Below, one example novel goes from idea to KDP files in both tools: the outline, a chapter draft, revisions, the cover and the export. See where each one fits.
No credit card required
An invented book project, taken through the same five steps in each tool.
The project
by Tamsin Revel
Gothic mystery · 6 chapters planned · about 60,000 words
An archivist sent to close a tiny sea archive on a Cornish island finds a letter from the drowned lighthouse keeper, dated three days after his death and addressed to her.
In Scrivener
Create a folder per chapter, write a synopsis on each index card and rearrange them on the corkboard. Every beat comes from you.
In AIWriteBook
Describe the premise, characters and tone. The app drafts a chapter-by-chapter outline with events, locations and twists, which you edit before any prose exists.
The outline AIWriteBook starts from
Ch. 1 · The Fortieth Letter
Ines finds a letter dated three days after keeper Thomas Aske drowned. It is addressed to her.
Ch. 2 · Tide Tables
She checks it against the lighthouse log. The night of 11 November was rewritten in a different ink.
Ch. 3 · The Bishop's Rock
Old boatman Colm Treloar admits the lamp went dark an hour before the storm peaked.
Ch. 4 · Mainland Post
The postmark leads to a box at the Penzance sorting office, rented under her mother's maiden name.
Ch. 5 · What the Fog Signal Said
Aske's fog-signal notes turn out to be a record of a second boat that night.
Ch. 6 · Against the Dark
Her mother steps off the ferry, and the last letter is read aloud.
In Scrivener
You write the chapter yourself in a focused editor, with the outline and research pinned beside it.
In AIWriteBook
Pick a model (Gemini, Claude or Grok), set the target length and add instructions. The chapter is drafted from its outline and the Story Bible, then it is yours to edit.
Chapter 1 excerpt, as drafted from the outline
The letter had been filed under W, for weather, which was the first thing about it that was wrong.
Ines found it on her third morning on Pell, when the generator coughed out and she worked by the grey light from the archive's one window. The keeper's letters were bundled in string, forty-one of them, each stiff with old salt, each signed the same way: Yours, against the dark, T. Aske. She had read thirty-nine. They were about fog signals and tinned peaches and a gull he had named the Bishop.
The fortieth was dated 14 November 1974.
She checked it against the register twice. Thomas Aske had gone into the water on the eleventh. The coroner's notes were in the drawer behind her, and they did not hedge. The handwriting did not hedge either. It leaned hard to the right, the way it always had, as if the words were walking into wind.
It began with her name. Not Dear Sir, not To whom it may concern. Ines, in a dead man's hand, fifty years before she had come to read it.
Outside, the lamp room turned its blind eye toward the mainland, and the sea went on with its filing.
In Scrivener
Snapshots keep earlier versions and Revision Mode colors your edits. The rewriting itself is up to you.
In AIWriteBook
Ask the AI Chat to tighten a scene, or regenerate with a note such as "shorter sentences in the storm scene". Edit any line by hand in the editor.
In Scrivener
Not part of the app. Hire a designer or use a separate cover tool.
In AIWriteBook
Choose a style, enter the title and author lines, and generate a front cover. The cover above came from that generator.
In Scrivener
Compile to EPUB, DOCX or PDF. Compile formats and section layouts give fine control, and take time to learn.
In AIWriteBook
Generate the blurb, categories and keywords, then download EPUB, DOCX, or a print PDF with your trim size and bleed.
Choose Scrivener if you want to write every word yourself and prefer a one-time licence.
Choose AIWriteBook if you want AI drafting, revision, a cover and KDP files in one place.
Watch a Word manuscript get imported and split into chapters. No project files, no sync folders.
Scrivener is an excellent organizer. Writing and publishing a whole book needs more.
Binder, corkboard, compile formats: Scrivener rewards the time you put in. AIWriteBook works from the first session.
Scrivener has no built-in AI. AIWriteBook outlines, drafts and revises chapters with Gemini, Claude or Grok.
Covers, proofreading and audiobooks happen outside Scrivener. AIWriteBook includes them.
Compile is powerful but detailed. AIWriteBook exports EPUB, DOCX and print PDF from one screen.
Checked September 2026
| Feature | Scrivener | AIWriteBook |
|---|---|---|
| AI writing help | None built in | Outline, chapter drafts, revision |
| Learning curve | Significant | Start in minutes |
| Outlining | Corkboard and index cards, by hand | AI outline you edit |
| Chapter writing | You write every word | AI drafts, you edit |
| Story continuity | Your own notes and research folder | Story Bible used in every draft |
| AI models | None | Gemini, Claude, Grok |
| Proofreading | Spellcheck only | Built-in AI proofreader |
| Cover design | Not included | AI cover generator |
| Audiobook | Not included | 30+ AI voices |
| Export | Compile to EPUB, DOCX, PDF and more | EPUB, DOCX, print PDF |
| KDP listing | Write blurb and keywords yourself | AI blurb, categories, keywords |
| Sync | Via Dropbox or your own folder | Cloud-based, any browser |
| Import a manuscript | Import Word and other files | Upload .docx, chapters detected |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, iOS (separate licences) | Any browser, any device |
| Price | $59.99 Mac or Windows, $23.99 iOS, one-time | From $12/mo billed yearly |
| Free option | Trial: 30 days of use | Free outline and first chapter |
What each tool does for you
I am currently testing AIWriteBook to finish one of my unfinished books, and it's been amazing! The writing quality is excellent and it even sounds like me. It's easy to use and I'll definitely be signing up.
Read the full review on Trustpilot
… What I like most is that it is not just a text generator. You get a complete workflow - from the initial idea, characters and outline all the way to chapters, metadata and the cover. At the end you export files that are ready for Amazon KDP and KDP Print, in the correct formats and with the right dimensions. That takes a lot of fiddling out of the process. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
I bought @AIWriteBook to help with an existing historical novel, and my first impression is very positive. What I like most is that it isn't just a text generator. It combines manuscript import, characters, outlining, writing-style support, AI chat, chapter writing and editing in one environment. I can keep creative control while deciding how much I actually want the AI to help with the writing. …
Read the full review on TAAFT
I underestimated how helpful and useful AIWriteBook could be as a tool. When using the chapter by chapter editing, it not only suggested four ways to fix a passage, but why they were necessary. I plan to keep using this tool for a long time.
Read the full review on Trustpilot
… Then there's the audiobook feature, the reason I signed up in the first place. You take a finished manuscript and, with essentially the push of a button, it produces a full, professionally narrated audiobook. Natural sounding narration, real voice options, and it's all built for a distribution ready result, not just a rough recording. …
Read the full review on AppSumoMy overall experience is that it's a high‑quality product and I'm happy with my purchase. I would highly recommend it to anyone getting into writing or looking to refine a manuscript before it goes to print. …
Read the full review on Capterra
AIWriteBook really takes most of the hassle out of writing a book. It’s designed to help you by letting you import your Word drafts and then training the AI to match your voice across all your chapters, which seemed easy and I did not have any issues. That way, your tone stays natural and consistent from beginning to end. …
Read the full review on AppSumoI have more AI tools than I can count...literally. As far as book writers go this is the best I've seen if you care about quality. There are some decent ones out there you can churn out mid quality faster with, but nothing I've found that can come close to the quality you can get with this one. Great buy for the right audience.
Read the full review on AppSumo
Great tool to help write and edit your books. I especially like the cover creator. Has really helped me make some awesome-looking covers!
Read the full review on Trustpilot
I got this to make a personalised storybook for my kids. It worked well enough that I've made a few more since. The part I like is that you're not stuck with the first draft. You edit the outline, change the characters, rewrite a paragraph that reads wrong, and regenerate just that bit. Illustrations come out of the same flow, so there's no stitching images in from another tool. Export is a print-ready PDF, so the thing you end up with is an actual book you can get bound and wrapped. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
A writer's bestie, in all the ways that count. The best part is how easy it is to edit it your story, making it a complete, perfect blend that is something that's uniquely yours- integrating your own ideas, own special voice, and even unique quirks, while still enjoying the benefits of AI in all the aspects where you need it most- editing, readability, and idea prompts.
Read the full review on TAAFT
… My use case is strictly limited to travel non-fiction and I tested a few short stories with the Book Editor analysis. It’s brilliantly insightful and accurate; not dozy, vague suggestions like fix transition or blah-blah but deep actionable examples like an experienced human editor! …
Read the full review on AppSumo
… I am not using it for the whole write-a-book-from-scratch thing, but considering how much organization a technical non-fiction book can contain, it is helping me a lot, without losing my voice and tone. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
I bought AIWriteBook because I wanted a straightforward way to create and publish children's books, and there is a lot I like about the idea behind the software. I created a complete children's picture book using the platform. The book itself came together well and I was happy enough with the finished content and illustrations to actually publish it. …
Read the full review on AppSumo… It's way more app than anything else on the market. The developers clearly know what they're doing, and it fills a gap that virtually no one else does well. The inline editing is where books actually get good, and this is the first tool I've seen that takes that stage seriously instead of dumping a first draft on your desk and calling it done. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
I have tried several different tools that do specific tasks in fiction writing: editing, planning your book, formatting, writing, etc. This one tool provides these. Each function I have tried seems to provide good results and output. I am now revaluating the need of a couple of subscription-based tools I used thanks to this platform. …
Read the full review on AppSumoBeen toying with an idea for a book for about a decade, but never had the time to truly sit with it and dig in. After playing around with the settings and uploading my own style of writing as a voice, deeply impressed with how well it does keeping to my own style of writing. Already buzzing with more books in my head as i work on the first. Definitely happy i purchased.
Read the full review on AppSumo… One thing that really surprised me was when I imported an existing script that's at about 100,000 words. AIWriteBook not only did a good job at deciphering all the different characters, plots, and subplots, but to then put all of that in the correct places where they belong inside of the AIWriteBook application is just a phenomenal time saver and did a better job than the more established Sudowrite on the market. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
… Other users have already provided a detailed review, so I prefer to focus on an aspect neglected in their reviews: the audio recording options for the electronic book. Thus, I must say that the audio creation exceeds my expectations when I see the quality of the voices interpreting my fictional works (short stories) and ongoing developments (multi-voice readings). Bravo!
Read the full review on AppSumo
… The hard part comes when you read the chapter and think... this section needs to change, this part doesn't sound like me, or I want to take this in a different direction. This is where the book writing happens. AIWriteBook gets this part right. You can keep working on the chapter, make changes through the editor, regenerate weaker sections and continue refining the book instead of starting over every time. …
Read the full review on AppSumo
Common questions from Scrivener users
Scrivener is a manuscript organizer: you write every word and it keeps the pieces in order. AIWriteBook drafts the outline and chapters with AI, helps you revise them, and adds covers, proofreading, audiobooks and KDP-ready export.
Scrivener 3 has no built-in AI writing features. Some writers paste text into a separate chatbot, which loses the context of the rest of the book. AIWriteBook drafts each chapter from its outline and the book's Story Bible.
Yes. Compile or export the manuscript from Scrivener as a Word .docx, then upload it in AIWriteBook. The importer detects the chapters, lets you adjust them, and keeps your text unchanged.
Yes. Every chapter opens in a rich-text editor. You can write a chapter yourself, let the AI draft it, or mix both.
Yes. Paid plans start at $12/mo billed yearly, and you can plan a book and write the first chapter free. Scrivener costs $59.99 once for Mac or Windows and $23.99 for iOS, with covers, proofreading and audiobooks handled elsewhere.
No. The Salt Archive and Tamsin Revel are invented for this page. The cover was made with the same cover generator authors use in the app.
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Plan your book and write the first chapter free. Outlines, chapters, covers, audiobooks and KDP-ready export in one tool. No credit card.
