When I finished my first book, I thought the hardest part was over. I had lived with the characters for years, and finally typed the last sentence. What else could a writer possibly be asked to do? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Versions of the manuscript, editors' notes, proofreading, the cover, translation, ebook files, metadata, a synopsis, letters to publishers. The book had acquired a second job, and actual writing occupied remarkably little of it.

I wanted one magic button labelled “Make it beautiful.” I never found it. I did, eventually, discover something less glamorous and much more useful: an order in which to do things. Here are the tools I would begin with now.

1. One manuscript. One working version.

Before I ask a person or a machine to read anything, I need to know which version is the book. Not “final-new-revised-FINAL2” and its seven relatives. I keep the original safe, make a working copy, and list the chapters. DOCX is practical for editing, while TXT and Markdown can also work with AI workflows. A PDF may look tidy to a reader but is not always a friendly editing format.

2. Developmental critique and proofreading are different jobs

A developmental critique asks about plot, motivation, pacing, point of view, character arcs and contradictions. Proofreading asks whether a sentence is correct, whether names stay consistent and whether punctuation works. I used to mix those tasks up. It is possible to polish every comma in a chapter you will later cut. An excellent proofread, destined for the bin.

We recently made two free open-source EditRoast skills available to writers: Full Manuscript Roast and Full Manuscript Proofreading. They are downloadable ZIP packages for Codex or Claude Code, with a chapter-by-chapter workflow, saved progress and checks against the source. There is no EditRoast sign-up or fee for downloading them. Your chosen AI provider can have its own plans or usage limits, and the model processes whichever excerpts you send it under its own privacy terms.

Neither tool guarantees good literature, publication or an impeccable professional edit. AI can sound completely sure of itself while being wrong. I would never accept a criticism that cannot point to a specific passage and explain why it matters.

The step-by-step versions are in How to Critique an Entire Novel with AI and How to Proofread Your Entire Book with AI.

3. Check the evidence, not the number of comments

“Make the characters deeper” is not feedback I can act on, unless someone can tell me which character, where, and what isn't working. My preferred little table is simple: passage, problem, reason, proposed change, my decision. I am the final person who decides whether to change a sentence, even when the suggestion comes from someone cleverer about punctuation than I am.

If installation sounds like a second career, the free browser-based Manuscript Analyzer offers quick structural checks instead. EditRoast also has a separate paid editorial report service, with pricing shown before checkout based on the manuscript and package. Buying that service is not a condition for using the free skills.

4. Translation is a second life for the book

My eldest son translated my first book. Before translating the second, we built a whole spreadsheet of Russian sayings, jokes and expressions that could not simply be transferred to English. I spent a great deal of time talking through individual choices with AI. The literal meaning was often the easy part; keeping the voice was harder.

A translation needs a glossary of names, terms, cultural references and stylistic decisions, followed by a separate quality check. We haven't released an EditRoast translation skill yet, so I won't pretend we have. I've written about the problem in Why Good Translation Is Almost Co-Authorship.

5. An EPUB that opens isn't necessarily an EPUB that works

An ebook needs working navigation, chapter breaks, the correct cover and metadata, and text that survives different reading devices. For a technical validation pass, the open-source EPUBCheck is a useful resource. A file looking fine on one laptop is not enough. I also wrote about the very unromantic business of formatting a book.

6. The agent or publisher needs a clear package, not my entire desktop

I sent queries to publishers and literary agents myself. Some didn't answer. One agent declined because of the genre. A professional receiving my email did not know me, my books or the life inside them. I had to make the essentials clear before asking them to read.

That means an appropriate query letter, genre, word count, a short description, a synopsis that actually reveals the ending, a short author biography, publication status and precisely the sample pages that recipient asks for. Rights and territories are a separate conversation; I would rather ask about them than promise something I haven't checked.

You can read my unromantic experience looking for an agent and my newer piece about preparing a manuscript submission package.

My final check before I hit Send

  • The original is backed up, and the working manuscript is clearly named.
  • The chapters are in order, with no notes to myself left in the text.
  • I've checked plot and continuity, then names, punctuation and consistency.
  • The reader-facing blurb is not confused with the agent's synopsis.
  • My letter matches this particular agent's or publisher's requirements.
  • I'm clear about the languages and previous publication of the book.

There is still no magic button. But there are tools that reduce uncertainty, which is a generous enough gift to a first-time writer. As it turns out, to a second-time writer too.

And no tool can write the particular book I wanted to write. Fortunately, that part is still mine.