Manuscript behavioral analytics

Traditional beta readers give opinions.
We give you data gold.

Send readers a link. They read in our web-based e-reader and react in real time. We capture exactly where behaviors change, chapter by chapter.

Request access See how it works
The difference

Vague opinions vs.
exact locations.

Every beta reader has a story. Delta Reader captures what they actually did while reading — not what they remember feeling afterward.

Traditional beta feedback
Vague opinions. No exact locations. Hours of guesswork.
"The middle dragged a bit"
"I got confused at the end"
"Chapter 7 didn't work for me"
"Some readers loved it, some didn't"
Vague. Unactionable. Contradictory.
Delta Reader analytics
Exact locations. Behavioral data. Zero guesswork.
Chapters 11-14: 12% faster speed + frustrated
Ch 7: 8 readers in a flow state
3 readers dropped at 58% through Ch 9
8 readers highlighted same quote in Ch 15
Precise. Actionable. Reproducible.
What makes it different

Built on behavior,
not self-report.

Research-backed
Built on established psychology
Grounded in Narrative Transportation, Flow State, Geneva Emotion Wheel, and Mind-Wandering research. Not guesswork- frameworks with decades of study behind them.
AI-free
Pure heuristics, not inference
We don't use AI to guess what readers felt. We measure what they did- speed, pauses, emotion clicks, highlights, dropouts. Observable behavior only.
Behavioral data
Track what readers DO, not what they say
Readers react in real time while they read. Not a survey after the fact. Not a remembered impression. Behavior captured at the moment it happens.
Who it's for

Built for everyone who needs
to know what's actually working.

Authors
Test before you publish
Get precision feedback on exactly what to revise, not vague impressions. Know which chapters hold readers and which ones lose them.
Publishers
Evaluate acquisitions with data
See exactly where manuscripts succeed or fail before acquisition. Behavioral data replaces intuition with evidence.
Editors
Diagnose with patterns, not speculation
Skip the guesswork. Reader data shows you exactly where pacing breaks, confusion spikes, and engagement drops- chapter by chapter.
Core metrics

Three signals that tell
the whole story.

Reading Speed
How fast readers moved through each chapter compared to their personal baseline. 100% is their normal pace.
"Chapter 8: 138% speed"- readers moved 38% faster than normal. Either gripped or skimming.
Dropout Rate
Percentage of readers who stopped at a given chapter and never came back. Multiple dropouts in one spot- fix it.
"Ch 8: 13% dropout"- 2 out of 16 readers quit here. That's a signal.
Emotional Reactions
Times readers clicked emotion buttons while reading. Not how they felt about the story — how they felt while inside it.
"frustrated (8), anxious (6)" in Ch 8- readers struggled with that chapter, not the plot.
Sample reports

Real output from
actual sessions.

No mockups. These are examples from real Delta Reader reports. Click to enlarge.

Executive Snapshot report
Standard
Executive Snapshot- completion rates, high and low frequency behaviors
Emotion Distribution report
Author Pro
Emotion Distribution Over Time- chapter by chapter emotional arc
Momentum Direction report
Standard
Momentum Direction- where engagement builds, holds, or fades
Pricing

Honest pricing.
Powerful insights.

Indie Starter
$47
per manuscript
  • Up to 10 beta readers
  • Core diagnostics
  • Downloadable HTML report
  • Dropout and speed tracking
  • 30-day campaign window
Get started
Beta special: 50% off
Author Pro
$97
$49
per manuscript
  • 20-25 beta readers
  • Full precision diagnostics
  • Reader State Heatmaps
  • Publisher-style report view
  • Highlight validation tracking
  • Reading speed analytics (WPM)
  • Shareable analytics links
  • 60-day campaign window
Get started
Publisher / Studio
$497
per month · or $4,970/year
  • Everything in Author Pro
  • 10 active campaigns
  • Campaign comparison analytics
  • White-label reports
  • Priority support
Contact us
Ready to start?

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See exactly where behaviors shift throughout your manuscript. Request access and we'll be in touch within 24 hours.

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