Ask any classic book about the craft that made it great
New in Book Anatomy: pick a classic, ask how it works, and get answers that cite chapter and paragraph. Then take it apart, lens by lens. 97 books, 175 lenses each: beats, hooks, cast, dialogue, pace and more, with checked quotes. Ask each book 3 free questions a day.
New this week
- KudoWrite: Added. A novel writing app whose own built in AI launched in October 2026.
- StoryWith AI: Added. New manuscript checker that ranks what to fix in your draft.
- Spotify for Authors audiobook tools: Added. Free AI narration for up to five books, US authors only for now.
- ProWritingAid: Updated. It now also reviews a whole manuscript, with a virtual beta reader.
- World Anvil: Link checked by hand. Its site now blocks auto link checks.
- Site: Every tool link checked again. Category pages now hold a tool list that search engines and chatbots can read.
- Book Anatomy: 97 classics: The shelf now holds all 97 public domain classics from our plan, including 12 plays.
- Book Anatomy: 180 lenses: Every book now has the full set of 180 lenses in 12 groups, with counts, charts and checked quotes.
- Ask the book: chapter check: Answers now check that every chapter they name matches the passage they cite.
- Book Anatomy: 31 classics: Added 31 public domain classics, each with 20 lenses and checked quotes. Browse by genre or by lens.
- Ask the book: Added. Ask any book a question and get answers that cite chapter and paragraph. 3 free questions a day.
- Scrapbook: Added. Clip, tag and note what you find, then export to Word. A Studio feature, free in beta.
- Plans: Added the Reader and Studio plans as coming soon. Everything is free for now.
- Book Leopard: Added. Writes Amazon ad text and finds keywords for KDP authors.
- BookBub Ads: Added, with a note that it is not an AI tool.
- KDP Virtual Voice: Updated. Still invite only and US store only, so UK authors may not get it yet.
- Apple Books digital narration: Updated. You now apply through a partner such as Draft2Digital.
- Copy.ai: Removed. It now sells to business teams, not writers.
- Site: Renamed to AI Tools for Authors and every tool link checked.
- Characters: New category with 5 tools for building believable characters.
- Seeing your characters: New category with 5 tools for picturing your characters.
- Build a believable character with AI in six steps: New guide.
- See your characters with AI in five steps: New guide.
- Story worlds and series: New category with 6 tools that keep a story world and a series consistent.
- Keep a story world and series consistent: New guide.
- Book Anatomy: New pilot section: how 7 well known books work, with sourced figures and our own counts for 4 classics.
- Book Anatomy trails: 5 craft trails across books, such as The ticking clock and The outsider sleuth.
- Compare books: Free beta: pick 2 to 5 books and get shared patterns and lessons to borrow.
The best AI tools for authors, sorted by job
A free guide from the UK. We list real tools, say plainly what each is good for, and keep the list fresh. No tool pays to be here.
Book Anatomy
How well known books are built, with sourced figures.
Book Anatomy
97 classics, 20 lenses each, with checked quotes and a question box. Plus 3 books in copyright as notes only.
Compare books (free beta)
Pick 2 to 5 books and get shared patterns and lessons to borrow.
Plotting and outlining
Tools that help you shape a plot, track threads and plan chapters.
Plottr
A visual timeline and outlining app built for novelists. Great for series and trilogies with many threads.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Novelcrafter
A writing workspace with a story codex and outline. You can plug in the AI model of your choice.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Sudowrite Story Bible
Sudowrite's planning tool grows a premise into a synopsis, characters and chapter beats.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Squibler
An AI writing app that can draft an outline and scenes from a short brief. Good for quick first plans.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Drafting help
Tools that help you get words on the page when you are stuck.
Sudowrite
Made for fiction writers. Strong at describing scenes and suggesting the next lines in your voice.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
NovelAI
A story writing AI that learns from your text as you go. Popular with genre and fantasy writers.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
ChatGPT
A general chatbot. Handy for brainstorming, scene ideas and talking through a stuck chapter.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Claude
A general chatbot known for long context. Good for reading back a long draft and giving notes.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
KudoWrite
A browser app for writing a long novel with AI, one beat at a time. A story bible and a running summary fill in as you go, so late chapters keep track of early ones. Pay as you go credits, no subscription. It does not filter dark or adult themes.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 16 Oct 2026
Editing and proofing
Tools that check grammar, style, pace and story structure.
ProWritingAid
A grammar and style checker with in depth reports on pace, repeats and dialogue. Aimed at fiction. It can now also review a whole manuscript, with plot and character reports and a virtual beta reader.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 16 Oct 2026
Grammarly
A widely used grammar and clarity checker. Set it to British English for UK spelling.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
AutoCrit
A fiction editing tool that compares your text with published books in your genre.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Fictionary
Story level editing. It maps scenes, characters and structure rather than just commas.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Hemingway Editor
Flags long sentences and weak words. Simple and quick for tightening prose.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Marlowe by Authors A.I.
An AI that reads your manuscript and gives a report on structure, pace and story beats.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
StoryWith AI
Reads a draft you wrote and gives a ranked list of what to fix, such as plot holes, slow chapters and names that change. It adds AI test readers, real beta reader links and a readiness score. New in October 2026, so it has little track record yet.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 16 Oct 2026
Cover design
Tools for making cover art, mock ups and promo images.
Canva
Easy design tool with book cover templates and AI image features. Good for social graphics too.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Midjourney
Makes striking art from a text prompt. Check the licence terms before you use art on a cover.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Adobe Firefly
Adobe's image AI, trained on licensed content. A safer choice for commercial use.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Ideogram
An image AI that is good at putting readable text into pictures, useful for titles.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
BookBrush
Made for authors. Builds 3D book mock ups, ad images and simple covers.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Audiobooks and narration
Tools and services that turn your book into audio.
ElevenLabs
Lifelike AI voices, including British accents. You can also clone your own voice.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Google Play Books auto narration
Turn an ebook you sell on Google Play Books into an AI narrated audiobook, made in their Partner Center.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Apple Books digital narration
Free AI narration for English ebooks sold on Apple Books. You apply through a partner such as Draft2Digital, and Apple picks which books it accepts.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 15 Oct 2026
KDP Virtual Voice
Free AI narration for Kindle ebooks, sold on Audible and Amazon. It is an invite only beta and sells in the US store only, so UK authors may not get it yet.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 15 Oct 2026
Spotify for Authors audiobook tools
Turn an English EPUB into an AI narrated audiobook with ElevenLabs voices, free for up to five books. You can sell it elsewhere too. It is a beta for US self published authors only, so UK authors may not get it yet.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 16 Oct 2026
Book marketing and ads
Tools for keywords, ad copy and social posts.
Publisher Rocket
Finds Amazon keywords and categories and helps plan ads. A one off purchase rather than a subscription.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Jasper
An AI marketing platform with ready made agents for ads, emails and posts. Built for marketing teams, so it may be more than a solo author needs.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Book Leopard
Made for KDP authors. Writes Amazon ad text and suggests keywords, categories and targets from your blurb or manuscript.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026. Changed 15 Oct 2026
BookBub Ads
Self serve ads shown to keen readers, targeted by the authors they like. Not AI itself, but a key place to run ads.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks. Changed 15 Oct 2026
Characters
Tools that help you build believable characters: personality, backstory, arcs and a living character bible.
Novelcrafter Codex
The Codex is a story bible that tracks every mention of a character as you write. Its AI chat lets you interview a character to test voice, backstory and gaps. Bring your own AI model.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Sudowrite Story Bible characters
Character cards in Sudowrite's Story Bible shape how the AI writes each person's dialogue and choices. It can draft cards from your synopsis, but edit them hard so they sound like your people.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Campfire Writing
Character sheets, relationship maps and family trees on a flowchart board. Mainly a planning tool, not AI. Your first 10 characters are free.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
ChatGPT
Good for talking through a character's psychology and asking how they would react under pressure. Treat its ideas as prompts, not facts about your book.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Claude
Good at reading a long character file and spotting where a reaction does not fit what you have set up. Useful for stress testing scenes.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Seeing your characters
Tools that help you picture your characters, so you describe them the same way every time.
Artbreeder
Mix and tweak faces to explore how a character might look. Tools such as Splicer, Composer and Poser let you blend images and adjust traits like age.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Leonardo AI
An image generator with a Character Reference option that keeps the same face across new scenes and poses. Its newer models take up to six reference images.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Midjourney
Striking art from a text prompt. Omni Reference in version 7 puts the same character into new images, though small details like freckles may drift.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Canva AI Character Generator
Type a description and pick a style such as watercolour or filmic. Easy for quick looks, with a capped monthly AI allowance on the free plan.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
ChatGPT image generation
Make and edit character images by chatting. Handy for quick tries and changes in plain words. Check the terms before you use an image in public.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Story worlds and series
Worldbuilding and story bible tools that keep a universe and a book series consistent.
World Anvil
A linked encyclopedia for your world, with interactive maps, timelines and family trees. You can share it with readers. AI: we found no AI writing features.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks. Changed 16 Oct 2026
Campfire Writing
Separate modules for cultures, magic, languages, religions, species, maps and timelines, all linked to your manuscript. AI: none listed, it is a planning tool.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Novelcrafter Codex
Lore entries that track every mention in your manuscript. The AI uses your Codex as its source of truth when it helps you write. AI: strong, and you pick the model.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
LegendKeeper
A wiki with nested interactive maps, timelines and whiteboards for links and plots. Built for worldbuilders and game masters. AI: no generative AI.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Plottr
Series View gives one timeline for a whole series, alongside each book's own, with a shared series bible. AI: none, and the makers say they will not add it.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
Obsidian
Free notes app that links plain Markdown files kept on your own computer. A graph shows how entries connect. AI: only through community plugins you add yourself.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Research
Tools that help you look things up and check facts.
Perplexity
An AI search engine that shows its sources. Good for quick fact checks.
Source: maker's site, read 16 Oct 2026. Its site blocks auto link checks.
NotebookLM
Google's research notebook, now also called Gemini Notebook. Upload your notes and sources, then ask questions about them.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Elicit
Searches and sums up academic papers. Useful when your book leans on science.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
Consensus
Answers questions from published research and shows what studies agree on.
Source: maker's site, checked 16 Oct 2026
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