Free tools for authors & founders

Free tools for authors, worked out for your book.

Five of them answer the big questions: whether to write the book, what it will cost, what it will earn and what the rules allow. They use published rules and plain arithmetic, and show their working.

The five to start with
The other 20 in the index

Find your tool

Which tool is for me?

Pick the one that sounds like you, and we’ll point you at the tool to start with.

I'm a founder, coach or expert I have an idea for a book I'm writing it My manuscript is finished My book is already out

Each answer points at one tool to start with, and a few that help after it.

I'm a founder, coach or expert

Find out if a book is your next move.

Score your readiness first. If the answer is yes, see what having it written would cost.

Authority Readiness Score

Also usefulGhostwriting Cost & Payback Planner Founder Book Plan

I have an idea for a book

Test the idea, then decide who writes it.

If you'd rather not write it yourself, see what a ghostwriter would cost and when it pays back.

Ghostwriting Cost & Payback Planner

Also usefulIs My Book a Bestseller?Memoir Outline Generator Publishing Path Quiz

I'm writing it

Keep the draft publishable.

Used AI anywhere, for words, a cover or pictures? Check KDP's rules before you go further.

AI Book Check

Also usefulFree First 10 Pages Review Manuscript Health Check Book Title Generator

My manuscript is finished

Price it before you publish it.

See what each platform pays you per copy, and how big your cover and spine need to be.

Book Royalty & Cover Size Calculator

Also usefulKDP Cover Size & Spine Width Calculator Publishing Cost Estimator Publishing Contract Check

My book is already out

Make more of the book you've published.

Thinking about an audiobook? Plan its cost and its path. If sales are slow, start with your listing.

Audiobook Cost & Path Planner

Also usefulAmazon Listing Audit Book Launch Orchestrator

IStart with these

Five tools for the big questions.

Each one asks about your book and does the working out in front of you, so you can see where the answer comes from.

Start here

Founders, coaches, experts & memoirists

Ghostwriting Cost & Payback Planner

“What would a ghostwriter cost for my book, and when would it pay for itself?”

Five settings, then your own numbers free
Plan my book: Ghostwriting Cost & Payback Planner
Start here

Founders, executives, coaches & speakers

Authority Readiness Score

“Should I write a book yet, or is it too early?”

12 questions, about 3 minutes free
Get my score: Authority Readiness Score
Start here

Anyone who used AI on a book

AI Book Check

“I used AI on my book. Do I have to tell Amazon?”

About 2 minutes free
Check my book: AI Book Check
Start here

Self-publishers pricing a book

Book Royalty & Cover Size Calculator

“What will I earn per copy, and how wide is my spine?”

Format, trim, pages and price free
Price my book: Book Royalty & Cover Size Calculator
Start here

Authors with a published or finished book

Audiobook Cost & Path Planner

“What would my audiobook cost, and which way should I make it?”

Two sliders, then six quick questions free

ACX says Audible's legacy royalty model ends by the end of 2026.
Plan my audiobook: Audiobook Cost & Path Planner

IIThe index

Every other tool, in the index.

20 more free tools and games, grouped by what you’re working on. A tool marked AI writes its result with an AI model.

Plan & cost

Publishing Cost Estimator
Answer four questions for an itemised ballpark of what your book needs, instead of a vague “it depends.”
The 2026 Publishing Cost Report
Original research: 1,162 real search queries about publishing, and why about 1 in 5 of them is about price.
Founder Book Plan AI
Your positioning angle, a chapter-by-chapter outline and an honest scope for the book.
Is My Book a Bestseller? AI
Score your book idea's commercial potential, with a sharper title, angle and audience.

Write & edit

Free First 10 Pages Review AI
Paste your opening for a read on the hook and the voice, and three fixes that would sharpen it.
Manuscript Health Check AI
Paste a few pages for a read on readability, structure and marketability.
Write Your First Chapter AI
Describe your book and see a sample opening page drafted from it.
Memoir Outline Generator AI
Turn your life story into a chapter-by-chapter outline.
Continuity Guardian AI
Green eyes in chapter 1, brown in chapter 12? A story bible from your chapters, with every contradiction quoted from both sides.
Book Title Generator AI
Ten title ideas for your book, in seconds.

Publish & price

KDP Cover Size & Spine Width Calculator
Spine width, full-wrap size and bleed for your trim and page count, from KDP's own cover formula.
Publishing Path Quiz
Traditional, self-publishing or done-for-you? A recommendation for your book in about a minute.
Publishing Contract Check AI
Paste a publisher's contract or quote and see it read against the eight questions that decide whether a deal is fair.

Market & launch

Amazon Listing Audit AI
Paste your listing to see the search phrases you're missing, your category placement and what your first two lines are doing.
Book Launch Orchestrator AI
A week-by-week launch checklist and marketing plan: reviewers, email, social, ads and promotions.
KDP Ads Autopilot AI
A starter Amazon Ads campaign for your book: keywords, bids, negative keywords and ad copy.
Speaker One-Sheet AI
Your expertise as a speaker's pitch sheet: headline, signature talks, bio and topics.

Play

A 5-minute game
Draft to Shelf
The book publishing game: eight decisions, the scams to dodge, and six endings.
A daily game, 2–3 minutes
The Red Pen
One manuscript page a day with five hidden mistakes. Circle them before the ink runs out.
A daily puzzle, about 2 minutes
First Line
Set an invented book's first line from loose type, then an editor explains why it hooks.

Rather just talk?

Tell us about your book. We’ll work it out with you.

Send us a few details and a publishing consultant will contact you within 24 hours. No pressure, no obligation.

Talk to a Publisher +1 (609) 493-4557