Write the chapters
Illustrations and images
Generate a scene illustration, or upload your own photographs.
What it is
You can place images inside chapters, either generated by AI from your own prose or uploaded from your device. Generation reads the chapter — or just the passage you selected — and writes a scene description, which you can read and edit before any image is paid for. Images sit inline in the manuscript, can be resized and captioned, and are carried through into the book preview and every export format.
Where to find it: Smart Editor → toolbar → image button (whole chapter), or select text → "Image from selection".
What this covers
- Generate an illustration from a chapter or a selection
- Three types: illustration, storyboard, collage
- Art style, quality and shape options
- Preview and edit the prompt before paying
- Cost quoted before generating
- Upload your own images
- Resize by drag or preset
- Optional captions
- Images flow into preview and exports
How to use it
- 1
Open the image dialog
In the Smart Editor, press the image button in the toolbar to illustrate the chapter, or select a passage first and use "Image from selection" to illustrate just that moment.
- 2
Choose the type and style
Pick illustration, storyboard or collage, then an art style, a quality level and a shape. The dialog shows how many credits the generation will use.
- 3
Preview the prompt first
Press "Preview & edit prompt" to see the scene description the AI derived from your text, in your own language. This costs only the cheap text step, and you can rewrite it before generating.
- 4
Generate, or upload instead
Generate produces the image and inserts it into the chapter. The Upload tab takes your own file instead — a real photograph for a memoir, for instance.
- 5
Size and caption it
Click an image in the editor to get small, medium and large presets, a caption field, and a drag handle in the corner for a free resize.
What it gives you
You see the prompt before you pay
The expensive part is the image, not the description. Reading and correcting the scene description first is what stops you paying three times for the same misunderstanding.
Illustrations come from your actual prose
The description is derived from the chapter or the passage you selected, so the picture matches the scene rather than a generic idea of the genre.
Your own photographs work just as well
For memoir and family history the upload path matters more than generation. Real photographs sit inline exactly as generated images do.
They survive the export
Images and their sizes carry through the book preview, Word, HTML, EPUB and Markdown.
Good to know
- Generated images cost credits per image, at a rate that depends on the quality setting. The cost is always shown first.
- In-chapter illustrations are generated without text baked into the image. Text on covers is a separate feature of the Cover Designer.
- WebP uploads are not embedded in Word exports; use PNG or JPEG for images that must appear in a .docx.
- AI image generation is imperfect at faces, hands and specific likenesses. For a real person, upload a photograph.
Questions
Do I have to use AI images?
No. Uploading your own is a first-class path, and many memoirs are better for it.
How much does an image cost?
It depends on quality and size, and the exact figure is displayed in the dialog before you generate. Previewing the prompt costs only the small text step.
Can I generate a book cover?
Yes, but through the Cover Designer in the Finish Book wizard rather than here. Covers are a different job — they carry the title and author text.
Will images appear in my exported book?
Yes, in Markdown, Word, HTML and EPUB, at the size you set.
Start your first chapter
Every new account gets a free credit — enough to talk through a scene, have it drafted, and see how it reads.
Get started free