Process Note

Image by Susan Weber. Typewriter, plant, notebook.

Effective date: 18 March 2026

Curious about my process, what tools I use, and why? Read on.

Drafting

At the drafting stage, I write (well, type, technically) every word into a computer writing software such as Word, OneNote, Atticus, or, most recently, Campfire.

I do not and have never used AI or other tools to write for me. I respect authors who choose otherwise and disclose that choice clearly in all their published work. However, I've personally decided against using AI writing tools because I write for the personal joy, accomplishment, and self-exploration benefits, and using tools to do that for me would take those benefits away from me.

I do not even use voice-to-text tools yet, simply because I don't think I can think (and thus speak) that linearly. ;) I'll update this if I finally give it a go, though.

I do, however, use...

AI image creation tools (such as Midjourney) for visual inspiration or to portray scenes and characters I already have a good mental image of, especially to share as fun, free bonuses with my readers and subscribers.
- I believe in paying human artists when financially feasible, and I dream of the day I'll reach that stage.
- I do not believe in profiting off AI-generated images, even though I have a Midjourney license that allows for commercial use. I do not put those images into my books themselves or behind any paywall or use them as signup incentives. Rather, I offer them freely on my website and in my newsletter.
- Similarly, I do not use AI tools to create final cover art, though I do use them when sharing ideas with human cover artists.
AI chat tools (like ChatGPT and Gemini) for research and fact-checking.
- I have not yet used them for plot or character inspiration, since those aspects have come to me naturally so far, but I won't necessarily rule that out for the future. I will update this process note if that becomes the case.

Revising

For the developmental editing stage, I consider the feedback of my wonderful human beta readers and ProWritingAid's AI manuscript- and chapter-critique reports.

Those ProWritingAid AI tools are solely reports with suggestions, and they do not make any changes to my manuscript themselves. I decide what feedback to incorporate and how, and I make the changes myself (and I reject at least half ProWritingAid's suggestions, anyway; I consider the feedback from my human beta readers much more seriously).
For the Blood of the Covenants Series, I used Fictionary's story evaluation tools, including the AI ones, but again, those were only evaluation tools and did nothing to change the text by itself. I will not be using Fictionary for this next series, but only because I learned what I wanted to from it and not because I have a problem with its tools.
I would love to be able to pay a human developmental editor (I was one! I know how valuable they are!), but that isn't currently in my budget.

For the copyediting and proofreading stage, I use tools that may have AI influence, such as ProWritingAid's, Word's, and Google Doc's grammar and spelling checks. I also have a human volunteer proofreader, and I manually review the text multiple times myself (including while narrating!).

Again, I was a human copyeditor and proofreader and know how valuable they are, and I'll pay for them as soon as I can afford them.

Formatting & Covers

I formatted the epubs and PDFs for the Blood of the Covenants series in Atticus. I am considering Campfire's formatting tools for my next series (but I may go back to Atticus).

I paid a human cover artist to create the covers and always will. As mentioned above, though, I did use an AI image generator to present her with ideas.

Audio Narration

For the Blood of the Covenants Series, I used Google Play's beta AI ebook-to-AI-voiced-audiobook service to offer an audiobook for each book at the time of each book's release in 2024. I priced those AI-voiced audiobooks the same or lower than the ebook itself. I did this because that was all I could logistically and financially offer at the time, and it gave an affordable option to listeners.

However, dedicated to providing a better experience, I took an audiobook narration course and spent much of 2025 narrating the books myself. Finally, in February 2026, I finished and published the last self-narrated audiobook in the series, and now all six books have both AI- and human-voiced options (the AI versions are still only available through Google Play, though the author-narrated versions are available everywhere).

For the self-narration process, I used the following tools.

Audacity for manually recording, editing, and finalizing.
Auphonic (AI tool) for automatic space cutting, noise removal, and audio improvement.
Pozotron (AI tool) for proofing (think spellcheck for audio—it did not change the audio itself in any way). Though I only used it for a couple books, by no means all of them.

I will probably follow a similar strategy for my next series. I am dedicated to always providing a human-narrator option, but I recognize that an AI-narrator option in addition provides an affordable tier for some listeners. (Audiobooks are expensive, guys! I know why now from my own blood, sweat, and tears, but still.)

I also recognize that I am no "golden voice," so I promise I'll pay a human professional to narrate when I can. ;)