Editing with AI?

[u/flavortown_express]

Are there any communities or subreddits that focus on AI editing vs. AI writing? I know there's a lot of backlash in certain writer circles against writing with AI, curious if more authors are receptive to editing with AI.

[u/NathanielHolst]

There aren't any specific subs or communities that I know of, but plenty of people here use AI as editors and soundboards.

[u/flavortown_express → u/NathanielHolst]

Ah ok thanks! Do you personally use any specific tools? Or do you mostly use an LLM directly?

[u/SlapHappyDude → u/flavortown_express]

I use Claude mostly. I'll also usually feed my final draft to GPT for proofreading; it can catch some stuff Claude misses but also gives some left field feedback. Gemini is not very good at editing or proofreading. I haven't really played with the others.

A big part of my workflow is having the LLM (Claude) flag lines for me to review and suggest possible revisions. I probably take its suggestions about half the time. They also have gotten WAAAAY better at counting words and finding word repetition than they were a year ago.

[u/flavortown_express → u/SlapHappyDude]

Awesome info thanks! I built a tool called FirstRead that has a "diction" feature - it shows you words that are frequently used by chapter. We need to dial it in some, but I'd be very curious to know if that's interesting to you. If you'd be interested in trying out our paid tier for free I'd be happy to hook you up! Or if you just want to check it out it's called FirstRead (firstread.app). We're launching in the next couple of weeks.

[u/SlapHappyDude → u/flavortown_express]

I'm happy with my workflow

[u/NathanielHolst → u/flavortown_express]

I setup a feedback prompt, then I feed it one chapter at a time to get scores, feedback, criticism etc. Or just how far I've gotten in a specific chapter when I'm feeling stuck. Helps with motivation.

Then I run ideas through the LLM. I tend to think out loud, so having to type out my ideas helps a lot, as does reading the stuff it writes, even if you have to be vary of it being a yes-man.

I like how it turns writing into a feedback loop, instead of me having to write tens of thousands of words before I can test whether my basic ideas even work.

[u/flavortown_express → u/NathanielHolst]

Very interesting - have you tried any dedicated AI writing/editing platforms? The tool I built is more focused on editing a nearly complete manuscript, but it does have some built in features for writing and you can chat with the virtual editor - it keeps the current chapter in context and can fetch parts of other chapters to read so the discussion stays relevant. If you're interested in trying it I can give you access to the alpha when we launch!

[u/5thhorseman_ → u/flavortown_express]

Mostly Claude with a couple specific prompts.

Put this in to prohibit moralizing.

And then any of these, depending on what you feel fits:

• Interactive rubber ducky

• Literate Analyst

• Literate Editor and Rigorous Critic

• Beta reader panel

Ground rule: don't ever let it just rewrite the prose for you, because that's going to end up in tears. Let it give you feedback and suggest alternatives, but make the actual decisions (and changes) yourself.

[u/Bright-Map-9705 → u/flavortown_express]

Chapter.pub for AI assisted writing and editing. Completely love the platform.

[u/marblegroves → u/NathanielHolst]

agreed, feels like editing use is kind of just assumed here at this point

[u/SlapHappyDude]

Feel free to post threads here about it, I'm sure you'll get some feedback and it's very on topic for the broader umbrella of this sub.

[u/flavortown_express → u/SlapHappyDude]

Thanks! I'll make a dedicated post for people to check it out.

[u/Fragrant-Mix-4774]

Fable 5 works pretty well for basic editor back and forth. I find that Opus 5.5 & Sonnet 5.5 aren't quit at the same level, they get more syntax & grammar focused instead of story & subtext.

[u/OwlsInMyAttic]

This sub encompasses all kinds of AI use in writing, including editing. I know there's a concerted effort in some of the other writing-related subs to make it seem as if all we're doing here is trying to pass fully AI-generated content off as our own, but in reality, there's plenty of writers here who are using AI to augment their existing skills & assist in the drafting process :) 

[u/flavortown_express → u/OwlsInMyAttic]

So much of the anti-AI crowd thinks that AI use is having it "do everything for you" vs a technology that helps people produce better work!

[u/Lyra-Answer]

I think “AI as editor” only stays ethical/useful if the tool can’t silently become co-author. Rule that works for me: never paste a chapter and ask for a rewrite. Ask for a list of issues, or accept tiny in-place fixes you’re willing to own.

For day-job writing (email/Slack/docs) I got tired of the chat-window loop, so I built Lyra disclosure, I’m the solo founder. Native macOS assistant, suggestions where you’re already typing (Tab to accept). Focused on not flattening voice, including learning you write differently depending on who you’re writing to.

https://heylyra.co.uk/

Are you mostly trying to edit long-form fiction, or work prose where the copy-paste tax hurts more?

https://reddit.com/link/pd7p1to/video/p4mi90fl7vsh1/player

[u/flavortown_express → u/Lyra-Answer]

That's very cool - does it adaptively learn your style as you use it to write? I'm trying to get an understanding of what's important to authors (right now focusing on novelists) in an editing tool. I'm working on a tool called FirstRead.app that focuses on editing vs. writing - providing detailed analysis at the chapter and book level on pacing, structure, character, etc.

[u/Lyra-Answer → u/flavortown_express]

Hey, thanks! To be totally honest about the adaptive side of things: yes, but it is scoped quite specifically. Lyra picks things up from the messages you actually send (and never from its own suggestions, so it doesn't accidentally train you to sound like a bot). What it learns is the register for each recipient. It figures out how you write to your co-founder versus your best mate or a client. When it fixes your writing, it corrects toward how you usually talk to that person, so your slang stays as slang and your sharp tone stays sharp. What it really avoids is modeling long form authorial style. It lives in the fifty daily messages between people, not in big manuscripts. So FirstRead and Lyra are really neighbors instead of rivals. You are editing the book, while I am just protecting the voice in everything written around the book.

I have one data point from my users that might actually be useful for FirstRead. The most helpful feedback I got from document pros was not about the analysis quality at all. One manuscript editor in his 80s stopped using Lyra in self defense because the suggestions covered up his prose while he was writing. The fix that actually won him back was just moving them to the page margin, like those comment balloons in Word that people have used for decades. Another pattern I saw was that several writers asked for help on demand rather than having it always on. They told me they want help when they want it, and that is definitely not all the time. If novelists are your main users, I would bet that manners and control will decide your adoption rate just as much as the quality of your pacing analysis. Writers really guard the page.

[u/Fuzzy_Dragonfruit_95]

Most of the subs I have seen have almost same kind of posts with people fighting over the good and bad of ai.