Question 1

When I answer a question, should I be wordy or just answer it? Which is the best answer?

Accepted Answer

Be wordy — tell the full story. That is the better answer. Here is why, from what the system does to your words. Transcription keeps everything you said — it runs at a low temperature with no invention, so it writes down exactly what you spoke, filler and all. The polish pass only removes the "ums" and false starts; it never shortens your substance or drops a name, date or turn of phrase. So a short answer stays short, and a rich answer stays rich. The chapter drafter cannot invent detail either — it can only weave your own words into flowing paragraphs, so a one-line answer becomes a thin chapter because there is nothing to expand it with. The interviewer also listens to your last answer to decide the next question, so a fuller answer gives it more to follow up on and you get better, more specific questions instead of generic ones. Talk the way you naturally talk — don't worry about perfect sentences, fragments or repeating yourself. Give the details, the names, the little tangents: that is the raw material the book is built from, and nothing is lost.

Question 2

Do I need to type anything?

Accepted Answer

No. The whole process is voice-first. You answer questions out loud, we transcribe them, and the AI shapes your spoken words into chapters. If you do want to correct a spelling or name, you can type — but you never have to.

Question 3

How does the AI handle mistakes, like a misspelled name?

Accepted Answer

As you record, we keep a running list of the people, places and terms you mention. Those are fed back into transcription so the same names are recognised correctly next time. After each answer you can correct anything by voice or by typing, and the AI updates the manuscript immediately.

Question 4

Is my story private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every recording is encrypted, never sold, and owned entirely by you and your family. Your book is only shared if you choose to share it, and you can delete your recordings at any time.

Question 5

Do I need an ISBN?

Accepted Answer

Almost certainly not. A private memoir printed for your own family needs no ISBN and costs nothing extra. You only need one if you want the book sold publicly on Amazon, in bookstores or in libraries.

Question 6

What do I get on the $49 plan?

Accepted Answer

You keep the original recordings — the sound of the voice telling the story — plus an eBook and a large-print PDF readable on any phone, tablet or computer, with read-aloud on every page. You can add a printed book later and only pay the difference.

Question 7

Can I order extra copies, and how long does shipping take?

Accepted Answer

Yes — extra copies can be ordered at any time from your Orders page once the book is approved. Printing and binding takes 7–14 days after you approve the proof, and every shipment is tracked.

Question 8

How long does it take to finish a book?

Accepted Answer

Most families complete a first draft in a few weeks, recording in short sittings two or three afternoons a week. A human editorial pass (on Family Heirloom and Legacy Concierge) takes 5–7 working days, and printing takes 7–14 days after you approve the proof. You set the pace — nothing happens until you're ready.

Question 9

How does the AI do the editing of the book? What are the benefits and the limits? When does the editing begin?

Accepted Answer

The editing begins the moment you stop recording. The system uses a two-pass pipeline that runs automatically — no calibration, no typing. Pass 1 is transcription: your audio goes to a speech model at a low temperature with no invention, so it writes down exactly what you spoke, filler words and all. Names and places you have mentioned before are fed back in so they are recognised correctly. Pass 2 is the polish: a writing model takes that exact transcript and turns it into flowing first-person prose in your own voice — it removes the "ums" and false starts but never shortens your substance or drops a name, date or turn of phrase. The benefits: it is fast (a first draft appears the same day), it preserves your real phrasing and idioms rather than inventing detail, and it keeps you in control — you can read every page aloud and speak a correction that is applied instantly. The limits: it can mishear, which is why the transcript review screen is editable and you can re-record or retry; it does not make judgment calls on chapter flow, pacing or duplicated stories — those are left to the human editorial pass on the Family Heirloom and Legacy Concierge tiers; and it only works from what you actually said, so a thin answer stays a thin chapter because there is nothing to expand it with. Nothing is ever invented, and nothing goes to print until you approve it.

Question 10

What does "Re-polish now" do, and what is it for?

Accepted Answer

"Re-polish now" rewrites every answer again from your original spoken words — not from the polished text you are reading. It loads your confirmed name and place spellings (from the name check above it), takes the raw transcript of what you actually said for each answer, sends it back through the polisher with your book type, narrative style and polish level — plus that list of names — and saves the new book version over the old one. Its main purpose is to fix a misspelled name everywhere at once: if "Gallon" was heard as "Gallen" in six answers, you correct it once on the name check and re-polish rather than editing six boxes by hand. It does not find-and-replace — it rewrites each sentence so it still reads naturally around the corrected word. It also applies a style change retroactively: if you switch from Conversational to Traditional, or from Light to Full polish, re-polishing brings earlier answers in line with the newer ones. Before you press it, know that it overwrites the book version of every answer, so any hand edits you typed into those boxes are replaced — but your original spoken words are never touched, so nothing is truly lost. It runs answer-by-answer and can take a minute with many answers.

Question 11

What is "Write it for the book again"?

Accepted Answer

"Write it for the book again" is the same rewrite as "Re-polish now," but for a single answer instead of the whole book. It takes the raw transcript of that one answer, sends it back through the polisher with your confirmed names and current style settings, and saves the new version over the old one. Use it when you have only hand-edited one or two answers and do not want to re-polish everything — for example, after correcting a single name or changing the style of one chapter. Like "Re-polish now," it overwrites the book version of that answer (replacing any hand edits you typed into its box), but your original spoken words are never touched. If you want the same rewrite applied to every answer at once, use "Re-polish now" instead.

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