diff --git a/beetsplug/lyrics.py b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
index a1af67363..29bab25a6 100644
--- a/beetsplug/lyrics.py
+++ b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
@@ -690,6 +690,8 @@ class LyricsPlugin(plugins.BeetsPlugin):
             # The "write to files" option corresponds to the
             # import_write config value.
             write = ui.should_write()
+            if opts.writerst:
+                self.writerst_indexes(opts.writerst)
             for item in lib.items(ui.decargs(args)):
                 if not opts.local_only and not self.config['local']:
                     self.fetch_item_lyrics(
@@ -704,6 +706,13 @@ class LyricsPlugin(plugins.BeetsPlugin):
             if opts.writerst:
                 # flush last artist
                 self.writerst(opts.writerst, None)
+                ui.print_(u'RST files generated. to build, use one of:')
+                ui.print_(u'  sphinx-build -b html %s _build/html'
+                          % opts.writerst)
+                ui.print_(u'  sphinx-build -b epub %s _build/epub'
+                          % opts.writerst)
+                ui.print_(u'  sphinx-build -b latex %s _build/latex && make -C _build/latex all-pdf'
+                          % opts.writerst)
         cmd.func = func
         return [cmd]
 
@@ -737,6 +746,57 @@ class LyricsPlugin(plugins.BeetsPlugin):
                                          u'~' * len(title_str),
                                          block)
 
+    def writerst_indexes(self, directory):
+        """Write conf.py and index.rst files necessary for Sphinx
+
+        We write minimal configurations that are necessary for Sphinx
+        to operate. We do not overwrite existing files so that
+        customizations are respected."""
+        try:
+            os.makedirs(os.path.join(directory, 'artists'))
+        except OSError as e:
+            if e.errno == errno.EEXIST:
+                pass
+            else:
+                raise
+        indexfile = os.path.join(directory, 'index.rst')
+        if not os.path.exists(indexfile):
+            with open(indexfile, 'w') as output:
+                output.write(u'''Lyrics
+======
+
+* :ref:`Song index <genindex>`
+* :ref:`search`
+
+Artist index:
+
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 1
+   :glob:
+
+   artists/*
+''')
+        conffile = os.path.join(directory, 'conf.py')
+        if not os.path.exists(conffile):
+            with open(conffile, 'w') as output:
+                output.write(u'''# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+master_doc = 'index'
+project = u'Lyrics'
+copyright = u'none'
+author = u'Various Authors'
+latex_documents = [
+    (master_doc, 'Lyrics.tex', project,
+     author, 'manual'),
+]
+epub_title = project
+epub_author = author
+epub_publisher = author
+epub_copyright = copyright
+epub_exclude_files = ['search.html']
+epub_tocdepth = 1
+epub_tocdup = False
+''')
+
     def imported(self, session, task):
         """Import hook for fetching lyrics automatically.
         """
diff --git a/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst b/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
index 5682ddbc0..0c6d68546 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/lyrics.rst
@@ -84,59 +84,40 @@ lyrics will be added to the beets database and, if ``import.write`` is on,
 embedded into files' metadata.
 
 The ``-p`` option to the ``lyrics`` command makes it print lyrics out to the
-console so you can view the fetched (or previously-stored) lyrics. The
-``-r directory`` option similarly shows all lyrics as an RST (ReStructuredText)
-document structure located in ``directory`` (which defaults to the
-current directory). That document, in turn, can be parsed by tools like Sphinx
-to generate HTML, ePUB or PDF formatted documents. Use, for example,
-the following ``conf.py``::
-
-  # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-  master_doc = 'index'
-  project = u'Lyrics'
-  copyright = u'none'
-  author = u'Various Authors'
-  latex_documents = [
-      (master_doc, 'Lyrics.tex', project,
-       author, 'manual'),
-  ]
-  epub_title = project
-  epub_author = author
-  epub_publisher = author
-  epub_copyright = copyright
-  epub_exclude_files = ['search.html']
-  epub_tocdepth = 1
-  epub_tocdup = False
-
-Then the output can be written to ``index.rst``. An alternative is to
-use the following ``index.rst`` file, which will also generate an
-index of song titles::
-
-  Lyrics
-  ======
-  
-  * :ref:`Song index <genindex>`
-  * :ref:`search`
-  
-  Artist index:
-  
-  .. toctree::
-     :maxdepth: 1
-     :glob:
-  
-     artists/*
-
-Then the correct format can be generated with one of::
-
-  sphinx-build -b epub3 . _build/epub
-  sphinx-build -b latex . _build/latex
-  sphinx-build -b html . _build/html
+console so you can view the fetched (or previously-stored) lyrics.
 
 The ``-f`` option forces the command to fetch lyrics, even for tracks that
 already have lyrics. Inversely, the ``-l`` option restricts operations
 to lyrics that are locally available, to show lyrics faster without
 retrying them over the network all the time.
 
+Rendering lyrics into other formats
+-----------------------------------
+
+The ``-r directory`` option similarly renders all lyrics as an RST
+(ReStructuredText) document structure located in ``directory`` (which
+defaults to the current directory). That directory, in turn, can be
+parsed by tools like Sphinx to generate HTML, ePUB or PDF formatted
+documents. A minimal ``conf.py`` and ``index.rst`` files are created
+the first time the command is ran, to provide templates that can be
+modified. They are not overwritten on subsequent runs.
+
+Sphinx supports various `builders
+<http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/builders.html>`_, but here are a
+few suggestions.
+
+ * build a HTML version::
+
+    sphinx-build -b html . _build/html
+
+ * build an ePUB3 formatted file, usable on ebook-readers::
+
+     sphinx-build -b epub3 . _build/epub
+
+ * build a PDF file, which incidentally also builds a LaTeX file::
+
+    sphinx-build -b latex %s _build/latex && make -C _build/latex all-pdf
+
 .. _activate-google-custom-search:
 
 Activate Google custom search