Walkthrough 6 of 10

Run a whole-book review

Get an editor’s read of your manuscript: an overall score, an editorial letter, chapter pacing notes and line edits you accept or reject one by one.

8 minIntermediate8 steps
In this guide

The whole-book review reads every written chapter and reports back the way a developmental and line editor would. It suggests; you decide. The Review step is part of the Plus plan and above, and it opens once at least one chapter has text.

Step 1: Check the price

Open Review. Under Review my book, a line shows the price before anything happens. The first review of a book costs 15 credits per 1,000 words written at that point, rounded up, so a 60,000-word manuscript costs 900 credits. Every later review of the same book is free, and the line then reads “Already unlocked for this book — re-runs are free”.

Step 2: Start the review

Press Review my book. A banner shows the review working through the book. You can leave the page while it runs, or press Stop if you need to. If the review fails, the credits come back automatically.

Step 3: Read the scores

At the top is an Overall score out of 100, next to a score out of 10 for each criterion with a one-line note. Treat them as a map rather than a grade: the lowest criteria usually show where the editorial letter will focus.

Step 4: Read the editorial letter

The Editorial letter sets out the most important revisions in priority order — the structural and character issues that line edits can’t fix. Read it before touching individual sentences. If the letter says the middle sags, polishing commas in chapter 14 can wait.

Step 5: Go chapter by chapter

Chapter by chapter lists every chapter with a short pacing label, such as “Slow open, strong finish”, and a few sentences on what works and what to fix. Open takes you straight to that chapter in Write chapters.

Step 6: Work through the line edits

Line edits collects specific changes from across the book. Each shows its chapter, its reason and the change itself, with removed and added words marked. Filter the list with:

  • Errors — grammar, spelling, punctuation, and slips in tense or point of view
  • Continuity — contradictions with earlier chapters or the story bible
  • Style — optional improvements

A counter shows how many edits are open, accepted and rejected. Press Accept to apply an edit or Reject to discard it. Clear the errors first, and treat style suggestions as options rather than instructions.

Step 7: Understand skipped edits

Each line edit applies only to the exact text it quotes. If you’ve changed that passage since the review ran, the edit is marked “Not applied — the passage changed after the review.” That keeps a change from landing in the wrong place. Fix the passage by hand, or select it in Write chapters and use Edit with AI.

Step 8: Revise, then review again

Make the big changes from the editorial letter in Outline and Write chapters. Once the book has changed, the review shows a notice that it’s out of date. Press Run the review again — it’s free — and compare the new letter and scores with the last ones.

Tips

  • Review early. Because only the first run on a book is charged, a review after the first few chapters can catch problems before they spread through the rest.
  • The review judges the writing, not the facts. In non-fiction, check sources and figures yourself.
  • Keep the editorial letter open while you revise. It’s easier to work through one priority at a time than to jump between line edits.

Try it as you read

Open AIBookWriter in another tab and follow along with your own book. The Free plan starts with 100 credits.

Start writing — it's free