diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5991151..0e89b75 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,3 +7,45 @@ A system for easing the task of recording and editing audiobooks.
 * MP3 export
 * Chapter management
 
+Usage
+-----
+
+Step one is to open Tools -> Options and set the system up in the way you need. Mainly you will
+want to set the audio settings - select the device or sound system you want to record from and
+play back to.  For Linux you probably want to select "the ear-candy mixer" for PulseAudio.
+
+Create yourself a new book either using File -> New Book or by pressing the New Book icon in  the toolbar.
+
+Your first action with a new book should be to record the "room noise" (![toolbar icon](https://github.com/MajenkoProjects/AudiobookRecorder/raw/master/resources/uk/co/majenko/audiobookrecorder/icons/record-room.png)).  This is 5 seconds of silence recorded
+from your microphone.  It is used to both calculate the "noise floor" for audio detection (see below) and also
+for stitching the recorded phrases together.  You should keep as quiet as you can while it's recording.
+
+From here on much is controlled by key presses.
+
+* Press and hold "R" to record a new phrase - the screen flashes red while it's recording.  The phrase is
+  appended to the currently selected chapter, or to the last chapter if none is selected.
+* Press "D" to delete the last phrase you recorded.
+* Press "E" to re-record the currently selected phrase.
+
+Each phrase you record will be briefly analysed using FFT to find the start and end of the audio and set
+crop marks appropriately.  These can be adjusted in the waveform display when a phrase is selected. You can also
+re-run the analysis using either the default FFT method or using a peak detector method (finding the first and last points
+where the audio amplitude rises above the backround noise).
+
+The phrases also have a "post gap" associated with them.  This is the amount of room noise (in milliseconds) to place between
+the current phrase and the next phrase when playing or exporting.
+
+Speaking of playing - you have the option (in the toolbar) to either play the currently selected phrase in isolation or
+to start playing from the currently selected phrase on to the end of the chapter.  This is good for testing your post gaps.
+
+Exporting the project creates MP3 files for each chapter using the settings selected in Options.
+
+File layout
+-----------
+
+All data is stored in your "storage" directory (specified in Options).  Each book (which is a directory named after the
+title of the book) has an associated XML file (audiobook.abk) and a directory "files" where all the audio (stored as WAV
+files) is placed.
+
+When you export the book as MP3 a new folder "export" is created within the book's folder where the MP3 files are placed.
+MP3 files are all tagged with the book title, chapter title, chapter number and comment.