Slant Scanner · For Publishers
You’re about to spend $50,000 launching a book. Do you know how it will land with values-driven readers?
Slant Scanner gives acquisitions editors and marketing directors a pre-publication worldview signal — run against the actual manuscript, not the jacket copy — before the reviews define it for you.
Worldview axis · sample output
The problem
Review-bombing is expensive.
A misjudged title gets torpedoed on Goodreads and blacklisted in Christian retail channels within 48 hours of release. By then, the marketing budget is spent and the returns are starting.
Marketing dollars miss.
Without a worldview signal, teams pitch the wrong podcasts, the wrong influencers, and the wrong retail channels. The book ends up on endcaps it doesn't belong on and absent from shelves where it would move.
Acquisitions is still vibes-based.
Editorial committees argue about "fit" with no shared vocabulary and no quantitative anchor. One editor's "this will resonate with our core reader" is another's "this will alienate half our list." That conversation doesn't have to be guesswork.
How it works
Full-text analysis. Not a summary.
01
Upload a manuscript
Submit a PDF or DOCX file up to 15MB — a full novel, a curriculum manuscript, a forthcoming non-fiction title.
02
Analysis runs against the full text
Not a web summary. Not the jacket copy. Slant Scanner reads the manuscript — every chapter, every scene — and scores what is actually there.
03
Receive a structured report
Worldview axis breakdown, Redemption Arc score, theme inventory, audience fit projection, channel recommendations, and risk flags.
04
Share with your team
The report is a document your acquisitions, marketing, and sales leads can read and discuss. A shared vocabulary for a conversation that used to rely on instinct.
Use cases
Where it changes the conversation.
Pre-publication manuscript evaluation
Like a sensitivity read, but for worldview alignment. Catch positioning issues before galleys ship — when there is still time to adjust the marketing strategy, the retail channel mix, or the back-cover copy.
Marketing positioning intelligence
The worldview axis breakdown tells you which influencers, podcasts, and retail channels to pitch — and which to deprioritize. Stop spending on placements that will produce friction instead of sales.
Backlist and catalog audits
Run 50 to 500 backlist titles to understand how your catalog clusters, where worldview consistency exists across your list, and where gaps or inconsistencies may be quietly undermining your brand with key reader segments.
Comp title analysis
Evaluate comparable titles before acquisition with a shared vocabulary. When the committee debates whether a manuscript fits the list, replace conjecture with a side-by-side report.
What you get
A report your team can actually use.
Every Slant Scanner publisher report contains the same six sections. Not a summary. Not a score with no context.
Worldview Axis Breakdown
A multi-axis chart showing where the manuscript sits on four independent dimensions — Transcendent/Naturalistic, Traditional/Progressive, Communitarian/Individualist, Redemptive/Tragic. Each axis scored and justified.
Redemption Arc Score
A 0–100 score evaluating the narrative arc against classical redemption-pattern templates, with a narrative justification tied to specific chapters and character beats.
Theme Inventory
Both conservative-resonant and progressive-resonant themes surfaced, regardless of overall positioning. Major, notable, and minor classifications with one-line explanations.
Audience Fit Projection
Named reader segments — literary Christian fiction, conservative evangelical retail, faith-curious deconstruction-era readers, general-market literary — each rated for fit with specific reasoning.
Channel Recommendations
Podcasts, influencers, review outlets, and retail channels worth pitching — and specific channels to deprioritize. Both lists matter. A tool that only tells you where to go isn't doing its job.
Risk Flags
Specific passages, characters, or themes likely to generate friction in particular reader segments. Chapter-level specificity. Severity ratings. Actionable before the book ships.
Who it’s for
Built for publishers who care where their books land.
Christian publishers
Evangelical, Reformed, and non-denominational houses producing theological, pastoral, family, and Christian living titles. Slant Scanner's worldview axes and Redemption Arc score are calibrated for exactly the reader segments these houses serve.
Classical and homeschool publishers
Curriculum and literary publishers whose readers make purchasing decisions based on explicit worldview criteria. Pre-publication analysis replaces guesswork about how a new title fits the catalog.
Crossover imprints at general-market houses
Imprints attempting to reach values-aligned readers within general trade distribution. Slant Scanner surfaces exactly the signals that determine whether a title will be welcomed or rejected by that audience.
Pricing
Start with a pilot. No commitment.
Pilot
Free
3 forthcoming titles
- — Full report for each title
- — 30-minute results walkthrough
- — No contract, no commitment
- — In exchange for feedback
Publisher Plan
Contact us
Volume credits, annual
- — 50–500 reports per year
- — Team dashboard, shared history
- — Scoped to your imprint
- — Exportable PDF reports
FAQ
Questions editors actually ask.
Request a pilot
Three titles. Free. No commitment.
Submit three forthcoming titles at no cost. Each receives a full Slant Scanner report. We schedule a 30-minute walkthrough to review the findings with your team. In exchange, we ask for candid feedback on the methodology.
“A tool that only tells you where to go isn’t doing its job. Slant Scanner also tells you where not to.”