Polishing Your Manuscript - Using Artificial Intelligence (A.I) Tools

In the previous article, I highlighted the critical role of editors in working on the quality of your document. There is a growing base of writers who opt instead to work with AI tools. The tools are faster and you can control the pace of finalising your manuscript but they take hard work too and do not necessarily replace the role of the editor. Actually, when you start working with the tools, it makes you appreciate the role the editors play. A lot of self-publishers opt for A.I tools as they are more affordable, and you can use them even where publishing houses are not keen to work with you, especially on untested themes and the fact that you may be an unknown first-time author. These tools can help one improve the quality of work before loading them on platforms that allow self-publishing and selling. This article shares the first four top tools that you can use and also gives a listing of other tools you can consider using.

Grammarly

This is estimated to have over 30 million active daily users. The platform's popularity is due to its seamless integration with word processors and online social media platforms. The basic free features allow a writer to correct spelling mistakes and adopt suggestions on the structure of sentences. However, if a writer wants to gain maximum impact from the tool, the writer has to invest in the estimated monthly subscription fee of USD10 per month per individual. Business subscriptions for companies are higher (approximately USD15 per user per month). If you pay for the premium version; you will benefit from over 400 features that include checking for grammatical mistakes, vocabulary enhancement suggestions, detecting plagiarism and citation suggestions. When you start using Grammarly for editing work you will immediately notice it does sometimes alter completely the intended meaning of your writing and so you have to countercheck all suggestions that it makes before accepting. This can be arduous. The popping up of suggestions when writing a book can also slow you down and or distract your thought process. Grammarly doesn't take away the copyright from the writer. It uses the logic of written works to come up with new AI algorithms that continuously improve the software.

ClickUp

ClickUp started as a project management and collaboration tool and later introduced AI copywriting tools making it a powerful proofreading software. ClickUp uses a combination of natural language processing and ClickUp brain to make suggestions and produce outputs in seconds. ClickUp can generate a marketing plan, write emails, design research, summarise meeting notes, create action plans etc based on what you tell it to do. For editorial purposes, ClickUp summarises lengthy documents and sentences; it offers suggestions to tailor your content to be concise and engaging to your potential audience and its AI Writing Assistant helps you brainstorm ideas for your next novel, book or work that you want to undertake. Just like Grammarly, for a writer to access the best features of ClickUp, one has to pay. The unlimited usage will cost USD 7 per month per user while businesses will pay an estimated USD12 per user per month. For an additional USD5 per workspace member per month; one can access the ClickUp Brain. As much as the tool does robust work, the writer in the end has to decide if it aligns with the context of writing and whether the changes proposed are acceptable. ClickUp also doesn't take ownership of the copyright for content created by authors.

Slick Write

Slick Write is a free browser-based proofreading software that checks your content and offers suggestions on style and tone. The free platform has some robust features, including ways to check the flow of your sentences, remove passive voice, check adverb usage, very fast grammar check, grade/review performance improvement, vocabulary suggestions, a flow tool that checks sentence continuity amongst others. The Word Associator is one of the most effective options that helps a writer overcome a mental block by offering new thoughts of words the writer can use. However, as it's all 100% free, it does lack some of the features that you would draw from ClickUp and Grammarly. It's also not clear how ClickUp makes its money. One of the downsides of Slick Write is it has a more complicated user interface/processes; its entirely cloud-based and one has to check for all the proposed changes. It limits the amount of words and characters that one can upload. But a writer can decide say to load a chapter at a time and have the editing done sequentially. Like the tools analysed above, it's still up to the writer to make the final decision on the changes based on what they are trying to communicate to their audiences. In terms of document privacy and copyright, Slick Write states they do not redistribute user documents, and therefore provide reassurance for professionals, students, and anyone concerned about the security of their work

White Smoke

White Smoke uses natural language processing to help users edit and refine their content. It targets users who are non-native English speakers and or academic writers. It teaches writers how to create better content while undergoing editorial work using the software. It picks errors that less robust platforms miss, and offers a mobile version. The challenges are its user interface can be complicated and the user has to pay for the premium services. The estimated pricing is USD59.95 per year for browsers; USD79.95 per year for browsers, MS Office, Gmail and Windows; and USD 137.95 per year for the full version that covers the phone support. The licenses are also limited, technically don't provide a free version to test and it also limits the number of characters one can work with.

Other A.I Tools for Proofreading and Editing

The other tools that one can consider are Ginger, LanguageTool, PaperRater, ProWritingAid, Quillbot, HemingWay App and ChatGPT. Like the tools analysed above, each has a pro and a con and the writer has to weigh what works for them. The writer also has to pay to access premium services.

How can I know what Tool Works for Me?

The best way to decide the tools that work for you is to access the free or trial version and test before deciding to upgrade. It is important to note that most of the companies however do not expose their premium services for free. So you may end up paying for a subscription for more than one tool just to test which one works for you. You can also check the online reviews for feedback on tools.

How long does it take to work with A.I tools?

In the previous article, I highlighted that good editors are worth investing in. The downside is they are also in demand and so the turnaround of your work could be impacted sometimes taking 3-6 months. Some editors have an SLA and will try and churn out feedback in less than a month, but the truth is most are swamped and you have to agree on a schedule. The A.I tools have the benefit of fast turnaround but they also have limitations in terms of words one can upload, looking at overall content structure, the amount of time and effort it takes to confirm the changes line by line proposed or the truncated documents etc. The A.I tools however rely on the writer's speed. if you decide to do everything in a day, then you have the proofread document in a day. If you decide to pace out, then the pace will match your speed.

What is the optimal approach?

There is no right or wrong answer. A writer can choose a hybrid method where they first take their work through the A.I editorial tools and then pass the work to a human editor to make the final check. A writer can also decide to invest in time and software resources to undertake do own editorial. The bottom line is a writer needs to decide what is good for them and their audiences.

What if I am writing Medical Content or Specialist Content - Are there A.I Tools to Support Editorial Work?

Tools like Grafi.Ai, Dezzai and Yseop are designed for medical health writers. But there is a caveat. As you are dealing with issues that touch a person's life, health, and wellbeing, you may still need to work with experts in the medical sector to counter-verify the accuracy of the works. It depends on the nature of writing and if it's a "how to manual to remove a tumour." You can research per sector to see what tools can help you.