Human Authorship Checklist

Author

• Make one folder for the work before the manuscript grows.
• Name every file with the title, a version number, and a date. Example: novel-v01-2026-03-04.
• Do not overwrite a file. The next save is the next number.

Author

• Save the first notes as their own dated files: premise, people, places, scraps, and an outline if you use one.
• Keep those files even if you later abandon them. They show the story began with you.
• If a line, a name, or a passage came from someone else, or from a generated draft, mark it in the notes. Do not present it later as unaided work.

Author

• Write the prose yourself, from the story as you invent it.
• At the end of a writing day, save a new numbered file. Do not save over yesterday.
• Keep the first complete draft of every chapter, even after you have rewritten it.
• Do not use generative AI to write or rewrite prose, dialogue, or plot you intend to claim as your own.

Author

• Use one sequence for the whole manuscript: v01, v02, v03. Do not restart the numbers.
• Put the version and the date on the first page, or in the file name, and make them match.
• If you change only one chapter, still save a full manuscript version, or save that chapter with its own number and enter it in the log.
• Leave earlier files untouched. Do not change their dates.

Author

• For each chapter, record the file name, the date, and what that version contains.
• When a new version replaces an old one, name the version it follows. The chain should be readable without opening the files.

Author

• Revise in a new version. In a few lines, note what changed: a cut, a new scene, a different ending.
• Keep the version you revised from.
• If you restore an old passage, copy it forward. Do not edit the old file so that it matches the new one.

Author

• Keep a short log: the date, the version number, and the pages or chapters you worked.
• Keep ordinary traces that the work grew over time, such as the file dates, a note to yourself, or a calendar entry. Do not manufacture them afterwards.
• Do not backdate a file, and do not rename an old file so that it looks earlier than it is.

Author

• Read the full manuscript as one numbered version. Mark corrections on a copy, or in a new version. Do not destroy the previous file to do it.

Proofreader, if you use one

• A proofreader checks the text. They do not become the author.
• Keep their marked copy, and a note of what they were asked to do.

Author

• Keep the earliest notes, the first complete draft, the significant later versions, the writing log, and the final manuscript, in the numbered sequence.
• Keep one folder you could hand to someone and walk through, from the first note to the last page.

Author

• State that you wrote the prose.
• List the first and last version numbers, and the dates they carry.
• State whether any generated text remains in the manuscript. If none, say so. If a tool was used only to catch typos, say that, and say you accepted or rejected each change yourself.

Author

• Make one folder for the work before the manuscript grows, and a separate folder for source documents.
• Name every draft with the title, a version number, and a date. Example: book-v01-2026-03-04.
• Do not overwrite a file. The next save is the next number.

Author

• Save your own notes and outline as dated files before you draft, or as you draft. Do not leave them only in your head.
• For each source you rely on, keep a copy or a precise citation, with the date you gathered it.
• If a note or a passage was generated, or substantially rewritten by a tool, mark it. Do not fold it into the book as your own wording.

Author

• Write the prose yourself, from your notes and your sources.
• Mark quotations and facts that come from a source, so your sentences stay distinct from other people’s.
• Do not invent experiences, quotations, or facts.
• At the end of a writing day, save a new numbered file. Keep the first complete draft of every chapter.
• Do not use generative AI to write or rewrite prose you intend to claim as your own.

Author

• Use one sequence for the whole manuscript: v01, v02, v03. Do not restart the numbers.
• Put the version and the date on the first page, or in the file name, and make them match.
• If you correct only one chapter, still save a full manuscript version, or save that chapter with its own number and enter it in the log.
• Leave earlier files untouched. Do not change their dates to tidy the record.

Author

• For each chapter, record the file name, the date, the sources that chapter rests on, and what changed from the version before.
• The log should show which sentences are yours and which rest on a source, without opening every file.

Author

• Revise in a new version. Note what changed: a correction, a cut, a new passage, a source added or removed.
• If a fact changes, keep the version that had the old fact, and a note of why it changed.
• Do not edit an earlier file so the record looks cleaner than it was.

Author

• Keep a short log: the date, the version number, and the chapters you worked.
• Keep the dates on your notes and on your source files. They should show that the material existed while you were writing, not only after the book was finished.
• Do not backdate a file, and do not rename an old file so that it looks earlier than it is.

Author

• Read for accuracy as well as for the sentences. Corrections go on a new version, or on a marked copy of a numbered version.

Checker, if you use one

• If someone else checks facts or proofs the text, keep their notes and a line on what they were asked to do.
• Their check is not authorship. The prose and the responsibility for the facts stay with you.

Author

• Keep the dated notes, the source copies or citations, the first complete draft, the significant later versions, the chapter log, and the final manuscript.
• Someone else should be able to see, from the folder alone, which sentence is yours and which rests on a source.

Author

• State that you wrote the prose, and that the facts and quotations are as you checked them.
• List the first and last version numbers, and the dates they carry.
• State whether any generated text remains in the manuscript. If none, say so. If a tool was used only to catch typos, say that, and say you accepted or rejected each change yourself.