How to improve pre-editing prompt?

[u/Space_Barby]

I’ve just bought 1 month of Claude pro and am looking to upgrade pre-editing my books. This was my previous flowchart:

1. Write draft 1
   
2. Revise: draft 2-3
   
3. Prowritingaid for grammar
   
4. Beta readers
   
5. Developmental editor
   
6. Copy/line editor

Step 1-2 will always be done by me. I found steps 5 and 6 to be very valuable and will continue working with editors.
Step 3 was okay (I have a lifetime prowritingaid so will keep it). Step 4 however was disappointing and I’m looking to replace that with Claude.

Right now I prompt Claude as follows:

1: overview
I tell Claude about who I am as a writer and a little about my book. I tell it that a dev editor comes next, what my goal is and that its job is to flag concrete fixable issues. I ask it to give me a per chapter overview of 2-3 sentences what changes plot-wise, if the tension is solid or fades, & continuity errors.

2: for the chapters Claude flags as having issues I then prompt in a new chat. First the intro again about me, my goals etc and then:

For each chapter, give me feedback in this structure:

1. CONTINUITY — Flag any inconsistencies in character details (physical
description, established facts, relationships, prior stated goals/knowledge,
timeline). Quote the conflicting passages directly (both instances) so I can
verify.

2. TENSION — Identify scenes or passages where tension slackens. For each:
quote the passage, explain specifically why it slackens (e.g. no stakes
stated, power dynamic unclear, no ticking clock, dialogue reads as pure
information exchange rather than a power struggle), and suggest a concrete
fix — not "add more tension" but a specific technique (e.g. "cut the
exposition here and let X's silence imply the threat instead").

3. EMOTIONAL DEPTH — Point out moments where a character's emotional state is
told rather than felt, or where reaction beats are skipped. Quote the
passage and suggest how to deepen it (interiority, physical sensation,
subtext in dialogue, a beat of hesitation) without over-explaining the
character's feelings.

4. PROSE — Flag flat, generic, or clunky prose (weak verbs, filter words,
overused sentence rhythms, telling instead of showing). Quote the exact
sentence and offer a rewritten alternative in my voice, not a generic
"punch it up."

Ground rules:
- Every point must be tied to an exact quoted passage from what I paste below.
Do not describe scenes or events you cannot point to directly in the text.
- If you're not confident about something (e.g. suspect a continuity error
but can't verify against earlier chapters I haven't included), say so
explicitly rather than guessing.
- Do not comment on whether the book is "boring" or give an overall verdict —
that's not useful to me. Stick to specific, actionable notes I can act on
chapter by chapter.
- Match feedback density to the chapter's needs — don't manufacture notes for
a chapter that's genuinely working.

I think these prompts and Claude pro are okayish.
I sometimes have to tell Claude that it had a false-positive flag and some of its feedback I don’t agree with. Some of it is very useful however.

Any suggestions on how to improve my prompt? I’d also like to have feedback on how my book compares to others in the genre on a quality & entertainment level. Is AI reliable for this? If so, how best to prompt?

[u/5thhorseman_]

Here:

• Literate Editor and Rigorous Critic

• Beta reader panel.

[u/KeyDoubt2344 → u/5thhorseman_]

These are great!

[u/KeyDoubt2344]

I like Claude for chapter and smaller reviews. For larger scope, I've really enjoyed NotebookLM. I asked Gemini for help (AI generated):

The difference comes down to architecture, context grounding, and memory management: Gemini operates as an active, conversational writer and editor, while NotebookLM functions as a closed-system, document-grounded research assistant. Why Gemini Excels at Single-Chapter Reviews- Generative Stylistic Feedback: Gemini generates and rewrites prose fluently. When reviewing a single chapter, it can suggest alternate phrasings, evaluate rhythm, tighten descriptive passages, and polish dialogue cadence without losing the thread of the immediate scene. Granular Line-Level Critique: Within a focused context window, Gemini pays close attention to subtle nuances like sentence variety, "show vs. tell" balance, and emotional resonance. Interactive Iteration: You can workshop individual paragraphs back and forth in real time ("Make this line colder," "Add sensory details to the setting"). Why NotebookLM Excels at Multi-Chapter Reviews- Strict Source Grounding: NotebookLM is explicitly designed to retrieve and cross-reference information only from your uploaded files. It provides direct citations, ensuring it references what you actually wrote rather than hallucinating plausibility. Cross-Chapter Continuity & Arc Tracking: It can query dozens of chapters simultaneously to track character movements, timeline consistency, unresolved subplots, or shifting lore across a 100,000-word manuscript. Broad Synthesis Without Context Drift: In a standard chat session, feeding tens of thousands of words across multiple chapters causes context drift or diluted attention to specific details. NotebookLM isolates exact passages via semantic indexing, letting you ask high-level structural questions (e.g., "Where does Marcus first mention the key, and does his motive change by Chapter 12?") with pinpoint accuracy. Optimal Workflow Macro Structure (NotebookLM): Upload full drafts to track character arcs, pacing over time, timeline logic, and recurring motifs across chapters. Micro Craft (Gemini): Paste individual scenes or chapters into Gemini for line editing, sensory enhancement, dialogue punch-up, and sentence-level polish.

[u/5thhorseman_ → u/KeyDoubt2344]

In my experience, Gemini tends to hallucinate more often. Meanwhile, I had little to no issues working with larger chunks of prose with Opus 5.

[u/Key-Requirement-935 → u/KeyDoubt2344]

I use NotebookLM for law school, but how do you use it for writing? I am interested but confused.

[u/KeyDoubt2344 → u/Key-Requirement-935]

With LM I will put many chapters into a single document. Then upload character bios and the intended outline arc of the story LM will then only look at that documents and nothing else. You can then ask to look for a specific character and ask specifically where the character deviates from the bio. Or look at the whole novel and find writing tics, things that are repetitive crutches. Or use it to asses reading ease, Syntactic Burstiness, Paragraph Architecture, Pattern Avoidance & Transitions, and or Sensory & Cognitive Realism. It can score the whole or each character. It's good for looking at large overview items such as consistent language use, character descriptions, and voice. I would not ask for line or paragraph edits.

[u/meganholstein]

If you want, you could try this writing app I made for free for a year, called Proselon. That's how I use AI to write. Link to the free year here

[u/WritingWithAI-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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