How do I use Manuscript Analysis?

With Manuscript Analysis, you get actionable analysis of your characters, plot, and setting. You can also get more information about which aspects to improve in your story and why, and how to prioritize these improvements.

Once you have Manuscript Analysis credits in your account, watch the video or follow the steps below to run the Manuscript Analysis on your document:

Purchasing Manuscript Analysis Credits

To use the Manuscript Analysis, you will need to purchase credits, which you can do here.

You can buy individual credits or bundles of 3 or 10 credits. You don’t need a Premium or Premium Pro subscription to purchase credits.

If you have an active Premium or Premium Pro subscription, you will receive a discount depending on your subscription. For example, Premium Pro users pay less for credits and bundles than Premium and Free users, and Premium users will pay less than Free users.

Manuscript Analysis credits are nonrefundable, but they don’t expire. You can purchase a bundle, use a credit, and then use the remaining credits at a later date.

Preparing your manuscript for best results

To ensure that you make the most of Manuscript Analysis, there are some steps you can follow to prepare your manuscript:

1. Ensure that your manuscript is on a single document.
2. Check that your manuscript is between 4,000 and 300,000 words.
3. Separate your chapters clearly. You’ll get the best results if you number your chapter titles (for example: “Chapter 4”).

This article details how to prepare your manuscript to get the best results when using Manuscript Analysis.

Running Manuscript Analysis

1. If you use the Web Editor or Scrivener, make sure that you’re on a full document view before running Manuscript Analysis. This step is necessary if your manuscript is divided into chapters or sections to ensure Manuscript Analysis runs on your entire manuscript.
• On the Web Editor, click on Full Document if your document is divided into chapters.
• If you use Scrivener, read this article.

2. In the Web Editor, Manuscript Analysis appears under the Critique button in the toolbar that appears at the top of your document.

   

   When using Desktop Everywhere and our browser extensions, Manuscript Analysis will appear when you click the Critique button after clicking the ProWritingAid icon.

   

   If you use our Word Add-In (Windows only), Manuscript Analysis appears under the Critique button in the toolbar at the top of your Word document.

   

   Manuscript Analysis will also appear under the Critique button when you open the ProWritingAid tab in Word.

   

3. Click on the Manuscript Analysis button to run the report on your document.

4. The analysis will take a few minutes to run, depending on the total word count of your manuscript.

   You will see a notification with the approximate waiting time for your results. In the meantime, you can keep using any other feature as normal.

   
   

   When the analysis is ready, you will be notified that the report is ready to review. It will appear in the Feedback History section (under the Critique menu) where the Manuscript Analysis Report will be automatically saved.

   
   

   When the analysis is ready, you will be notified that the report is ready to review. It will appear in the Feedback History section (under the Critique menu) where the manuscript analysis report will be automatically saved.

   
   

   

   
   

The report you see works a lot like our Summary and Chapter Critique reports. You can click through all the headings on the left to see specific feedback about your document.

For example, if you want to spend some time working on the themes within your story, you can click on the Narrative Themes heading to see what the Manuscript Analysis says about what is working and what needs improvement.

Working with the Manuscript Analysis

Each section of the report gives you detailed actionable feedback on your writing, which you can use to refine your story.

In this article, we’ve provided a detailed breakdown of what the headings mean and the kind of feedback you can expect.

Once the report is ready, you can read it while you edit your document, allowing you to make changes in your manuscript as you read the report.

To do so:

1. Press the minimize icon (see below):

   

2. Your Manuscript Analysis results will then appear in your integration’s sidebar.

   

Saving Your Manuscript Analysis

Every time you run a Manuscript Analysis, we will save it automatically to your Feedback History. From there, you will be able to rename it to a memorable name.

Your saved Manuscript Analysis reports synchronize across all our integrations. You can read more in this article.

Have you tried Desktop Everywhere? Download for Windows or Mac to get editing suggestions and advanced analysis directly in Word, Scrivener, and all your favorite writing apps.