For novelists between drafts
AI Book Editor for Developmental Notes
Paste a chapter and get an editor's letter on your stakes, where the chapter turns and what to cut, quoting your lines without rewriting them.
Free to start. No card needed.
How to read your chapter like a book editor
Put the draft away for a few weeks if you can, then read the chapter through before you change a word. Book coach Monica Cox suggests reading your draft in a new font or on another device1, with a notebook beside you for problems and their page numbers. Start with stakes: what does your point-of-view character want in this chapter, and what do they lose if they fail? Then point to the line where a reader learns it; if you can't, the stakes are still in your head.
Next, find the turn: the moment the situation changes, through a reveal, a choice, a reversal or a cost. A chapter that ends where it started tends to feel slow, however much happens in it. Nathan Bransford, a former literary agent, likens a well-built chapter to a mini-novel that builds to a climax2, with its most important event as close to the end as possible. If you can't find a turn, sketch the scene on a scene card before you rewrite a line.
Cuts come last, because the stakes and the turn decide what each passage is for. Mark the passages that serve neither, such as backstory the reader doesn't need yet, and name each by its first and last few words, with a reason. List two or three strengths worth protecting, then sort the problems biggest first, since one structural fix can make several small notes moot. The self-editing checklist covers these checks for every chapter, plus continuity and point of view.
How it works
What does an AI book editor do?
River's AI book editor writes the kind of letter a developmental editor would: notes on your chapter's big picture, not new sentences. The Editorial Freelancers Association3 says developmental editors deal with content, organization and genre, and may send their notes as an editorial letter. Your letter covers what's at stake, where the chapter turns, what to cut, what's working and three questions for your next pass. Each note quotes your line with its paragraph number, so you can find it in your draft.
It never rewrites a sentence, and that's on purpose. Nathan Bransford4, who tested AI feedback on his own screenplay, found its positivity most dangerous when it said a problem was fixed and it wasn't. He also notes, after Jane Friedman, that AI feedback tends to flatten your writing a little by pushing it toward the average. So the letter leads with the biggest problem instead of praise, and it leaves every fix to you, in your own voice.
Use it between drafts and before you pay for an edit, so the editor you hire starts from a stronger draft. If you already have notes from an editor or beta readers, the revision plan tool sorts them biggest first. For sentence-level polish, 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 where someone would stop reading.
How it works
From chapter to editor's letter
Paste or drop
Paste a chapter or drop in the file, then pick what's bugging you, if anything.
River reads it all
It reads every word first, working out the genre, point of view and tense from your pages.
Get your letter
An editor's letter lands in a doc, each note quoting your words with a paragraph number.
Revise your way
Keep the notes you agree with, make each change yourself, then turn the notes into a revision plan.
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" (para 3) is the only line about the drive. We never learn what happens if she doesn't.
"Marco already had a key card" (para 14) 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" (paras 8 to 10). 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" (para 2). We don't yet know what it could cost her. The turn. Nothing changes between five and six-thirty. The call from "a number she didn't know" (para 3) 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" (para 1) and the radio weather (para 2), about 15 words, repeat a routine we already believe.
Every note points at your own words, so you can judge it against your draft.
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
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a developmental edit?
A developmental edit looks at a manuscript's big picture rather than its sentences. The Editorial Freelancers Association lists content, organization and genre, and says the editor may return an overall evaluation or an editorial letter with suggestions. A line edit works at the sentence or paragraph level instead. On a single chapter, the big picture includes what's at stake, where it turns and what it can do without.
How do I get developmental notes on my chapter with River?
Paste your chapter into the box at the top of this page, or drop in the file, and pick what's bugging you if you like. Several chapters or a whole draft work too, though one chapter at a time gets the most detailed notes. River reads every word, then writes your editor's letter into your free River workspace, where you can ask it to plan your revision.
Will the AI book editor rewrite my chapter?
No. River writes the letter in a separate doc and leaves your chapter and your file exactly as they are. To suggest a cut, it quotes the first and last few words of the passage and says why. It never drafts replacement sentences, a sample fix or a revised version, so every word of the book stays yours.
Can AI replace a developmental editor?
Not fully. Nathan Bransford, a former literary agent, tested AI feedback on his screenplay and found it unnervingly helpful, but "still not as good as an experienced human with a good eye." For writers who can't afford an editor or find good feedback elsewhere, he calls it "better than nothing." If you can hire an editor, use AI notes before the paid edit, not instead of it.
How much does a developmental editor cost?
At the Editorial Freelancers Association's median rates, a developmental edit of an 80,000-word novel costs about $2,400 to $2,800. Its 2026 rate chart5, based on a survey of more than 1,100 members, gives a median range of 3.0¢ to 3.5¢ a word for fiction. Rates vary with experience and turnaround. Our guide to the types of editing compares those rates with Reedsy's and explains the other kinds of edit.
Is my chapter private?
Yes. Your chapter and your letter stay in your own River workspace unless you choose to share them. River's privacy policy says it doesn't use your documents or drafts to train AI models. The outside AI services that read your chapter work under agreements that bar them from training on it too. You keep all rights to what you write.
Is the AI book editor free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your editor's letter opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models. You don't need a card to start.
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