Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. BookGist uses automated tools to create summaries and related assets. AI output can contain errors or omissions, so authors should review their listing and generated content before relying on it.

Standard and Featured tier authors can edit book metadata (title, description, cover, retailer links) and all summary fields (key takeaways, chapter summaries, notable quotes, Who Should Read This) from their author dashboard. Standard and Featured authors also get one audio regeneration. Free tier books cannot be edited after submission — please contact support at hello@bookgist.ai if you need a change to a Free tier listing.

Each summary targets approximately 3,000–3,500 words — roughly a 15-minute read. The audio version is produced to match that length and is also about 15 minutes long.

You can choose your preferred narrator voice during the book submission process — select from the voice dropdown on the upload form. We offer multiple AI narration voices to suit different tones and styles. Examples include: Alloy (neutral), Ash (warm), Ballad (melodic), Coral (friendly), Echo (resonant), Fable (refined), Nova (bright — default), Onyx (powerful), Sage (calm), Shimmer (expressive), and Verse (versatile). Voice availability may vary over time; if audio generation is temporarily unavailable we will publish the text summary first and notify you by email when narration becomes available.

AI narration is included with Standard and Featured, but it may be delayed or unavailable if the narration service has a problem. The text summary can publish without audio; if audio remains missing, contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order email and book ID.

It is simple: upload your book file (PDF, EPUB, or DOCX), choose your tier, and pay a one-time fee (or submit for free). Our AI reads your book and generates a comprehensive summary published to our free library. Standard and Featured tiers also include a professionally narrated AI audio version.

Most summaries are generated and published within minutes of successful payment and upload. Scanned or image-only PDFs take longer because our AI has to read each page image first, and very large files or busy periods can add time too. Audio generation can also be delayed if our narration service is temporarily unavailable. We'll email you when your summary is ready, or tell you exactly what we need if your file can't be read.

Yes — if you have a book published on SelfPublishing.pro, you can import it in one click from the submission form at /submit/upload. Select the SelfPublishing.pro tab, find your title in the list, and click Import. We pull the manuscript file and metadata automatically so you do not need to upload manually. Your BookGist account email must match your SelfPublishing.pro account email, and the book must have a PDF, EPUB, or DOCX source file available.

Every listing includes an approximately 15-minute text summary and public library page. Standard and Featured add structured takeaways, chapter summaries, notable quotes, reader-fit guidance, audio, editing, custom retailer links, and analytics; Featured also includes eight social images (four square and four vertical), a badge, and priority placement.

Your public summary page gives readers a preview and can link them to the full book. Search visibility, traffic, engagement, and sales are not guaranteed.

We accept PDF, EPUB, and DOCX files up to 100MB, and they must be DRM-free. Scanned or image-only PDFs are accepted too: our AI reads the page images, though processing takes longer and a text-based file still gives the best results. If your file is DRM-protected, please provide a DRM-free copy.

Standard and Featured authors can add buy links to up to 8 major bookstores directly from their dashboard: Amazon/Kindle, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Scribd, Google Play, and eBookIt. You can provide a direct URL for each store, or leave it blank and we will generate a search link using your book title or ISBN. Links appear as store logos on your public summary page, making it easy for readers to buy your book wherever they prefer to shop. Free tier books do not include retailer links.

Yes — on the book submission form you can auto-fill two ways: (1) Paste your Amazon book page URL into the Amazon URL field and click the lookup button. (2) Enter your ISBN (10 or 13 digits) into the ISBN field. Either method automatically fills in your title, author name, book description, cover image, and genre hints. You can review and edit all fields before submitting. Amazon short links (a.co / amzn.to) and most international Amazon pages are supported.

If your file turns out to be cut off, damaged, or has almost no readable text, we'll email you right away explaining what went wrong. Just reply to that email with the complete file attached (or a download link if it's too large), and we'll finish your summary. The file your book was typeset or exported from, such as a PDF with selectable text, an EPUB, or a Word document, works best.

Yes. Standard and Featured authors can embed their book's audio summary player on their own site or blog. From your author dashboard, click "Copy Audio Embed" on any book with completed audio to copy a ready-to-use embed code, then paste it wherever you want the player to appear.

Standard and Featured authors get an analytics dashboard for each book showing qualified page views, retailer-click counts, and asset downloads (PDF/audio), plus totals across all your books. Free tier listings do not include analytics.

Your private source manuscript is used to create the BookGist deliverables and is not intended to be published directly. After a quality-complete summary is published, the source is normally deleted from active storage within 30 days. Permanently deleting the listing removes the stored source and generated media immediately, while payment records may be retained for accounting.

No. Blinkist and similar summary apps choose which books they cover, and Blinkist only covers nonfiction. Our free guide at Blinkist for Authors explains how Blinkist, getAbstract, Headway and Shortform pick books and what you can do instead. With BookGist you submit your own book, fiction or nonfiction, and it gets a public summary page in our free library.

BookGist.ai turns author- and publisher-submitted books into AI-generated summaries published in a free public library. Authors can use one Free listing or buy a Standard or Featured listing as a one-time purchase; readers can browse without paying.

BookGist.ai serves two audiences: Authors who want a powerful marketing tool to help readers discover their books, and Readers who want to quickly explore new books and find their next great read — completely free.

Yes! Our entire library of book summaries is 100% free for readers. No subscription, no account required, no paywall. Just browse and read (or listen).

Featured includes four quotes, each produced in square and vertical formats, for eight downloadable social images in total. They appear in your dashboard after processing and are not included with Free or Standard.

Yes — visit bookgist.ai/audio-book-summaries to see all published summaries that include AI-narrated audio. Each listing shows the cover, estimated listen time, and a read-time estimate, and links to the full summary page. Only summaries with a completed audio file appear here.

Yes — you can sign in using your Google account. Click the "Sign in with Google" button on the login page. If we don’t already have an account with that email we will create one for you and sign you in automatically.

You can read the full BookGist.ai Terms and Conditions at bookgist.ai/terms. These site-specific terms cover author submissions, AI-generated summaries, audio narration, public library listings, payments, refunds, and privacy of your submitted manuscript. They supplement the Archieboy Master Terms and Conditions. By submitting a book, creating an account, or completing a checkout, you agree to both sets of terms.

If you signed up using Google, you can keep signing in with Google. To create a local site password, use the "Forgot Password" link on the login page and follow the instructions to set a password for your account. If that flow doesn't work, contact support and we'll help.

Yes. A Free listing can be upgraded from your dashboard to Standard ($49) or Featured ($99) with a one-time checkout; you do not need to upload the manuscript again. Paid features are enabled after payment, and audio or other assets may require additional processing time.

Yes — if you have an AuthorMailingLists.com account, you can connect one of your lists from your dashboard and a signup widget will appear on your book's public summary page so readers can join your list. You'll need to use the same email address for both accounts.

If you have trouble with the contact form, please email us directly at hello@bookgist.ai and include your name, email, and a brief description of the issue so we can respond quickly.

Yes — every author with at least one published summary gets a public author page at bookgist.ai/library/author/[author-name]. The page lists all of that author's published summaries and shows total reader views. Author pages are discoverable via search and link from each summary page.

Yes — logged-in users can leave a review at bookgist.ai/review. After submitting, your review goes through a brief moderation step and will appear on our public reviews page (bookgist.ai/reviews) once approved. Reviews help other authors and readers discover the platform.

Visit bookgist.ai/library to browse all published summaries. Use the search bar to find books by title, author, or keyword. You can also filter by genre or browse the category pages at /library/category/[genre] to explore a specific subject area. If you only want summaries with audio narration, visit bookgist.ai/audio-book-summaries.

Just enter your email in the pop-up offer on our homepage and pick the guide you want — the Reader's Guide, the Author's Marketing Guide, or both. We'll create a free BookGist account for you automatically and email you a link, plus you can open the guide right away from the confirmation screen.

Popular Books is ranked automatically by reader page views on each book's summary page — it is not manually curated, and there is nothing an author needs to submit to be included. As more readers view a summary, it moves up the list; brand-new books simply need time to accumulate views.

Yes — look for the "Ask Riley" bubble in the bottom-right corner of any page. Riley is our AI support assistant and can answer questions by text or voice about pricing, your account, submissions, and more. If Riley can't resolve something, you can always email hello@bookgist.ai.

Paid tiers are one-time purchases, and fees are generally non-refundable once processing begins because generation may start immediately. If a technical failure prevents us from delivering the purchased service, contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order details so we can reprocess, correct, or review an appropriate remedy.

Yes — you can unpublish a book to hide it from the public library at any time from your author dashboard (reversible — you can republish later). You can also permanently delete a listing from your dashboard without contacting support. Note that removal does not automatically entitle you to a refund if the summary has already been generated; please contact support at hello@bookgist.ai to discuss options if applicable.

Yes. Authors retain ownership and copyright in their original book while granting BookGist.ai a limited license to create, publish, and promote the selected deliverables. You can unpublish or permanently delete your listing from the author dashboard; payment records may be retained for accounting.

Our one-time prices are: Free = $0 (ebook summary only, no audio, no editing); Standard = $49 (includes AI-narrated audio, editing from your dashboard, analytics, and an SEO-optimized library page); Featured = $99 (includes everything in Standard plus social media quote cards, an "As seen on BookGist" badge, and priority placement). Payments are processed securely via Stripe Checkout. If you were charged an unexpected amount, please contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order email and any transaction details so we can investigate and make it right.

No. Free has no fee, and Standard and Featured are one-time purchases tied to a book submission or upgrade; there is no recurring subscription. Listings have no recurring hosting charge while published, but continued availability is not guaranteed under the Terms.

We accept major credit and debit cards processed securely via Stripe Checkout. Stripe is our primary and sole payment processor for card payments. If you have trouble completing a payment, please contact support at hello@bookgist.ai and include a screenshot of any error message so we can help promptly.

We're sorry if you were charged incorrectly. Please contact us at hello@bookgist.ai (or use the support form) and include your order email, transaction ID, and a screenshot of the charge. We'll investigate promptly and refund or credit any overcharge while we fix the issue.

Payments on BookGist are processed securely via Stripe Checkout. Our current prices are: Free = $0 (no payment required), Standard = $49 (one-time), Featured = $99 (one-time). You will receive an email receipt after payment. If you see an unexpected charge, please contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order email and any transaction details so we can investigate promptly.

Every author account starts with one Free book submission. Standard and Featured are one-time paid listings for a specific book. If your dashboard shows additional Free listings, those are grandfathered entitlements earned under the earlier bonus policy.

We're sorry for the confusion. Our prices are: Free = $0, Standard = $49 (one-time), Featured = $99 (one-time). Payments are processed securely via Stripe Checkout. If you were charged an unexpected amount, please contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order email and a screenshot or transaction ID and we'll investigate and correct any error promptly.

After an approved refund is submitted, the time it takes to appear depends on the payment processor and your bank. Contact hello@bookgist.ai if it has not appeared after the timeframe shown in your refund confirmation.

Yes — payments on BookGist.ai are processed securely via Stripe Checkout. We do not store your full card details on our servers; Stripe handles card information and payment authorization. If you have any questions about a charge, contact hello@bookgist.ai with your order email and any transaction details and we will investigate.

Yes. We offer prepaid publisher credit packages for authors and small presses with multiple books: 10 Standard BookGist credits for $399 (about $39.90 per book) or 25 credits for $899 (about $35.96 per book). Buy a package directly from our Pricing page — each credit is applied automatically the next time you submit a book at the Standard tier, with no separate checkout.

Yes. If you have a valid coupon or affiliate code, enter it on the BookGist payment page before you are redirected to Stripe Checkout. The code is validated at that step and any discount is applied automatically to your Stripe checkout session.

After uploading and paying, your book moves through these statuses: Pending (queued for processing), Processing (AI is generating your summary), Published (live in the library), or Failed (an error occurred). You can check the current status at any time from your author dashboard at /dashboard. If your book shows "Failed," please contact hello@bookgist.ai and we will re-process it at no charge.