Dictate, an artificial intelligence (AI) book-writing service operated by Appendment LLC, today outlined how its voice-first process turns recorded phone interviews into nonfiction manuscripts, along with its goal of a finished book in four to eight weeks. The Tarpon Springs, Florida, company built the service, an alternative to traditional ghostwriting services, for consultants, coaches, doctors, financial advisors, attorneys, educators, pastors, ministry leaders and other professionals who have expertise to share but not the time to write a book by hand.
The company's materials estimate that writing a nonfiction book the traditional way takes 500 to 1,000 hours. Dictate replaces most of that work with conversation. Authors take part in guided phone interviews with an AI interviewer, up to 15 hours in total depending on the package, in sessions of about an hour each. The author's own interview and review pace sets the timeline.
How the process works
Before the first interview, the system researches the author's background, publications, talks and online presence, along with existing books in the author's field, so that its questions are informed from the start. Each interview builds on the last. A Content Scorecard tracks coverage across seven categories, including stories, frameworks and evidence, to show which parts of the book still need material.
From the interviews, the system produces a book blueprint with a thesis, a chapter-by-chapter outline and three working title options. The author reviews and approves the blueprint before writing begins.
Chapters are then drafted alongside the remaining interviews. Dictate's Voice DNA profile analyzes how the author actually speaks, including vocabulary, sentence rhythm, personality and signature phrases, and uses that profile to write each chapter in the author's own voice. A Continuity Ledger tracks facts, names, dates and timelines across chapters to keep the manuscript consistent. According to the company, every story, framework and fact in a Dictate book comes from the author's own interviews and uploaded materials rather than being invented by the software.
The work is divided among five specialized AI agents: an interviewer, an analyst that builds the research file, an architect that designs the blueprint, a writer and an editor. Authors read each chapter in an online author portal and leave comments, which the editor applies while keeping the author's voice consistent. A full description of the seven-step process is available on the company's How It Works page.
From manuscript to launch
The finished manuscript is delivered as print-ready PDF, EPUB e-book and Microsoft Word files, suitable for self-publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark, or for traditional and hybrid publishers. Authors also receive an Author's Toolkit with biographies, Amazon description copy, back cover text and quote graphics.
People behind the process
Dictate pairs its AI with human support. Within 48 hours of purchase, each author is assigned an Author Concierge, a dedicated person who helps the author build a Marketing Blueprint around the book's goals before writing begins. A support team then guides the author through getting started, with book-support calls available as needed and a customer support center throughout the project, so authors are not left alone with software.
Books for pastors, ministry leaders and nonprofits
Dictate also works with pastors, evangelists and ministry leaders who want to turn sermons, teaching and years of ministry into a book, as well as with leaders of nonprofit organizations. The company offers discounted pricing for ministry and nonprofit authors. More information is available on its ministry page.
Authors keep full copyright to their books. Dictate claims no ownership of the finished work and takes no royalties.
"Most experts already explain their ideas out loud every day, to clients, on stages and on calls," said Michael Giannulis, founder of Dictate. "Dictate is built around that habit. The author talks, the system does the drafting, and every chapter comes back to the author for review in the author's own words. The goal is a finished book in four to eight weeks, and the author's own pace sets the clock."
The method behind the service is laid out in Giannulis's field guide, Talk Your Book Into Existence, available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback and Audible editions. The book argues for what it calls "extraction, not generation": the author supplies the stories, frameworks and opinions by talking, and the AI organizes and shapes those spoken words into prose. A summary of the book is available on the Talk Your Book page.
About Dictate
Dictate is an AI-powered book-writing service provided by Appendment LLC and based in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Through guided phone interviews and Voice DNA voice profiling, Dictate turns the spoken expertise of consultants, coaches, doctors, advisors and other professionals into publication-ready nonfiction manuscripts written in each author's own voice. Authors keep full copyright and pay no royalties to Dictate. More information is available at startdictate.com.