For novelists between drafts
AI Book Editor for Developmental Notes
Paste a chapter or drop in the file. Get an editor's letter on stakes, the turn, and what to cut. Your chapter is never rewritten.
Free to start. No card needed.
Notes on Chapter 7, "The Ferry"
A chase with nothing at risk yet. Give Dana something to lose before the ferry leaves.
"She had to get it back" is the only line about the drive. We never learn what happens if she doesn't.
"Marco already had a key card" is your real turn, and it's buried mid-paragraph after the weather.
The parking garage, from "Concrete pillars rose" to "the smell of oil." About 180 words that stall the chase.
Notes only. Your chapter stays as you wrote it.
What you'll get
An editor's letter on stakes, the turn and what to cut
- Notes on your stakes, the turn, and what to cut
- Every note quotes the line it's about
- What's working, plus three questions for your next pass
Before and after
You give it a chapter. It gives you an editor's read.
Nell unlocked the bakery at five, same as every morning. She tied her apron, checked the proofing drawer, and thought about her sister, who hadn't called in three weeks. The rye looked good. Outside, the street was empty except for the recycling truck. She turned on the radio. A man's voice talked about rain. She shaped forty rolls and thought about the letter in her coat pocket, the one from the bank, the one she hadn't opened. At six, Mr. Abara came in for his usual. At six-thirty the phone rang, a number she didn't know, and she let it ring.
Stakes. The unopened bank letter is the most important thing in this chapter, and it gets one clause: "the one from the bank, the one she hadn't opened." We don't yet know what Nell loses if she opens it. The turn. Nothing changes between five and six-thirty. The unknown call is your turn, but it arrives in the last line and she lets it ring. Consider letting it land earlier, so the chapter ends on her choice. What to cut. "The rye looked good" and the radio weather, about 15 words, repeat a routine we already believe.
Every note points at your own words, so you can judge it against your draft.
Why it works
What is a developmental edit?
River's AI book editor gives your chapter a developmental edit: notes on the big picture, such as stakes, structure and pacing, instead of rewritten sentences. The Editorial Freelancers Association says developmental editors deal with content, organization and genre. Paste your chapter or drop in the file. You get an editor's letter on what's at stake, where the chapter turns and what can go, with every note quoting your own line.
It never rewrites your chapter. Nathan Bransford, who has tested AI feedback, warns that its constant positivity can hide real problems. He also cites Jane Friedman's point that AI feedback can flatten a voice by pulling it toward the average. So the letter opens with the biggest problem, not a compliment, and it marks cuts by quoting where a passage starts and ends instead of writing new prose. What you get is the outside read you can't give yourself after the fifth pass, in a doc you can come back to.
Use it between drafts and before you pay for an edit, so a human editor's time goes on what needs human judgment. If your notes point to a chapter that doesn't turn, plan the fix with the scene card template. Want sentence-level polish instead? The AI line editor tightens a page in your voice. And for a reader's reaction rather than an editor's, the AI beta reader shows the line where someone would stop reading.
What lands in your doc
What's in your editor's letter
- The short version: what your chapter does now and the one note that matters most
- Stakes: what your character wants here, what they stand to lose, and whether readers can tell
- The turn: the line where the situation changes, or the paragraph where a turn could go
- What to cut: three to six passages named by their opening and closing words, with reasons
- What's working: two or three strengths, each quoted, so revision doesn't sand them away
- Your next pass: three questions, most important first, to answer before the next draft
How it works
From chapter to editor's letter
Paste or drop
Paste one chapter, or drop in a Word file, PDF or text file of it.
River reads it all
It reads the whole chapter first, working out genre, point of view and what your scene needs.
Get your letter
Your editor's letter lands in a doc, every note tied to a quoted line from your chapter.
Revise your way
Keep the notes you agree with, make each change yourself, then turn the notes into a revision plan.
What an editor looks for in a chapter
Stakes are what your point-of-view character wants in this chapter and what they lose if they fail. Stakes often live in the author's head and never quite reach the page. The test is whether a reader can point to the line where they show. If the only hint is a passing clause, like a bank letter nobody opens, the chapter reads as routine. The letter names the line where your stakes are clearest, or says plainly that it couldn't find one.
The turn is the moment the situation changes: a reveal, a choice, a reversal, a cost. A chapter that ends where it started usually feels slow, even when plenty happens in it. Find the turn first, because the pacing and the last line both depend on it. Your letter quotes the line where the chapter turns and says whether it lands. If it can't find one, it says so and points to the paragraph where a turn could go, without writing it for you.
Cuts come last, and they're specific: each passage is named by its first and last words, with a reason and a rough word count. A human developmental edit is worth having when you can afford one, though for a novel it often runs $2,000 or more. Our guide to the types of editing explains what each kind covers and costs. Run River first, fix what it finds, and send your editor a stronger draft. For your own pass, the self-editing checklist asks the same questions chapter by chapter.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a developmental edit?
A developmental edit looks at a manuscript's big picture rather than its sentences: content, structure, pacing and genre. The EFA says developmental editors return a manuscript evaluation or an editorial letter on big-picture issues, while line editors work at the sentence or paragraph level. River's letter covers that big picture for one chapter: stakes, the turn, and cuts.
Will the AI book editor rewrite my chapter?
No. River writes the letter in a new doc; your chapter and your file stay exactly as they are. When it suggests a cut, it quotes the first and last few words of the passage and says why, but it never writes replacement sentences. Because the letter adds no words to your book, KDP's guidelines count it as AI-assisted, which you don't have to disclose.
How much does a developmental editor cost?
Most developmental editors charge by the word. The EFA's 2026 rate chart puts the median for fiction at 3.0¢ to 3.5¢ a word, or about $2,400 to $2,800 for an 80,000-word novel. Our guide to the types of editing compares Reedsy's rates and every other kind of edit. River's book editor starts free.
Can AI replace a developmental editor?
Not fully, and River doesn't claim to. A human editor brings taste, market knowledge and a feel for what you're trying to do. Writers who have tested AI notes say they catch structural gaps but can drift toward praise. Use River between drafts so your manuscript reaches a paid editor with the obvious problems already fixed.
What if I already have notes from an editor or beta readers?
Then sort those first. The revision plan tool takes the notes you already have, from an editor, beta readers or a critique group. It removes the repeats and orders them from big to small, tied to chapters. Come back here once you've rewritten a chapter, to check the fix landed before you move on.
Can I give it my whole manuscript?
Yes, though one chapter at a time gives the sharpest notes. If you drop in several chapters or a full draft, River reads all of it before writing, and each note names the chapter its quote comes from. A whole book takes longer to read. To check a full manuscript for contradictions, use the plot hole finder.
Your next step
More for your book
Get the notes your draft is asking for
Paste a chapter or drop in the file. Get a letter that quotes your lines, then keep going chapter by chapter.