Install the app, write a chapter, click Seal, repeat. Here is the whole workflow, start to finish - from opening your first manuscript to holding a signed certificate for the entire book.
Seal each chapter as you finish it. Once every tab turns green, Publish binds them into one certificate.
ValidDraft does not analyze your finished text. It records how you wrote it - and Author is the desktop app where that happens for book-length work. This guide skips the pitch and gets straight to the mechanics: what to click, in what order, and what you end up holding when you’re done. If you already know why proof-of-writing matters, start here.
What you need first
ValidDraft Author runs on macOS today - macOS 10.15 or later, on an Apple Silicon Mac. A Windows build is coming at launch, and there is no Intel build yet, so if you’re on an Intel Mac or Windows PC today, the web editor is where you’ll want to start instead. Beyond that, you just need a ValidDraft account and a manuscript you’re ready to begin - Author doesn’t require you to have finished anything first.
Step 1 - Open a manuscript and start chapter one
After you sign in, create a new manuscript and give it a title. A manuscript is a container for chapters - you don’t need a finished outline to start one, just a first chapter to write. Open chapter one and begin typing in the editor like you would anywhere else. Nothing about the writing experience is different: no timers, no pop-ups, no visible tracking. In the background, Author is quietly recording the keystroke dynamics and behavioral signals that will later become your proof.
Step 2 - Write, then seal, one chapter at a time
When a chapter is done - or done enough for now - click Seal Chapter. This is the one action every chapter needs before the manuscript can move forward. Behind the scenes, Author scores that writing session, which takes a few seconds, and locks the chapter’s content along with a hash of it. You’ll see the chapter’s tab change from pending to sealed - it turns green - and that’s your confirmation it’s done.
A sealed chapter is finished as far as the certificate is concerned, but that doesn’t mean your book is finished. Open the next chapter, write it, seal it, and repeat. Some authors seal a chapter the moment they finish a draft of it; others wait until a chapter has been through a revision pass. Either way works - sealing captures the writing session that produced the version you lock in, so there’s no rush to seal early and no penalty for sealing late.
Seal Chapter scores the session in the background - a few seconds - then locks the chapter and its hash.
Step 3 - Publish, once every chapter is sealed
The Publish button stays inactive until every chapter in the manuscript has been sealed - it’s the one gate that keeps a half-finished book from being certified as complete. Once the last chapter turns green, Publish activates.
Clicking it does one thing, precisely: it takes the content hash from every sealed chapter, in order, and binds them into a single master certificate. Technically, that certificate is an Ed25519 signature over a Merkle root computed from your ordered chapter hashes - a standard, well-understood cryptographic construction. In plain terms, it means the certificate is tied to the exact sequence and exact content of every chapter, and anyone can verify it later without needing to trust ValidDraft’s servers at that moment - the math checks itself.
If you add a chapter, edit a sealed one, or reorder the manuscript afterward, the existing certificate no longer matches - which is the point. A published certificate is a snapshot of the manuscript exactly as it stood when every chapter was sealed.
Step 4 - Optional, coming soon: confirm you were at the keyboard
Author is also adding an on-device liveness check - it’s coming soon, and it will be entirely optional. Once available, you’ll be able to confirm you were at the keyboard with an on-device check - and only a digest will ever leave your device. No video is recorded, stored, or sent, ever. It runs locally as one more signal alongside the keystroke and behavioral data Author already captures, for authors who want an additional layer of confidence in the certificate without handing over any footage of themselves.
Step 5 - Export your manuscript
With the manuscript published, you can export the book itself, separately from the certificate. Today that means a typeset EPUB, a .docx for anyone working in Word or Google Docs, a print-ready PDF via Print / Save as PDF, plus Markdown, plain text, or a straight copy from within the app - and in every format, the certificate leads the book. The export announcement covers the details.
The certificate itself lives at its own verification link and short code - the kind you can drop into a query letter, a submission form, or a portfolio, and anyone can check it in seconds without needing a ValidDraft account.
Seal as you go
Each chapter is scored and locked the moment you finish it - not all at once at the end.
One signed certificate
Publish binds every chapter hash into one Ed25519-signed proof for the whole book.
Export, your way
EPUB, .docx, print-ready PDF, Markdown, or plain text - take the manuscript with you.
What Author costs
Author is part of ValidDraft’s paid tier. Early members get the Founding Author Rate: $69/year - the same early-member pricing the site itself uses, capped at the first 50 members rather than run on a countdown clock, and locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. It includes unlimited verified articles (up to 10,000 words each) and up to 500,000 manuscript words a year, which covers a full-length novel or two with plenty of room for revisions.
Note: The Founding Author Rate is limited to the first 50 members; founding members keep their rate for as long as they stay subscribed, and standard pricing can change with notice - see current pricing at /download.
If you’re not ready to commit, the free tier is a reasonable place to get a feel for how ValidDraft scores writing: $0, 5 articles a month at up to 1,000 words each, the browser extension, and a shareable certificate for each one. The free tier doesn’t include the desktop app or Manuscripts, though - for chapter-by-chapter sealing and a master certificate, you’ll need Author.
Seal your first chapter today
Download Author, open a manuscript, and write. The proof builds itself one sealed chapter at a time - no separate step at the end.
ValidDraft Author runs on macOS 10.15 or later, on Apple Silicon Macs. A Windows build is coming at launch; there is no Intel build yet.
What does 'Seal Chapter' actually do?+
It scores that chapter's writing session in the background, which takes a few seconds, then locks the chapter's content and hashes it. The chapter's tab turns from pending to sealed (green) once it's done.
What happens when I click Publish?+
Publish only activates once every chapter in the manuscript is sealed. It binds every chapter's content hash into one signed master certificate: an Ed25519 signature over a Merkle root of the ordered chapter hashes.
Can I export my manuscript as a PDF?+
Yes. Use Print / Save as PDF for a print-ready PDF, or export a typeset EPUB or a .docx - plus Markdown, plain text, and direct copy. In every format, the certificate opens the book.
Is the on-device liveness check required?+
No - it's optional, and it's coming soon. Once available, you'll be able to confirm you were at the keyboard with an on-device check. Only a digest will ever leave your device - no video is recorded, stored, or sent, ever.
How much does ValidDraft Author cost?+
The Founding Author Rate is an introductory $69/year for the first 50 members, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed; standard pricing can change with notice. It includes unlimited verified articles (up to 10,000 words each) and up to 500,000 manuscript words a year.