diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 11cf41b..3bdb122 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ Seriatim config contract in `pipeline.yml`:
 - use Seriatim’s documented `match:` format (not the legacy direct mapping style used by older scripts/scaffolds)
 - see [`examples/speakers.yml`](examples/speakers.yml) for a concrete `match:` example.
 
+Prepared inputs note:
+
+- `prepare` copies session inputs into the session workdir (`work/<session_id>/inputs`), and downstream stages consume those prepared copies, not the original source files.
+- If you edit `speakers.yml`, `autocorrect.yml`, `glossary.yml`, or session input paths after `prepare` has run, rerun `prepare` with `--force` before rerunning downstream stages.
+
 Decoding is strict (`KnownFields(true)`), so unknown YAML fields fail fast.
 
 Example minimal files are available under `examples/`: