How we choose and check tools
AI Tools for Authors is an editorial directory of software for self-publishers and KDP authors, run by Sablequay Digital. We sell nothing on this site; every listing sends you to the tool's own website. This page explains how a tool gets listed, what "Link checked" means, how we handle prices, and how we use AI.
How a tool gets listed
- It fits an author task we cover. Every listing is assigned to at least one author task, such as editing, formatting, cover design, or keywords and research, and shows that task on its page. We include general tools (for example, AI chat assistants) only where authors commonly use them for one of those tasks.
- It has an official website that loads. We link to the vendor's own site, or to its own help center or store.
- We can describe it from public information. We need enough on the vendor's own pages to say what it does, roughly how it is priced (Free, Freemium or Paid) and who it suits.
- No one pays to be listed. There are no paid, sponsored or affiliate listings on this site, and we don't use affiliate links. Right now, vendors can't pay for a listing or a position, and no one can pay for our wording. Our Terms of Use say: Any paid placement will be labelled "Sponsored."
Being listed is not an endorsement. We leave tools out if we can't confirm what they do from their own site.
What "Link checked" means
Each directory listing, and each comparison, alternatives and guide page, shows a "Link checked" date. On that date we:
- requested the official link and confirmed it loads the vendor's own site (some sites block automated requests, so we open those another way); and
- re-read the facts we quote from that page.
"Link checked" does not mean we bought or tested the tool, that the vendor confirmed anything, or that we vouch for the tool. Comparison, alternatives and guide pages also have a Sources list naming the exact pages we used.
Pricing tiers and prices
- Free: the vendor lists it as free to use. "Free (sells paid products)" means the resource is free but the same company sells paid products.
- Freemium: there is a free plan or free tier, plus paid plans.
- Paid: you have to pay to keep using it, even if there is a free trial.
When we give a price, we copy it as the vendor states it, in the vendor's currency, and mark it "as of" the month we checked it. We say whether it is billed monthly, yearly or once when the vendor's page says so. If a figure appears only in data embedded in the vendor's page, not in its visible text, we say so on our page. If a vendor's own pages disagree, we say so or leave the number out. We don't repeat crossed-out "was" prices. We aim to re-check prices at least every 90 days, and sooner if we learn that a vendor has changed its page. Always check the official site before you buy.
How we write comparisons, alternatives and guides
- Facts come from the vendor's own pages; KDP guides come from Amazon KDP's help pages. Each page lists its sources.
- Each page says what we did and did not do. We have not tested these tools hands-on unless a page says otherwise, so we don't rate output quality.
- Where we add our own view (for example, "choose it if"), it is our editorial reading of the vendor's facts, not a vendor claim.
- Pages are checked against our content rules, and for broken links and markup, before they are published.
What we don't do
- No income, sales or results claims. We don't repeat vendor testimonials or earnings figures.
- No rankings such as "#1", and no promised outcomes.
- No logos. We name products only to identify them; names are trademarks of their owners.
- Amazon, Kindle and KDP are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon.
- No claims that a vendor's sales, revenue or search-volume estimates are accurate. Those are the vendors' own estimates.
How we use AI
We use AI assistance to research, draft and check the pages on this site, including this one. AI tools help us fetch and read vendors' public pages, draft copy from them, and check that copy against those pages. Every page then goes through a content review and a technical check before it is published. If we find a serious error, we may remove a page until a corrected version has been reviewed. AI can make mistakes, which is why each page links to its sources and shows when they were checked. If you find an error, please tell us.
Corrections and contact
If something here is wrong or out of date, or you make a listed tool and a fact has changed, email sablequay_digital@yahoo.com with the page and the source. When we confirm a factual error, we correct it and update the "Link checked" date. We don't offer or accept anything in return for changing a listing.
How we handle visitor data is covered in our Privacy Policy.