Starting points & templates
Starting points tune a new document to the kind of text it is. Each one also comes with a matching workflow you can run in one click.
On this page
Which workflow template should I start from?
First-time users find the cards under the Upload file button, headed What kind of text is it? and marked optional. A pick sets up the next document you upload or paste and shows as Set up for, with an × that clears it. Returning users see the cards beside the dropzone as “Or pick a starting point.” Each card sets up the document and attaches a style guide from your own library, which you can edit freely.
- Novel or book — keeps the author’s voice and renders every character and place name the same way in every chapter; can check names against your glossary.
- Short story — voice, rhythm and dialogue; can suggest alternatives for each line of dialogue.
- Newsletter — your issue in your own voice, with section titles and the sign-off translated the same way every week; can suggest alternative subject lines and headlines.
- Blog post — keeps the post’s structure and phrases the title and headings the way readers search; can suggest alternative headings.
- Article — op-eds, features and reports; can flag numbers, dates, names and quotes that differ from the source.
- Thesis — bachelor’s, master’s, diploma or PhD; can check that field terms are translated consistently.
- Research paper — keeps your hedging and citations exactly; can flag claims that became stronger or weaker.
- Abstract — an abstract and its keywords, ready to submit; can check that each keyword is the standard term in your field.
- Client document — strict glossary discipline; can run a glossary AI audit.
- Start blank — just languages and a title.
How does a template combine translating and reviewing?
When a document still has untranslated text, the editor offers a Suggested workflow card — click through to open it in the builder, see the estimated cost, and run it. Once a template document is translated, a follow-up card walks you through a quick two-pass review (Proofread, then the template’s own check) in the one-at-a-time guided review.
Do starting points or templates cost extra?
No. Starting points themselves are free — you pay only for the AI work their workflows run, at the same rates as any other document (translation is one credit per source word in Fast or Standard, three in Pro). Some cards show a Best with Pro chip; that is a suggestion, not a restriction — you can run any model you like.
Do the smart actions that come with a starting point cost credits?
Some do. Finding dialogue lines, headlines or headings is free; generating their alternatives costs those lines’ words at the model’s rate, like any rewrite. The checks that read the whole translation (names, facts, terminology, claims and citations, keywords) cost 0.1 credits per source word read on Fast, and the ones that suggest fixes also charge for each fix they write. The Client document glossary audit is free from the editor banner. Each shows its price on its button before it runs.
Can I use a starting point with a Notion or Google Drive import?
Yes. You can start a Notion or Drive import from anywhere you would start a document — the dashboard, the upload dialog, or a starting point — and importing that way applies the starting point’s settings (category, style guide, scratchpad) to the imported document. See importing.
What do I lose by starting a blank document instead of picking a starting point?
A blank document is just languages, a title, and an empty editor — no preconfigured style guide, terminology hints, or per-document guidance, and no smart action. It uses the general Smart Proofread tool, and the workflow the editor suggests is the general Translate, proofread & polish pass rather than one tuned to a document type.
Still stuck? Ask Literess in the app, or write to support@transept.ai.