a prologue that turns an agent's head.
Catch the haunting image, choose the prologue type, write in a voice that doesn't sound like chapter 1, verify consistency with the novel, export in the right format — without circling for six months.
Prologues that die don't die from lack of talent.
They die because no one in the manuscript verified they still served the novel. Here are the six pains agents and editors see most.
Three promises to write a prologue that holds.
Build the prologue's architecture, verify its consistency with the novel, ship a manuscript ready to go — Tor, Orbit, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, or independent platform.
The prologue holds as the manuscript grows.
Templates per prologue type, independent POV tagging, character sheets linked to the text, target length, comparison with chapter 1.
An AI that catches what you no longer see.
The AI detects data dumps, prophecies never paid off, redundancies with chapter 1, excessive tonal gaps. It suggests, you decide.
From finished prologue to required format — no patch-up job.
DOCX export to publisher specs (title page, Prologue marker, page break), platform export chapter by chapter, EPUB for beta reading.
Give your project a real reading address.
Once the text is ready, you don't have to leave Extypis to find your first readers. Publish in one click on the public catalog and give your book a clean, readable, shareable page.
Published directly on Extypis — no fees, no middleman.
Publishing opens a dedicated page for your project: cover, title page, chapters, table of contents. The content is frozen at publication, so your readers always see a stable version while you keep working. You decide when to push a new version.
A reading page for each project
Customizable URL, title page, cover, table of contents and chapter-by-chapter navigation.
A catalog that helps readers find your book
Your project can appear in the public catalog, categories, subcategories and trending page — or stay accessible only through the direct link.
Readers who can actually react
Readers can comment chapter by chapter, mention a specific paragraph, and you get notified for every feedback.
A stable version without breaking your work
The text is frozen at publication time. You keep writing on your side, then decide when to push an update.
Everything Extypis unlocks for you
Hold your story, from outline to final page.
Narrative tools you won't find elsewhere — turn a tangle of ideas into a structure that holds.
AI that suggests, never replaces
The AI permanently sees your whole project — outline, sheets, scenes already written. Every rewrite, every completion, every suggestion, every cover stays consistent with your entire work, and at no extra cost or setup. You approve every word.
Estimates if you only use this feature. Credits are shared across every AI tool.
Daily writing comfort
Everything that makes long-form writing sustainable: shortcuts, templates, anchored notes, versions, goals.
Ship a book, not a file.
From manuscript to finished book: professional exports, academic citations, direct publishing.
Analyse and refine your prose
Style tools that go beyond the spell-checker: readability, poetic meter, repetitions, connectors, passive voice.
Lifetime updates
Every future Extypis innovation included, no extra cost, no paywall.
Backing an indie project
Extypis is an independent, self-funded project — no ads, no venture capital.
Human support
Got a question? You talk directly to the creator, never a chatbot.
Free to begin, even to finish. Serious when you need to go deeper.
The work of writing the prologue is entirely yours. The subscription gives you a thoughtful co-pilot, an occasional co-author, and an objective reader drawn from your target audience.
Frequent questions about writing a novel prologue.
Do I really need to write a prologue for my novel?
No, and most literary agents would actually prefer you didn't. A prologue is justified only if the scene you want to tell can't be placed at chapter 1, chapter 3, or in an integrated flashback. If you're hesitating, write one version with the prologue, write another that starts directly at chapter 1, and compare. Brandon Sanderson defends five types that work (historical flashback, antagonist POV, in medias res, flash-forward, external narrative voice). Outside those five cases, a prologue is almost always a chapter 1 in disguise.
What's the ideal length of a prologue?
Between 1,500 and 3,000 words, never more than 5,000. A prologue under 800 words often sounds like a vague prophecy or a marketing hook. A prologue over 5,000 words turns into a chapter 1 bis that exhausts readers before the actual start. The canonical examples (the prologue of A Game of Thrones by Martin with Othor and Will, the prologue of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the opening of Dune by Herbert) all sit around 2,000-2,500 words.
Is my prologue going to scare off literary agents and publishers?
Yes, if it's an exposition dump, an obscure prophecy, a dream revealed as a dream, or a text that should have been your chapter 1. Acquisitions editors at Tor, Orbit, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, or Bloomsbury receive hundreds of manuscripts a month — a lazy prologue is the first signal they use to close the file. A precise prologue (another POV, another time, another voice, a standalone scene that resonates throughout the novel) is, on the contrary, a powerful calling card. Extypis helps you avoid the four identified traps and hold the five types that work.
What are the five types of prologue that work according to Brandon Sanderson?
1) The historical flashback — Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings, Frank Herbert in Dune. 2) The antagonist or peripheral POV — George R.R. Martin with Othor and Will in A Game of Thrones. 3) In medias res — Patrick Rothfuss opening The Name of the Wind on the Waystone Inn and the threefold silence. 4) The flash-forward, rarer, showing a glint of the future. 5) The external narrative voice, a chronicler, a distant witness. Outside these five types, a prologue is almost always a chapter 1 in disguise that needs renaming.
How do I write a prologue and an epilogue that work together?
The prologue and epilogue often form a frame. If the prologue opens from a witness's POV, a chronicler's, or a peripheral character's, the epilogue can close from the same POV (or a mirror POV). If the prologue is in medias res, the epilogue can return to the same place transformed. Extypis helps you verify the consistency of the frame: shared POV tagging, linked character sheets, AI verification that elements planted in the prologue close cleanly in the epilogue. That's the signature of a constructed manuscript.
What does « Extypis » mean?
« Ex typis » is a Latin formula that appeared on the frontispieces of printed books from the 16th to 18th centuries, right before the printer's name — literally « from the presses of… ». The word derives from the Greek τύπος (typos): imprint, model, mark left behind. That's exactly the lineage we claim: a digital workshop that prepares your manuscripts in the great European typographic tradition, until they're worthy of being printed.
I built the writing app I'd always wished for.
Having finished a novel after several attempts, and built up years of poetry — kept right here, on Extypis — I saw firsthand how many writing blocks are really method problems, easy to move past once you give yourself the right tools. Technique doesn't replace imagination — it carries it. If you write seriously, Extypis is for you too.