Five Prompts.
Forty-Five Minutes.
You'll know.
Every author who has ever submitted a manuscript for editing has gotten some version of the same note back: "This isn't ready for line editing yet." The writing is good. The structure isn't settled.
The AI Manuscript Readiness Checklist gives you a structured evaluation of your manuscript's developmental layer — the work that happens before sentence-level editing begins.
The AI Manuscript Readiness Checklist
Sign up with your email address to receive the checklist. One email. Instant delivery. No sequences.
No spam. No sequences. Just the checklist — and occasional updates worth reading. Unsubscribe anytime.
No spam. No sequences. Just the checklist — and occasional updates worth reading. Unsubscribe anytime.
The Problem Every Author Faces Before Editing Begins.
Most manuscripts that stall in editing aren't stuck because the writing is bad. They're stuck because the structure isn't settled. The argument shifted in chapter three. The voice that worked in the proposal doesn't hold through the full draft. The premise and the payoff aren't aligned.
These are developmental problems, and they live at a layer that line editing can't reach. You can fix every sentence in a structurally broken manuscript and still end up with a structurally broken manuscript.
The AI Manuscript Readiness Checklist was built to surface these problems before you invest time or money in the next stage. Five system prompts, each targeting a different layer of developmental readiness. Run them against your draft and you'll know exactly what your manuscript needs.
"Every author who has ever submitted a manuscript for editing has gotten some version of the same note back: 'This isn't ready for line editing yet.' The writing is good. The structure isn't settled."
- ✓A single-page PDF — no filler, no padding
- ✓Five ready-to-deploy system prompts
- ✓Step-by-step instructions for Claude Projects or ChatGPT
- ✓Works on free tiers — no paid account required
- ✓Built by a publisher and humanities professor with 20 years of manuscript experience
Five Prompts. Five Layers.
One Clear Picture.
Each prompt targets a distinct layer of your manuscript's developmental readiness. Run them in order. By the time you finish the fifth, you'll have a precise picture of what needs to happen before editing begins.
Evaluates whether your manuscript's overall arc holds together, what the book promises in the opening pages, and whether it delivers on that promise by the end. Surfaces the gap between premise and payoff.
Identifies the structural decisions made in chapter one that create momentum problems in chapter four. The place where most manuscripts quietly collapse — and where most authors don't think to look.
Surfaces logical gaps and unsupported claims that live at the structural level — the layer a copyeditor can't reach and a proofreader will never see. For nonfiction especially, this is where the work lives.
Detects the places where your authorial voice shifts, where you start writing for a different audience, a different register, or a different version of the book than the one you started with.
Synthesizes the other four assessments into a clear, actionable picture of what needs to happen before editing begins. Not a vague impression — a specific set of next steps.
Works with the tools you already have.
The checklist is tool-agnostic. It works in the free tier of Claude or ChatGPT, or any other LLM. No setup beyond an existing account, no paid plan required. Step-by-step instructions for both platforms are included in the PDF.