How the WriterDesk works, one path at a time

A writing desk that takes a book from the idea to a file a publisher will accept: print, ebook, audiobook, or a read-aloud video. You write; the desk handles the house rules, the matter, the cover facts and the files. Open the WriterDesk

Sign in, then open the WriterDesk and press Start a new book. The finished sample is on the Shelf if you want to look around first. Sign in · See the four paths

Sign in, then press Start a new book at the top of the WriterDesk. A blank book opens on the House step. Open the WriterDesk

The Dragon Who Kept the List, a finished example set up for Amazon KDP at 6 × 9. Once signed in, open it from the Shelf on the WriterDesk; you can click through every step, but nothing on the sample is saved and it only downloads watermarked. See it in the walks

Yes. On the WriterDesk, press A book made from pictures, or open it from the Shelf. Walk: Picture book

Print book, ebook (EPUB), audiobook, and picture book or comic as a read-aloud. Each walk shows the same sample on real screens. See the four paths

Yes. Every WriterDesk feature needs a free account; only the site search works without one. Signing in takes a moment with an emailed link. The walks and guides show everything before you sign up. Sign in · See the four paths

No. WriterCaddy prepares the files and facts each house asks for; you upload them to the house yourself, under your own account. Choosing a house

Amazon KDP & Audible, ACX, Google Play Books, Spotify for Authors, INaudio, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press, Lulu, Draft2Digital, Apple Books, Kobo Writing Life, or Custom format. Choose the publisher · Choosing a house

Print, ebook and audiobook do not ask for the same file, and each house has its own trims, ISBN rules and margins. Every step after House follows the path you pick. Choose the publisher

Yes, one guide walks every step from House to Check. Read the full path

Yes. The site and the WriterDesk work in a phone browser; a laptop is easier for long chapters. There is no separate app.

Signed in, every change saves to your account a moment after you stop typing, and the status line says On your account. The sample is never saved, so sign in and start a book to keep your work. Sign in

Yes. Books live on your account, so the same book opens on any phone, laptop or desk once you sign in. Sign in

On the sign-in page, press Continue with Google, or enter any email and press Email me a sign-in link: one click from your inbox signs you in, and the first time it creates your account. You can also use a password. Continuing means agreeing to the Terms and the Privacy Policy. Sign in

Use Forgot your password on the sign-in page. The reset email link works for one hour. Reset password

A confirmation email is sent when you sign up and its link works for 24 hours. You can use the site before you confirm.

Use the account button at the top right of any page and choose Sign out.

Press Shelf on the WriterDesk. It lists your books by title and word count, newest first. Open the WriterDesk

The shelf holds 24 books per account. Remove one before starting another.

Open Shelf, press Remove on the book, then Remove this book. It is deleted right away and cannot be brought back.

A book can hold a long novel, but a single book over about 1.5 MB of text is refused with a note. Pictures are stored separately, up to 15 MB each.

The newest save wins. Close the book on one device before working on the other.

Write to support from your account's email and we close the account and delete its data. Contact · Privacy

House picks the publisher, path and trim. Intent holds the title and promise. Matter adds the pages around the chapters. Chapters is the writing. Cover is front, spine and back. Facts is ISBN and rights. Check runs the preflight and the downloads. House · Chapters · Check

The title, subtitle, series, who the book is for, and the intent: what a reader should have when they close it. Book title · Who it is for

On the Chapters step. Add chapters with + Chapter, give each a title and an optional Part, and write in the chapter box. Write a chapter

On Chapters, + Chapter adds one; Earlier and Later move it; Remove chapter deletes it (the last chapter cannot be removed). Chapters step

An optional group of chapters, like Part One. Its name becomes a divider in the manuscript and the EPUB. Set it on each chapter. Chapters step

Bold, italic, underline, quotes, alignment, line spacing, lists, tables, images and a scene break (* * *). The Word file and the EPUB keep that styling; the .txt manuscript keeps only the words and paragraphs.

Under each chapter you see its word count, a reading grade after about 40 words, and words you use often. Listen and stats guide

A live copy of the book as you write: printed pages, ebook screens, the listening order, or the read-aloud player, depending on the path. It is stamped Preview.

The pages before and after the chapters: dedication, epigraph, foreword, acknowledgments, glossary, index and more. Turn on only what the book needs. Matter step · Matter guide

Front: praise, dedication, epigraph, foreword, author's note, preface, how to use this book, about the publisher, peer-review note. Back: acknowledgments, also by the author, appendix, bibliography, notes, glossary, answer key, index. Matter step

No. They are built from Intent and Facts, so you do not type them twice. Facts step

The details a house asks for: author, ISBN, category, keywords, language, year, rights, and a way for readers to reach you. Facts step

English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Hindi and Chinese. Choose it on the Facts step; it is written into the EPUB and the handoff. Facts step

The preflight list (Ready, Look, Needed) and the downloads. A clean file leaves once nothing is Needed. Check step

Ready is fine. Look is worth a glance but does not block. Needed must be fixed before a clean file can leave; a watermarked copy still can. Check step

Title, chapters, author, trim for the house, page count, ISBN, barcode, rights, data line, and for ebooks the store description and keywords. Audiobooks add narrator and file-length checks. Check step

The sample is shorter than a paperback's 24-page minimum, so the length line is Needed on purpose. Your own book clears it with more pages.

Yes. Pick another house on House; the trim snaps to one that house prints and the checks follow. Choose the publisher

Yes. Bring a .docx, .txt, .md or .rtf onto the Chapters step and it splits into chapters on headings. Bring a manuscript · Guide

Word .docx, plain .txt, Markdown .md, and .rtf. A PDF or an old .doc is not read; save it as .docx first. Bring a manuscript

Not yet. Save the file as .docx or .txt and bring that instead. Bring a manuscript

A new chapter starts at a line like Chapter 1, Prologue or Epilogue, a Word heading style, or a Markdown #. Part lines set the part. With no headings the file becomes one chapter. Guide

Yes, on Chapters. A file with no heading becomes one chapter named after the file. Bring a manuscript

You see a summary first. When chapters already exist you choose Add after the chapters here or Replace the chapters. Bring a manuscript

Yes. Headings like Dedication, Acknowledgments or Glossary go to the Matter step, and a copyright line fills the year and rights. Anything not written stays blank. Guide

Yes, on the Cover step. An image becomes the front cover; text fills the headline, praise, blurb and about the author. Cover step

No. The file is read in your browser and its text goes into the book; signed in, the book saves to your account.

Yes. Choose a print house and Print and ebook or Print only on House, then pick the kind of book and the trim. Choose the path · Walk: Print book

Not for a novel or a handbook: the house's own interior template makes those print files from the Word manuscript. A picture book or comic does get a print interior PDF, with bleed, on its Check step. No book gets a cover PDF; use the house's cover template. Print guide

Forty trim sizes across five kinds of book: pocket, novel, handbook, picture and comic. The House step shows only the ones your house prints, exactly as the house lists them: sixteen for Amazon KDP, thirty-two for IngramSpark (4 × 6 to 8.5 × 11 and 11 × 8.5), twenty for Barnes & Noble Press, and sixteen for Lulu. Choose the trim size

5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, and 6.14 × 9.21 inches are the usual ones. Some houses add 5.5 × 8.25 or A5 (5.83 × 8.27); the House step shows what yours prints. Choose the trim size

Yes on Amazon KDP, IngramSpark and Custom format. KDP allows 4 to 8.5 inches wide and 6 to 11.69 tall. IngramSpark allows 4 to 8.5 wide and 6 to 11 tall, and never wider than tall. Custom format accepts 4 to 12.5 wide and 4 to 18 tall. Barnes & Noble Press and Lulu print only their own lists. Choose the trim size

The desk estimates about 250 words a page and shows it on Check, with a spine estimate. A paperback usually needs at least 24 pages. Check step

The desk gives an estimate from the page count on white paper. It is a guide, not a printer's measurement; use the house's cover calculator for the final number. Print guide

On the Cover step: the front image, the spine title and image, and the back with headline, blurb, praise, about the author and photo. The wrap is drawn as you type. Upload the front cover

Here: Back cover blurb. The AI caddy can draft one too: Draft the back cover

On the Cover step: About the author · Author photo

Here: Add the ISBN. With 13 digits and Put the barcode on the back cover ticked, the barcode is drawn on a print cover.

Here: Add the ISBN. Type the 13 digits and the barcode can be drawn on the back cover. Some houses can issue an ISBN for you.

It depends on the house. KDP, B&N Press and Lulu can issue an ISBN that works only with them; IngramSpark needs one you own. Ebook houses treat it as optional. Choosing a house

No. Buy one from your country's ISBN agency, or let a house that offers one issue it.

Yes. The Facts and Cover boxes say whether a 13-digit ISBN's check digit matches. Add the ISBN

Yes. Type a link in QR code. On a print back cover it is drawn with the barcode, so it needs a 13-digit ISBN and the barcode on.

Yes, on Facts: Publisher logo · Book or series logo

The House step shows the house's margin note, for example IngramSpark's 0.5 inch minimum. The house's template sets the final margins. Choose the publisher

The desk prepares the same manuscript and facts; choose hardcover on the house's own site when you set up the print edition. KDP hardcovers come in five trims: 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10 and 8.25 × 11. Choosing a house

Yes, an EPUB 3 with a cover, a title page, a copyright page, the contents, and one section per chapter, plus front and back matter. Choose the path · Ebook guide

Amazon KDP, Google Play Books, Draft2Digital, Apple Books, Kobo Writing Life, and the ebook side of IngramSpark, B&N Press and Lulu. Walk: Ebook

Yes, when the Cover step has a front image: it becomes the first page and the shop's cover image. Most shops still ask you to upload the cover separately too: one JPEG, RGB, ideally 2560 × 1600. Upload the front cover

Yes. Bold, italics, underline, quotes, lists, tables, alignment, scene breaks and inline pictures carry into the EPUB. A picture that cannot be read when you download is left out.

A prose book's EPUB is reflowable, which suits novels and most nonfiction. A picture book or comic gets a fixed-layout EPUB: one screen for each page, the picture edge to edge, and a spread split across two screens.

If the book also has a print edition, yes: shops will not take the same number for both. Add the ebook ISBN

Up to seven, separated by commas; Amazon keeps seven. Keywords

On the Cover step for an ebook, it is the Store description; for print it is the back cover blurb. Back cover blurb

KDP takes the EPUB directly, so no MOBI or KPF is needed. Ebook guide

Yes. Choose Audiobook on the House step; signed in, the studio reads the book in a narrator voice and makes the files. Choose Audiobook · Audiobook guide

Amazon KDP & Audible, ACX, Google Play Books, Spotify for Authors and INaudio. Choose the publisher

A ZIP of MP3s: opening credits, any front matter you chose to speak, one file per chapter, spoken back matter, and closing credits. A second button makes the shop sample: one MP3 of about four minutes from chapter 1. Audiobook studio · Audiobook guide

On the Check step when the path is Audiobook. It needs sign-in, your own book, an AI voice and chapter text. Check step

Nine styles: Woman, Man, Older, Young, Adult, Child, Cartoon, Energetic and Calm. Pick one on the House step when the path is Audiobook. Choose Audiobook

Yes. Choose Human narration on the House step, then upload your chapter recordings: Clean or edit the voice brings them to ACX levels, and Join the recordings joins them into one audiobook in the order you set. These use no AI and come with the WriterCaddy plan. Choose Audiobook

The studio makes 44.1 kHz, 192 kbps constant MP3s with room tone at the head and tail, and the Check step shows the ACX spec. Check each file before you upload. Audiobook guide

In the audiobook studio on the Check step, press Make the shop sample. It reads about four minutes from chapter 1 (never over five, never the credits) as one MP3. It needs the AI plan and counts its minutes against the month's 5 hours. Audiobook studio

Yes. Upload your takes (MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG or FLAC, up to 90 MB each) and they come back as 44.1 kHz, 192 kbps mono MP3s with noise reduced, levels inside ACX's range, peaks under −3 dB, and room tone at the head and tail. It uses no AI and comes with the WriterCaddy plan.

Yes. On the Voice step, choose Join the page recordings, upload one recording per page in order, and get a single MP3 with a short pause between pages.

A direct ACX upload still expects a human narrator unless ACX has authorized synthetic speech. INaudio, Spotify and Google can take an AI voice.

ACX will not take a file over 120 minutes; the Check step flags a chapter that would run longer at a calm pace. Check step

On the Chapters step, in What the listener hears. Leave them blank and they are built from the title, author and narrator. Opening credits

Write one name a line in How to say the names on the Chapters step, or ask Say the names and press Add to How to say the names. The voice reads from that list. How to say the names · Say the names

On the Matter step each item has Speak this aloud. Copyright, contents, index and bibliography stay off the recording. Matter step

AI narration is part of the AI plan ($29.99 a month), which includes 5 hours of narration a month. A render is counted at about 900 characters a minute, rounded up, when it starts; one that does not finish gives its minutes back. Without the plan, every verified account can hear one free 30-second sample of its first paragraph. Pricing

A long book can take hours; you can close the page and come back. Finished files can be downloaded for 7 days.

Yes: a 2400 × 2400 JPEG, with title, author and Narrated by matching the credits, and no barcode. Upload it to the house.

The narrator is set up for English. For another language, write to support before you render. Contact

Yes. A picture book or comic can leave as a read-aloud: each page, a voice, and one file that plays. Walk: Picture book · Read-aloud guide

On the House step choose Picture or Comic as the kind of book; the desk switches to the illustrated steps: Story, Pages, Matter, Cover, Facts, Check, Audio, Video and File. Choose the path

Up to 48 pages; a spread counts as two. Picture books usually run 24, 32, 40 or 48 pages.

Pictures at 300 dpi with 0.125 inch bleed, faces and words 0.375 inch from the gutter. JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF up to 15 MB each. Read-aloud guide

Yes. Tick This picture crosses both pages on that page to make a spread.

On its Check step: a print interior PDF when the path includes print, a fixed-layout EPUB when it includes an ebook, and the ONIX handoff. Watermarked copies are free; clean ones come with the paid WriterCaddy plan. Check step

A title page, a copyright page, then one page for each picture at your trim plus bleed (0.125 inch wider, 0.25 inch taller), the KDP picture-book size. A spread is split across two facing pages. The cover is not in it; make that with the house's cover template. Check step

Only if you tick Print the words on the page on the Check step. It is off at first, because most picture books have the words in the art. The title and copyright pages use a standard print font. Check step

An MP4 at 1920 × 1080: a title slide, then each page held while its line is read, with switchable subtitles, plus an MP3 of the reading. It needs the AI plan, and its length counts against the month's 5 hours of narration. Read-aloud guide

A free single .html file with every page, its line and a Play button that reads aloud in the browser voice. It is on the File step and works on the sample too.

Each page holds while its line is spoken. Type a Hold (seconds) on a page to keep it up longer, or ask Pace the pages and press Apply these timings. Pace the pages

Yes. The MP4 is yours to share where you like, and the drawings stay yours.

No. A read-aloud does not go to a house, so it needs no ISBN and no trim.

Yes. A comic page has Who speaks for each line, and you can set left-to-right or right-to-left reading order on Facts.

No. KDP does not print board books (under 3); a picture book there is usually 4–8. Age range

Optional AI tools on each WriterDesk step that ask questions and draft small pieces, like titles, a blurb or a pitch. Nothing goes into the book until you press a button under its answer, and Undo takes it back. About the AI caddy

Each step has AI on this step, for example Brainstorm the idea on Intent and Format the chapter on Chapters. Intent tools · Chapters tools

No. It asks questions, flags problems and drafts small pieces you can ignore. It will not rewrite a chapter. A draft goes into the book only when you press a button such as Use as back blurb or Apply this wording, and the desk asks before replacing anything you wrote. About the AI caddy

Brainstorm the idea, titles and chapter names, series, flow, Format the chapter, Comprehend the chapter, Keep the thread, sources, Describe a picture, Fit a figure, Draft the pages, the finder, back cover, pitch, About the author, Design the cover, a book logo, house fit, Convert to another house, submission, categories, preflight fixes, pronunciations, credits, spoken lines, page order and pacing, plus narration, the shop sample, and cleaning and joining your own recordings in the audio studio. About the AI caddy

None right now: every AI tool on the desk works, including the shop sample and the recording tools. New ones will be added here when they arrive.

Sign in and start a book, press the tool, tick I agree to use the AI tools, then Ask. The answer appears below with a Copy button, and, where it fits, a button that puts it into the book (Undo takes it back). Without the AI plan, the panel shows how many of your 5 free questions are left. Brainstorm the idea

They open after you sign in and start your own book; they stay locked on the sample. Sign in

Only what that tool needs from this book. A chapter tool reads the open chapter in full, up to about 4,000 words, and says so when a longer chapter is cut. Whole-book tools, like the back cover or the finder, read the chapter titles, how each chapter opens, and the names found across the book. Picture tools also send the page art. It never sees other books.

The WriterDesk AI tools use xAI's Grok. The site search answers from WriterCaddy's own pages first; only if you agree to an AI answer does it ask Groq's open models, with Grok as the backup. The text you include goes to that provider to answer; WriterCaddy does not save the answers. Privacy

The AI stays off until you agree and runs only when you ask. The text you include goes to xAI to answer. About the AI caddy · Privacy

Every verified account can try 5 AI questions, 1 picture and a 30-second voice sample free, once, with no card. A free question reads up to about 1,500 words. After that, AI is the AI plan: $29.99 a month on top of the WriterCaddy plan, with about 150,000 words of answers, 60 pictures and 5 hours of narration each month. Pricing

The free taste is 5 questions in all. On the AI plan, up to 60 asks a day, within the month's allowance of about 150,000 words. When a limit is reached the desk says when it resets; the book is still yours. Pricing

Yes: Suggest impactful titles gives five titles, a subtitle and a name for each chapter. It does not pick a winner; Use as title puts the one you choose on the book.

Yes: Format the chapter flags grammar, spelling, tone and length line by line without rewriting. Apply this wording changes only that line, and Undo puts it back.

Yes, as drafts: Draft the back cover · Write the pitch

Yes: Book Category Suggestion gives five plain shop categories. Use as category fills the Category field on Facts.

It drafts a contents list, index and appendix without page numbers: Build the finder. Use as the index and Use as the appendix put the drafts on the Matter step. The contents page itself is built from the chapter titles.

It drafts the smallest change for each Needed line: Clear the preflight. You make the change.

Here: Download the book. Watermarked copies are free; clean files come with the paid WriterCaddy plan.

For a prose book: the manuscript as .txt and as a Word .docx, the EPUB, and the handoff (an ONIX record of the book's facts). For a picture book or comic: a print interior PDF, a fixed-layout EPUB and the handoff. Each comes watermarked for free, or clean. Download the book

Two formats: a plain-text .txt, and a Word .docx in standard manuscript format (Times New Roman 12, double spaced, 1 inch margins, each chapter on a new page). Both have the title block, matter and chapters in order. Download the book

An ONIX 3.0 record with the ISBN, title, subtitle, series, author, language and description, the metadata format bookshops and distributors read.

Yes. Every watermarked file on the Check step downloads free at any time with your account. Download the book · How files work

A watermarked file carries a Preview page, line or stamp so you can check the book; the Word file says PREVIEW on every page, and the print PDF is stamped on every page. A clean file has none and is what a house should receive. How files work

Either a Needed line is still on the Check list, you are on the sample, the WriterCaddy plan is still in its free trial (every download is watermarked until the first payment), or there is no paid plan. Check step · Pricing

No. With the paid WriterCaddy plan, clean downloads are unlimited, for every book on your account. Pricing

They download straight to your device and are not stored on the server. Keep your own copies.

Yes, in the file vault: 1 GB for covers, fonts and print packages, included with the WriterCaddy plan. File vault

Clean files come with the WriterCaddy plan: $29.99 a month, unlimited clean downloads, after a 7-day free trial (downloads during the trial are watermarked). Watermarked copies are always free. Pricing · Download the book

The WriterCaddy plan is $29.99 a month, with a 7-day free trial once per account. The AI plan is a $29.99 a month add-on. Every verified account can also try the AI free: 5 questions, 1 picture and a 30-second voice sample. Pricing

A free account gets writing, the samples, the Listen button, the watermarked files and a one-time AI taste (5 questions, 1 picture, a 30-second voice sample). Clean files, the vault and the recording tools come with the WriterCaddy plan ($29.99 a month, 7-day free trial); AI beyond the taste is the AI plan. Pricing

They are no longer sold. There is now one plan for every book on your account: the WriterCaddy plan, $29.99 a month with a 7-day free trial, with unlimited clean downloads. Any credits or pass time you already have still work. Pricing

Everything AI on the site: every desk AI tool reading the whole chapter, cover and logo drawing, and AI narration. Each month includes about 150,000 words of answers, 60 pictures and 5 hours of narration, and resets on the billing date. There are no top-ups; at a limit the desk says when it resets. It needs the WriterCaddy plan. Pricing

Download credits, AI credits or a 24-hour pass bought earlier are still honoured: a credit or an open pass still takes a clean file. They are no longer sold. Billing

On the Pricing page: trial end date or renewal date, the AI allowance used this month, and the free AI taste left. The Check step also says whether clean files are open. Pricing

For 7 days everything on the desk is open, including the vault, but every download is watermarked. A card is taken at checkout; the first $29.99 is charged when the trial ends, and clean files open then. Cancel on Pricing before the end and nothing is charged. The trial is once per account. Pricing

Sign in, choose a plan on Pricing, and pay on Stripe's secure checkout. Card details go to Stripe; WriterCaddy never sees them, and you get a WriterCaddy email when the trial starts and when a plan is active. Pricing

Yes: the WriterCaddy plan and the AI plan are both monthly. Cancel any time on Pricing; each stays open to the end of the time already covered. Pricing · Billing

Each month covers its full term, and cancelling stops the next charge. If something is not right, write to support and we review it case by case. Billing · Contact

Plans show a moment after Stripe confirms the checkout; refresh Pricing. If the plan still does not show, write to support with your account email. Contact

The packs of 3 and 10 cost less per file. There are no coupon codes.

Storage for covers, fonts, artwork and print packages: 1 GB, included with the WriterCaddy plan (open during the free trial too). Your manuscript never needs it. File vault · Vault guide

Any file, one at a time, up to 500 MB each and within the room left on your plan. File vault

The vault comes with the WriterCaddy plan, so it ends when the plan does: cancel the plan on Pricing. It stays open to the end of the paid time, then files can be downloaded for 14 days. An older vault subscription is turned off on the vault page. Pricing · Billing

For 14 days after the paid time ends you can still download them but not add new ones. After that they are deleted for good. Starting the plan again before then keeps them. Vault guide

There is one vault size now, 1 GB, with the WriterCaddy plan. An older 100 MB or 1 GB vault subscription keeps running until you turn off its renewal. File vault

No. Covers, logos and page pictures on the desk are kept with the book for free, up to 15 MB each. The vault is extra storage.

You do. WriterCaddy claims no rights in your book; it only stores and processes it so you can write, preview and download. Copyright · Terms

Your books are stored on your account and only you can open them. We work to keep the platform secure; keep your own copies of anything important. Terms · Privacy

WriterCaddy does not train AI on your book. When you use the AI caddy, the text you include goes to xAI to answer. Privacy

Your email, a hashed password, the books and files you save, purchase records, and basic usage. We do not sell personal information. Privacy

No. We do not sell personal information. Privacy

Only you, signed in to your account. There is no sharing or co-author access yet.

Email support with the subject Copyright notice and the details listed on the Copyright page. Copyright

DreamUSA LLC, a small independently run software business in North Carolina, USA. About · Contact

Yes. WriterCaddy emails you when the free trial starts (with the date of the first charge), when the WriterCaddy plan is active, and when the AI plan is active. Your card statement shows WRITERCADDY.COM. Billing

Write to [email protected]; a person reads every message, usually within one business day. Contact

Accounts are not for children under 13. Children's books are welcome; the writer holds the account.