How to Dictate Your Book in the Writing Studio

Speak your book instead of typing it. Start Dictate, say punctuation out loud, handle capital letters and paragraphs, and tidy the text afterwards.

Quick Start

On the Step 4 · WRITE roadmap page, dictation is listed as "Dictate your ideas (hands-free writing)." Here is the whole idea in five steps.

1. 1Open a section in the Visual Editor.
2. 2Click Dictate in the bottom bar of the Writing Studio.
3. 3Speak naturally. The text appears in real time. Say comma, period, question mark or new paragraph out loud when you want them.
4. 4Click Stop recording when you are done.
5. 5Edit what you dictated, then click Proofread.

Dictation works best in Chrome.

Full Guide

Step 1: Use the right browser

Dictation works best in Chrome. If it does not work, try Chrome.

Step 2: Start in the bottom bar

The Dictate button is in the bottom bar along the bottom of the writing area, next to your save message, your word count and Save to Your Cloud. There is also a microphone button in the Writing Coach for speaking your questions instead of typing them.

1. 1Click the Writing Studio tab.
2. 2Click the section you want in the chapter list.
3. 3Make sure Visual Editor is selected.

Each time dictation starts, or the browser pauses and restarts it, the new words go into a new paragraph after the text already in the section.

Step 3: Read the Writer's Prompt and The Goal

Above the writing area, the Writer's Prompt gives guidance for the section from the Chapter Detail Generator (Step 3 · BUILD), and The Goal names the specific objective for that section. If the prompt is hidden, click Show prompt to bring it back. See How do I show or hide the Writer's Prompt?.

Your word count in the bottom bar shows words written out of the section's target. See How do word count targets work?.

Step 4: Start recording

Click Dictate once to start. Speak naturally. The text appears in real time.

Step 5: Say punctuation out loud

Say punctuation out loud and it is typed correctly, attached to the word before it, with no stray space.

A worked example. If you say: "dear friend comma I hope this finds you well period new paragraph it was great exclamation mark", the studio types:

Dear friend, I hope this finds you well.

It was great!

Step 6: Let the capital letters happen

Capital letters are added automatically at the start of each sentence and each paragraph, and after a closing quote that follows a sentence end. The words appear with their punctuation as you speak. What was dictated keeps its capitals and paragraph breaks after the page is saved and reopened.

Step 7: Stop recording

Click Stop recording when you are done. Your dictated text is part of the section like any other text.

Step 8: Edit what you dictated

After dictating, you can edit the transcription.

• ✦Fix any word that was heard wrongly by typing.
• ✦Use Bold and Italic from the toolbar.
• ✦Add a sub-heading with the Paragraph style dropdown (H3 or H4).
• ✦Click Proofread, the spell check and grammar check. See Is there a spell check?.

Step 9: Know the one word that behaves differently

The command words are always read as punctuation, including inside a phrase. If you want the actual word "period" in a sentence, for example "a time period", it becomes a full stop. Fix that one word by typing after dictating.

Step 10: Get help from the Writing Coach

The Writing Coach and the Section Editor use your own AI key. Connecting it is super easy. It takes only a few seconds, and the app guides you through it step by step. Using your own key is free or costs very little, and Gemini has a free tier. See How do I use the Writing Coach?.

If you want the Writing Coach to sound like you when it drafts, save a sample of your own writing under 🎙 My writing voice. See How does My Writing Voice work?.

Step 11: Pick up again later

Everything you type saves automatically, and the Writing Studio remembers which chapter and section you were last working on and reopens right there. Click Dictate again, and the new words go into a new paragraph after the text already in the section.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens when I click Dictate. Dictation works best in Chrome. If it does not work, try Chrome.

The word "period" became a full stop. That is expected. The command words are always read as punctuation. Fix that one word by typing.

My text is read-only. If you just ran Proofread, click Done in the Proofread banner. While proofread results are showing, the text area is read-only so the highlighted errors can be clicked.

Where to Go Next

Quick reference: How do I dictate my book and say punctuation out loud?. To keep going section by section, follow Write Your First Section. The Course Coach inside the app guides you through each step, so you are never stuck on a button.

Last checked in the app: October 14, 2026.