diff --git a/lib/generators/release.rb b/lib/generators/release.rb
index e6c642b..9b1d398 100644
--- a/lib/generators/release.rb
+++ b/lib/generators/release.rb
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ def generate_api
     end
 
     def generate_guides
+      FileUtils.mkdir('guides') unless Dir.exists?('guides')
+
       Dir.chdir('guides') do
         rake 'guides:generate:html',   'RAILS_VERSION' => target
         rake 'guides:generate:kindle', 'RAILS_VERSION' => target