Your Manuscript Deserves a Smarter Desk
An all-in-one workspace built for novelists and storytellers - a focused editor that stays out of your way and a smarter AI that has already read your whole book. No API keys, no setup, no context juggling.
Chapter Three
Rain needled the harbor as Cade counted the boats that hadn't come home. The dockmaster's ledger listed twelve; only nine lanterns still burned on the water. He pressed a thumb to the ink and found it wet, as if freshly written. Three names, three empty berths - and one of them was his brother's.
Cade folded the page and stepped back into the rain
A distraction-free editor, built for long books
Write books, chapters, or free-form drafts — no rigid scene cards, no forced structure. Customize themes, fonts, and margins to taste, and take your manuscript with you: one-click export, no lock-in.
Export any document in one click
Chat with your manuscript
Ask your manuscript anything. The Librarian has already read every chapter you've written and answers with citations grounded in your actual text - no uploading, no copy-pasting, no explaining your story from scratch.
Already knows your whole book - no picking files or pasting context
Every answer cites the exact chapters it came from
Consistency checks, character details, and developmental feedback
Or search the literal text - jump straight to the highlighted passage
Re-indexes automatically as you write - always up to date
Eight tools that edit like a beta reader
Select any text and let AI fix grammar, extend your scene, condense prose, continue in your voice, summarize, or give you a frank craft critique - all without leaving the editor.
Every clock in the shop stopped at once, as if the hour itself had been called away. Idris set down his tools and listened to a silence that had weight. In the stillness, one small brass heart kept ticking - the watch that was never his. The debt, he understood now, had never been about money.
Select any passage
Highlight a sentence, a paragraph, or a whole scene right in the editor.
Pick a tool
Eight focused tools, each tuned to keep responses short and usable.
Streamed into your draft
Results stream in at the cursor - Summarize and Review open in a panel that never touches your prose.
In your voice, not AI voice
Attach a sample of your own writing to a draft and every tool mirrors your cadence and vocabulary instead of generic prose.
Your draft
The door at the end of the hall was open.
Rewritten
The door at the end of the hall stood open - and she had locked it an hour ago.
Or recast the whole scene in one of eight tones — humorous, romantic, dark, mysterious, and more.
Know your characters inside out
Build rich character profiles with 25+ detail fields - from appearance and personality to fears, quirks, speech patterns, and memorable quotes. Or let AI auto-generate a character profile from your manuscript.
Auto-Generate from Text
Point AI at your manuscript and get a complete character profile extracted automatically.
Chat In-Character
Talk to your characters. They respond using their personality, speech patterns, and knowledge from your wiki.
Filter by Book
Organize your cast across multiple books. Filter to see only the characters relevant to each project.
The Forgotten Archive
Fiercely curious, emotionally guarded, with a dry wit that surfaces under pressure...
Chatting as Elena
"What do I fear? Finding the truth and wishing I hadn't."
Build momentum, never lose a word
A customizable dashboard keeps you moving — word-count graphs, streaks, goals, and deadlines. Behind it, automatic version history means a draft is never more than one click from coming back. No AI required.
12-day streak
68% of 80,000 words
Just now
Current · 52,140 words
12 minutes ago
Auto · 51,980 words
Today, 2:15 PM
Manual · “Chapter 12 done” · 51,204 words
Today, 11:40 AM
Auto · 49,870 words
Yesterday, 6:02 PM
Auto · 48,315 words
Word counts & streaks
See your daily, weekly, and monthly output at a glance — and keep the streak alive every day you write.
Goals & deadlines
Set a daily word-count target or a manuscript deadline and always know how close you are.
Automatic snapshots
Versions save quietly in the background as you write — the safety net is always on, nothing to remember.
Reversible restore
Roll back to any earlier draft in one click. Every restore snapshots first, so you can always undo it.
Your words stay yours
Optional zero-knowledge encryption for your manuscripts — encrypted in your browser with a key only you hold, stored on our servers only as ciphertext.
Once encryption is on, our servers refuse to store your writing in readable form. That's not a promise — it's how the system is built.
You choose a passphrase
Encryption keys are generated in your browser and never leave it. We never see them — there is nothing for us to hand over.
Your writing encrypts on your device
Manuscripts, version history, writing samples, and wiki notes leave your device as ciphertext. AI tools keep working — text is decrypted on your device and processed transiently.
The server rejects plaintext
With encryption on, our servers refuse to store readable copies of your writing at all. The guarantee is enforced by the system, not by a policy document.
Fully opt-in, honestly scoped: the Librarian becomes opt-in per book, published works stay public, titles and word counts remain readable so the app can function — and there is no password reset, because the key really is only yours.
Choose your perfect plan
Free forever. Upgrade for more AI power, advanced writing tools, and higher monthly credits.
- AI included - nothing to configure
- AI grammar & style check
- AI text extension & reduction
- Librarian AI chat
- Unlimited documents
- Everything in Free
- Priority AI responses
- All AI writing tools
- Advanced tone & review tools
- Everything in Pro
- Highest credit budget
- Fastest response priority
- Ideal for power writers
What's a credit?
Credits power every AI feature — grammar fixes, rewrites, tone changes, and the Librarian. Your balance refreshes at the start of each month, and most everyday edits use only a small slice of it. Heavier work, like asking the Librarian to read across many chapters, uses a little more.
Cancel anytime. Secure payments powered by Polar.
Questions, answered
Everything you might want to know before you start writing with Author Desk.
Do you train AI on my manuscript?
No — we never use your writing to train AI, and we never sell it. Author Desk is built to comply with the EU and UK GDPR: the AI providers that process your text are contractually barred from training on it, and any international data transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses. You can export or delete your data at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
How private is my writing?
Your manuscripts are private to your account, protected by strict access controls, and never used to train AI. If you want a stronger guarantee, enable optional zero-knowledge encryption: your writing is encrypted in your browser with a key only you hold and stored at rest only as ciphertext — the server refuses readable copies at the door. See exactly what's covered
What are the trade-offs of enabling encryption?
It's opt-in, and we're upfront about the costs: AI tools keep working (text is decrypted on your device and processed transiently), but the Librarian becomes opt-in per book, sharing is unavailable while encrypted, and there is no password reset — if you lose both your passphrase and recovery code, that writing is gone forever. Titles, word counts, and timestamps stay readable so the app can function.
Which AI models power the tools?
The inline writing tools run on the latest Claude models, tuned for prose. The Librarian lets you choose from several leading models — Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Grok — for research and chat. AI is included on every plan, so there are no API keys to set up.
What happens when I run out of credits?
AI features pause until your credits refresh at the start of the next month, or you can upgrade for a larger monthly allowance. Everything that isn't AI — the editor, your documents, the dashboard, and exports — keeps working with no limits.
Can I go back to an earlier version of my manuscript?
Yes. Author Desk keeps a version history for every document — automatic snapshots are saved in the background as you write, and you can save your own named versions at any moment. Open the history to preview an earlier draft and restore it in one click. Restores are reversible, too: your current draft is snapshotted first, so you can always undo.
Can I export my work, or am I locked in?
Your manuscript is always yours. Export any document in one click to EPUB, Word (.docx), PDF, HTML, or plain text — no lock-in, no proprietary format.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Paid plans are month-to-month with no contract — cancel whenever you like and keep access through the end of your billing period. Payments are handled securely by Polar.
Do I need my own API keys?
No. AI is included on every plan, the free plan included — there's nothing to configure and no separate AI bill to manage.
Your next chapter starts right here
Author Desk is in early access — a focused editor, a story wiki, and an AI that has already read your whole book, all in one place. Free forever, no credit card needed — and your manuscript stays private, never used to train AI, and yours to export or delete anytime.