Guides

How to write an ebook with AI, step by step

By the create-ebook team · Updated 2026-09-13

Step 1: write the brief, not the book

Before a single chapter, get the plan right: who the reader is, what they can do at the end, what your angle is, and a table of contents where every chapter has a distinct job. Spend your effort here. A good brief produces a good book with almost any model; a vague one produces mush with the best.

Step 2: one chapter at a time, with memory

Generate chapter one. Summarise it: what it said, which points it made. Generate chapter two with the brief, the full table of contents, the summary of chapter one and an explicit “already covered, do not repeat” list. Repeat for every chapter. This rolling memory is what keeps a 15,000-word book coherent; create-ebook does it automatically.

Step 3: check every chapter before moving on

Word count in range, no reused headings, no filler phrases, required elements present (exercises in a workbook, a hook at the end of a fiction chapter). Then a second read against a rubric: specific, actionable, no repetition, native language, on brief. Below the bar, rewrite with the reasons. Doing this per chapter is cheap; doing it on a finished book is a rewrite.

Step 4: make it yours

Now read it as the author. Add the story that proves chapter three, the number you always cite, the mistake you made in year one. Cut what you would not say. This pass is where the book stops being generic, and it takes an afternoon rather than a month.

Step 5: cover, files, disclosure

A cover with a painted background and a typeset title (never let the image model draw letters), an EPUB for Kindle, a PDF for direct sales, a DOCX for your editor. On KDP, disclose AI-generated text and images with the checkbox; buyers do not see it.