AuthorFlows

What it is

AuthorFlows is a novel-writing studio in the browser. The home page describes one job: outline the book, write it, track the cast and the timeline, and find what is broken before a reader does. AI is part of that, and the same page says you can switch it off. The line under the headline is "Our AI never trains on your manuscript."

This review is what those public pages said on 23 October 2026. We did not open an account, paste a chapter, or run the Analyzer. Nothing here is a grade of suggestion quality.

The about page names two founders, Abdelmoghith Haitar (head developer) and Rhouati Yassine (marketing), and places them as writers. The terms say the studio is built and run by its two founders, based in Casablanca and Meknes, Morocco, and that AuthorFlows is the name they trade under. The pages do not name a separate company. Subscriptions are sold by Armitage Labs OÜ, trading as Creem, in Tallinn, which the terms call the merchant of record: Creem issues the invoice and handles VAT and sales tax. AuthorFlows says it never sees the card number.

The privacy policy and the terms are both marked "Last updated: 17 October 2026. Effective from 16 November 2026. Until then, the previous version applies." We read the text on the page. We did not retrieve the previous version. Where this review quotes a rule about training, ownership, or refunds, that quote is the text they are showing, with that effective date printed above it. The home page's "never trains" line does not carry the same future date.

Who it's for

• Novelists who want the outline, the cast, and the draft in one tab. The FAQ answer to "What is AuthorFlows?" lists outline, chapters, characters, story map, timeline, and a manuscript editor.
• Writers who will pay before a trial. The pricing section lists Pro monthly and Pro yearly. It does not list a free plan, a free trial, or a card-free start.
• Writers who want AI quiet until they call it. The FAQ says a toggle can turn generation off before you create a story, and that you can outline by hand and never open the Analyzer.

It is a weak fit if you need a local file, a bring-your-own-key setup, or a shared account. The terms say accounts are for one person. It is also a weak fit if you want the checker described on someone else's manuscript before you subscribe. The pricing section does not offer that.

Key features in practice

• Editor. The home page calls it a real editor, not a text box. Pages paginate as you type. The toolbar covers bold, italic, underline, strike, highlight, code, headings, lists, quotes, and colour. Page setup is 4 themes, 4 page sizes, 4 font sizes, line height, spacing, and alignment, with 13 typefaces. Live stats are words, pages, sections, and reading time. Saving is automatic.
• Outline generator. You type a premise, pick a genre, and choose a target length. The page says 30 to 60 seconds later you get chapters, sections, and character profiles, all editable. A toggle builds the outline by hand instead. The example on the page is a cartographer whose maps redraw themselves. That is their sample, not a result from this review.
• Story map and timeline. Characters, chapters, and world elements connect on a map. Physics can be on, so the map settles, or off, so you place every node. The timeline holds plots, scenes, and chapters. You drag to test pacing. The page says that when one thing moves, you see what it breaks.
• Characters. Each profile can hold an image, a biography, traits, quirks, goals, and backstory, plus an arc, relationships, notes, and the chapters they appear in. The page says you can fill the fields yourself or ask the AI to draft a profile from the premise.
• Story Analyzer. It reads chapters, characters, world elements, and notes, scores the story, and flags weak spots. The page says every note is chapter-specific and character-specific, that you can re-run it, that history is kept, and that the report exports as a PDF. The illustration is "The Rise of the Dragon," scored 8.4 out of 10, with sample notes about Mira and Elias. Treat that card as the vendor's example.
• Writing assistant. Type / and pick a command. Continue, rephrase, expand, summarize, and improve. The page says the editor's AI reads the paragraphs above the cursor, that it does not produce a chapter you did not ask for, and that you keep, edit, or undo the suggestion.
• What is actually sent. The privacy text is more precise than the headline. An editor request sends the passage around the cursor or selection, plus a short briefing: title, description, structure, where the chapter sits, the chapter summary and plot outline, profiles of characters in the chapter, world entries mentioned, and short summaries of earlier chapters. Empty fields are left out. The Analyzer sends the story plan and a short opening and closing excerpt from each chapter, not the full text of the chapters. The whole book is not sent, the page says.
• Export. A chapter can leave as .txt, .doc, .pdf, .md, or .html. A whole story can leave as .doc, .pdf, or .txt. Analyzer reports leave as PDF. The page says there is no export fee on either plan.
• Goals. Per-chapter word counts, a daily goal, a streak, and a heatmap of writing days. The numbers in the illustration (1,284 words today, a 31-day streak, 42,226 of 80,000) are on the marketing page. They are not a measurement from this review.
• A daily cap with no number. The terms say each account has a daily limit on AI requests, that it is "generous for normal writing," that it resets every day, and that they will not lower it below normal writing use without telling you first. The pricing section says there is no usage meter. Those two sentences sit on different pages. The number of requests is not stated. Check the vendor if a cap is the thing you are buying around.
• Series. The FAQ says stories are unlimited on both plans, so each book gets its own outline, cast, timeline, and map. A character who crosses books keeps a profile and an arc in each one. The Analyzer scores each book on its own. A cross-book checker is not described.

Pricing (checked 23 October 2026)

The pricing block is on the home page, under "Pricing that's worth every dollar you spend." There is no separate /pricing URL that resolved for us. The terms say current plans and prices are on the pricing page, and that the checkout total, including tax, is shown before you pay.

Plan	Price	What the card lists
Pro	$10/month	The full studio. Cancel anytime.
Pro yearly	$96/year	The same studio. The card shows $120/year crossed out and "Save $24." The section also says "Save 20%."

Both cards list the same items: outline generator, unlimited Analyzer re-runs, the manuscript editor, the writing assistant, character profiles and arcs, story map and timeline, export in eight formats, word counts, goals, and a streak, unlimited stories, cloud sync and auto-save, every device with a browser, and "every native AI feature we release next."

No setup fee. Instant access. No free row.

The terms, with the 16 November 2026 effective date noted above, say subscriptions renew until you cancel, at the price then in force. Cancel in the customer portal linked from the receipt, or by email. Access continues through the period you already paid. A price change comes with at least 30 days' email. A failed payment can be retried and access can be suspended. They say they will not delete your work because a payment failed.

Refunds: email support@authorflows.com within eight days of the first payment for a full refund, issued by Creem, normally within 5 to 7 business days of approval. Renewal payments are not automatically refundable. For EU and UK consumers, the terms say checkout asks you to agree to immediate access and to acknowledge that this ends the statutory 14-day withdrawal right, and that the eight-day refund is offered on top of that.

Using it as a writer

1. Read the effective date on the privacy page before you paste a book. The text we read is dated to take effect on 16 November 2026. If you need the rule that applies on the day you subscribe, ask them which version is in force. We did not retrieve the previous one.
2. Decide whether $10 is worth a look with no free manuscript. The page does not offer a sample project you can export without paying. The eight-day refund is the window the terms describe, on a first payment.
3. Turn generation off if you only wanted the binder. The FAQ says that toggle exists before you create a story. The paid plan is the same either way.
4. Treat the Analyzer's sample score as an illustration. The 8.4, the guild, and the four-chapter absence are on the home page. They are not a report on your book, and this review did not produce one.
5. Export before you delete. The privacy text says deletion by email is within three days, that it is permanent, and that backups can hold a deleted manuscript until those copies roll forward. Chapter versions kept in the product: up to the last 100 per chapter, deleted with the chapter, the story, or the account.

Strengths

• The price is a number, on the page, for the whole studio. $10 a month or $96 a year. No credit pack beside it.
• AI is described as something you invoke. Slash in the editor, an outline button, or the Analyzer. The privacy text says that if you never trigger those, nothing you write is sent to a provider.
• The training claim is specific. Not "we take privacy seriously." The shown policy names OpenRouter, says providers are contractually barred from training, and says a provider may hold the text for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring and then delete it.
• You are told you own the manuscript. The terms say AuthorFlows claims no ownership, and that the licence you grant is to host, store, back up, and process the work so the service can run. It ends when you delete the content or the account, apart from backups on their normal cycle.
• Export formats are listed, including Markdown and HTML for a chapter, and the page says there is no export fee.

Weaknesses

• No free plan on the pricing section. You cannot see your own chapter in the editor from the public pages alone.
• The policy you are shown is not yet the policy they say is in force. Until 16 November 2026, the previous version applies, and that version was not on the URL we opened.
• The daily AI limit has no published number, while the pricing section says there is no usage meter. Believe the terms if those sentences ever disagree, and check the vendor.
• The Analyzer's evidence standard is an example, not a quote from a real flag. The page shows the shape of a note. It does not show the passage the note was drawn from.
• No local model and no key of your own. Requests go to OpenRouter, and the privacy text says the model and provider can change. Where the text is processed may be the United States, the EEA, or another country. They say they ask OpenRouter to prefer the US and the EEA where available.
• Outside reviews are behind the price. MakerStack, updated 7 September 2026, and GeekChamp still describe $6 a month. The vendor's own section on 23 October 2026 showed $10 and $96. Use the vendor page for the price.
• A signup line says "Join thousands of writers." That is a vendor figure. The about page does not support it with a count.

How it compares

• AuthorFlows vs Sudowrite. Sudowrite is a prose studio: continuation, description, rewrite, and a Story Bible, on a monthly credit subscription. AuthorFlows will continue a paragraph if you type /. The pages spend more words on the outline, the map, the timeline, and the Analyzer. If the blank page is the problem, read Sudowrite's plan. If you want one price and a binder, read this one. See the Sudowrite review.
• AuthorFlows vs Novelcrafter. Novelcrafter's codex is yours to maintain, and from the Hobbyist plan up you bring your own key, including a local model. AuthorFlows includes the model in the subscription and does not offer a key or a local model. See the Novelcrafter review.
• AuthorFlows vs Creader. Both keep a cast beside the prose and describe a check you can run. Creader has a free plan with a token cap. AuthorFlows has no free plan on the page and no token pack. Creader's privacy policy names providers that may train unless Privacy Mode is on. The AuthorFlows text we read says providers are barred from training. See the Creader review.
• AuthorFlows vs ProseEngine. ProseEngine is made by the person who runs this site. See the disclosure above. It is a fiction studio with a codex and scene generation, priced in euros, with a free plan. We are not scoring that matchup.

Verdict

AuthorFlows is a real novel studio with a public price: $10 a month, or $96 a year, for the editor, the map, the cast, and AI you are supposed to switch on yourself. The training language on the page is clearer than most marketing sites, and it is attached to a policy that the same page says is not in force until 16 November 2026.

Pay if you already know you want this shape of tool and the eight-day refund is enough of a trial. Do not pay because an outside review still says $6, and do not pay because the sample Analyzer scored a dragon book at 8.4. That number is theirs.

FAQ

Is AuthorFlows free? The pricing section on 23 October 2026 did not list a free plan. It listed Pro at $10 a month and Pro yearly at $96.

How much does it cost? $10 a month, or $96 a year. The yearly card compares that with $120 a year and says you save $24. The terms say the checkout total, including tax, is the amount you pay.

Does AuthorFlows train on my manuscript? The home page says no. The privacy text on the site, which says it takes effect on 16 November 2026, says manuscripts are not used to train models, theirs or anyone else's, and that OpenRouter routes requests to providers barred from training. A provider may hold the text for up to 30 days for abuse checks. We did not read the previous policy, which the page says still applies until that date.

Do I own what I write there? The terms on the page say you keep all rights to manuscripts, outlines, characters, maps, timelines, and notes. They also say that copyright in purely AI-generated material is a matter of local law, and that disclosing AI use to a retailer or a competition is your job.

Can I write without the AI? The FAQ says yes. A toggle turns generation off before you create a story. You can outline by hand, write every word, and never open the Analyzer. The paid plan is still the paid plan.