FAQ

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The basics

What is Author?

A web app for writing books, novellas and short stories. It keeps the manuscript (parts, chapters and scenes in Markdown), the cast, the strands woven through the book and the events that change each character. From those it works out every character's state at any moment, draws a timeline, runs continuity checks, saves versions, makes beta-reader links and exports to four formats.

Is Author ready to use?

It is in early access: invite-only, with payments in test mode. The parts described on this site are built and in the app. We let people in a few at a time, so request access and we write when your place is ready.

Does Author write the book for me?

No. Author has no built-in AI. On Premium and Max you can connect your own AI (Claude, ChatGPT or Grok) through Geenius OS, and it can read the book, draft scenes into your manuscript and run the checks. What goes in the book is your decision.

Is my manuscript mine?

Yes. Scenes are plain Markdown and export to Markdown, DOCX, EPUB and a print PDF at any time. There is also a data export of everything in your account.

Do I need Geenius OS?

No. Author is a standalone app with its own account and plans. A paid Geenius OS plan includes the matching Author plan. Geenius OS profiles are an option for your cast: you can also make characters, places and objects in Author itself.

Writing

What can I write?

Novels, novellas, short stories and series books; a book has a form (short story, novella, novel, series book, screenplay or other), a language and a calendar. Scenes are Markdown.

What are the statuses and modes of a scene?

Status: idea, outline, draft, revised or final. Mode: present, flashback, dream or memory. Flashbacks, dreams and memories are exempt from the presence rules of the checks.

Does it save automatically?

Yes. The editor autosaves, and switching scene in the middle of a sentence keeps your text. For a safe point to return to, save a version.

What if my story has no real dates?

Choose a relative calendar for the book. Story time is then counted from a zero point you set, and the timeline works the same.

State, strands and checks

How does Author know where a character is?

From what you tell it: events with effects (a journey, something learned, an injury), the facts of the cast, and the last scene the character was in. It folds them in story order. The same story always gives the same state, and each change names its event.

Does it read my prose and work it out?

No. It works from events, scenes and facts you entered. A scene can state an age or a weekday, and the checks compare that with the calendar, but Author does not infer events from sentences.

What is a strand?

A thread through the book: the main plot, a subplot, a character's arc, a relationship, a theme, a setting, the weather, a mystery, a structure or a custom one. Events belong to strands, so you see which threads carry each chapter and which go quiet.

How far can the timeline zoom?

Five levels: year, month, day, hour and minute. Empty stretches of story time are folded away. You can also order by reading position instead of story time.

Which checks are there?

Eleven: in two places at once, travelled too fast, the dead reappear, before they existed, age drift, date and weather, order of time, point of view not present, knows too early, one object in two places, and a story beat off its mark. They are rules, not a model. See the checks.

Can I dismiss an issue that is intended?

Yes. Dismiss it, and undo brings it back.

Which outline templates are there?

Six: three-act structure, the hero's journey, Save the Cat, seven-point structure, Freytag's pyramid and kishōtenketsu. Applying one adds a structure strand with a beat event per beat.

Cast and maps

Where does my cast come from?

Either you make a character, place, object, weather or organisation in Author, or you link a profile from Geenius OS. A linked profile is a reference to a revision; Author keeps a snapshot, so the book opens and checks without a network call.

What do maps do?

You pin places on a picture or drawing and draw routes with distances. The travel check uses the routes to judge whether a journey is possible in the time the story gives it.

Versions, readers, export

What is saved in a version?

The tree, every scene's text and the revision of each cast profile, with a name and a note. You can diff two versions word by word and restore chosen scenes. Restoring saves the current book first.

How do beta readers work?

You make a link to a frozen version (optionally only some chapters) in read or comment mode. Readers comment on a paragraph; you reply and resolve. You can revoke the link at any time. The address is shown once, when you make it.

Which formats can I export?

Markdown, DOCX in standard manuscript format, EPUB, and a print PDF in 5 × 8 inch or 6 × 9 inch trim.

Your AI

How do I connect my AI?

Author must be added to your Geenius OS workspace, and your plan must be Premium or Max. Add the Geenius OS connector in your AI and sign in. The steps are in Use with your AI.

Why is the AI connection not on Pro?

The connection for your own AI is part of Premium and Max. On Pro you use the web app only. A Geenius OS Pro plan includes Author Pro.

Can my AI overwrite my text?

Not by accident. To replace text a person wrote in the app, the AI must read the scene first and pass its revision. It is also advised to save a version before rewriting prose.

Pricing and plans

What does it cost?

Pro is €9 a month, Premium €19, Max €49. Payments are in test mode during early access. A Geenius OS plan includes the matching Author plan. See pricing.

Is there a free plan or a trial?

No free plan and no trial period. We can give people we invite a promo key for a 7, 14 or 30 day trial.

What are the limits?

Pro: 25 books, novellas and short stories. Premium: 50. Max: no count. The whole writing room, versions, readers, maps and exports are on every plan; your own AI connected is on Premium and Max.

Privacy and your data

What do you do with my manuscript?

It is stored to run Author and shown to the people you choose, such as beta readers through a link. Author has no built-in AI, so your text reaches a model only if you connect your own. The privacy statement is a draft until a lawyer has reviewed it.

Can I export or delete my data?

Yes. Settings has a ZIP of everything and an account deletion that erases the content too, after a two-week grace period.

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