Free tool
Story Rater: rate your story or chapter, free
Paste a chapter or short story, up to about 5,000 words. You get a score out of 100, a rating for five things readers notice and the three fixes that would lift it most.
- Free
- No signup
- Your text is not stored
What you get
A score out of 100, five ratings from 1 to 10 with a one-line reason each, a two-sentence summary and the three fixes that would improve the piece most.
Each fix points at the line it's about, so you can find it in your draft. It takes about half a minute, and you don't need an account.
The five things it rates
- Hook: do the opening lines make a reader need to keep going?
- Pacing: does the piece keep moving, without stalls or rushed turns?
- Clarity: can a reader follow who, where and what without rereading?
- Dialogue: does it sound like people, and does it carry conflict or information?
- Character: is the main character specific, active and wanting something?
What a score can and cannot tell you
A rating is a fast, consistent first read. It's good at spotting a slow opening, a muddled scene or dialogue that only passes information along.
It can't tell you whether your story is original, whether it fits a market or whether a particular editor will love it. Use the score to compare drafts of the same piece, not as a verdict on your talent.
From one chapter to the whole manuscript
A chapter can rate well on its own and still fail in context: a subplot drops, a timeline slips, a character changes without a reason. Those problems only show up when the whole book is read.
StoryWith AI reads the full manuscript scene by scene. It maps the structure, checks continuity and gives you a readiness score with every finding linked to its passage.
Check your opening chapters with the readiness scoreRun it on the whole manuscript
These tools read a sample. StoryWith AI reads the whole book: structure, pacing, continuity, and a readiness score with every issue linked to its passage. Start free, then upgrade when you're ready to analyze the whole book.
More free tools
- Manuscript Readiness ScorePaste your opening chapters for a score out of 100 and the issues most likely to stop an agent.
- Query Letter GraderInstant checks on length, word count, genre, comps and greeting, plus an AI review with line-level fixes.
- Query Letter GeneratorAnswer six questions about your novel and get a first-draft query letter in agent format.
- Editing Cost CalculatorEstimate developmental, line, copyediting and proofreading costs from published EFA rates.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is the Story Rater free?
Yes, with no signup. Free tools share a fair-use limit of 6 runs every 12 hours.
How long can my story be?
Up to about 5,000 words, which covers most chapters and many short stories. For a whole novel, use the full manuscript analysis.
Is my story stored or used for training?
No. It's sent to our AI provider to produce the rating and isn't saved by StoryWith AI. We don't use it to train AI models.
Does it work for fan fiction, screenplays or poetry?
It's built for prose fiction, so fan fiction and short stories work well. Screenplays and poetry follow different rules, and the ratings will be less useful.
Why isn't my score higher?
The rater is told to be honest rather than encouraging: a 5 means a competent draft with clear problems, and a 7 means strong. Apply the three fixes and rate it again.
Can I rate a story in another language?
Yes. It reads your story in the language it's written in and answers in that language.
Does a high score mean my story is good?
It means the piece avoids the problems readers notice most often. Whether it's good is up to readers, so use the rating to find what to revise, then get feedback from people too.