Every Life Engine manuscript passes through a battery of structural, linguistic, and market-readiness analyses. These are the instruments. Each report is produced at full depth — not sampled, not summarized.
Chapter-level friction analysis. Identifies every point where a reader’s cognitive load exceeds content value — compound abstractions, undefined imports, transition gaps, and parsing-heavy constructions. Transmission optimization, not simplification.
Maps the primary and secondary metaphor systems across the full manuscript. Identifies collision points, interference patterns, and unresolved extensions where figurative language competes for reader bandwidth.
Simulates reading behavior across three distinct reader archetypes calibrated to the book’s target market. Predicts skim patterns, friction points hit, and engagement drop-off for each persona.
Tracks every recurring term across the manuscript for definition consistency, meaning drift, and overloaded usage. Produces a locked vocabulary table that prevents downstream confusion across chapters.
Identifies near-quotable lines that need tightening for maximum shareability and memorability. Evaluates phrasing friction, cadence, and compression opportunities without losing intellectual substance.
Full Bestseller Algorithm evaluation across 7 weighted criteria. Produces a composite score benchmarked against NYT bestseller averages. Functions as the release gate — no manuscript ships below threshold.
Section-by-section skim risk assessment. Identifies where readers disengage, why they disengage, and what structural fix restores attention. Includes semantic fog zone detection for conceptual whiplash points.
Ranks every identified intervention by impact, difficulty, and priority score. Gives the production team a sequenced execution plan — highest-ROI fixes first, lowest-effort wins prioritized.
From the production of The Operator’s Code — a Life Engine manuscript that underwent 34 individual audits across its full chapter sequence.
A single chapter passed through the Drag Audit produced 47 high-friction items across five analytical lenses. The chapter was intellectually rigorous and mechanically sound — the friction was not in the content but in the transmission. The audit identified compound abstraction stacking, undefined technical imports, transition gaps, and parsing-heavy constructions. No rewriting required. Structural fixes and term anchoring resolved the transmission bottleneck without reducing substance.
“The chapter does NOT require simplification. It requires transmission optimization — clearer signal, same substance.”