Frequently asked questions

A manuscript editor built for finishing a book. Chapters live in books. Authors write in a calm screen. Editors organise the book, share it, and run structure and proofread tools. Viewers can read without changing a word.

Four things set it apart: an AI editor for spelling, punctuation, and layout; story structure at three levels of detail for rapid review; editor notes that flag issues and link straight into the text; and auto checkpoints with AI summaries so you never lose a version.

Yes — and they often are. The editor is backed by AI and automation, so one person can write, run proofreads, generate structure, and manage the book without switching tools or accounts.

We keep the roles separate so authors who prefer to focus on writing can do exactly that, without seeing complex features. An editor (or co-author) handles the dashboard side. We cater to all levels of computer proficiency — from beginners who want a single-button proofread to experienced authors managing every detail.

Those tools are strong at many jobs — and awkward when the job is a shared book.

Docs / Word treat a novel like one long file or a folder of files. There is no story outline you can scan at a glance, no proofread that catches errors without rewriting your voice, and no editor notes that point straight into the paragraph. StrikeThrough gives you all three — plus clear roles so you know who can do what.

Scrivener is excellent for solo desktop drafting. But sharing a live manuscript with an editor means exports, sync folders, and version confusion — and it has no AI proofread or linked editorial notes. Here you invite by email, pick a role, and open the same book in the browser.

Notion suits wikis and tasks. It was not designed for a book-length manuscript: no AI outline at three depths, no proofread pass for the page, and no notes that link feedback to the exact paragraph. StrikeThrough is built for the author — structure, clean pages, and guidance, in one place.

Author is the writing seat — chapters, autosave, outline, and a nudge back to where you left off.

Editor gets the dashboard: organise, share, archive, import, and run structure, notes, and proofread tools.

Viewer is read-only — same manuscript, no edits.

Every book has a living outline so you always know what you have. Switch between three levels of detail without rereading every chapter:

Chapters — the spine. Brief — a quick skim. Full — a deeper chapter summary.

Editors generate and refresh the outline. Authors can open it anytime for review.

Feedback on what may need work in the manuscript — repetition, gaps, unfinished threads, thin spots, and similar. Each note points into the paragraph it concerns, so you jump from the issue to the text instead of hunting through a separate doc.

Notes are guidance, not automated rewrites. You decide what to fix.

It corrects spelling, punctuation, and layout so pages are clean enough to publish — without rewriting your voice, dialect, or style. You see the strike, review the fix, and accept or undo.

Every time you write enough to matter, StrikeThrough saves a checkpoint with an AI summary of what changed. You can browse your full history, preview any version, and switch back and forth — older snapshots are never deleted.

Checkpoints appear as a labelled timeline (Writing, Proofread, Went back). Compare two versions side by side, then restore content from any point in history. You cannot lose a word.

From the editor dashboard, open a book and invite someone by account or email. Choose their role — viewer, author, or editor. Sharing covers the whole book: outline, notes, and every chapter.

When a book is shared, anyone on a chapter appears as active to others on that chapter. You see who is there, jump to their place in the text, and — when they save — see the page update live. “Where are you in chapter 7?” becomes one click.

Yes. Presence shows who is on a chapter; autosaves appear for others viewing the same page. Prefer clear roles when you can — one drafting, one reviewing — rather than a typing race. The product is built for thoughtful manuscript work.

Chapters open at the top so you always know where you are. A “jump to where I was” control scrolls you back — including when you were last there. Authors also get a short memory of what they last changed.

Editors can import .docx files or a .zip of documents into a book. Each file becomes a chapter; rename and reorder from the dashboard. Export from Word, Google Docs, Scrivener, or similar as .docx first if needed.

Yes. StrikeThrough can send a daily ZIP for each book with meaningful changes, with the book name in the subject. Keep those emails — they are a copy outside the app.

Archived items are hidden from authors and viewers. Editors can still open them from a discreet archive section and restore when needed. Nothing is thrown away by accident.

We email a magic link. No password. If you don’t have an account yet, one is created when you sign in or when an editor shares a book with you.

Yes. The public showcase lets you explore a real book — chapters, outline, and the writing screen — with notes for actions that need a signed-in account.

Use the Contact us page and we’ll get back to you.