diff --git a/static/js/editor.js b/static/js/editor.js
index d311ccb..8806241 100644
--- a/static/js/editor.js
+++ b/static/js/editor.js
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ function createMarkerHTML(type, num, voice = 'af_alloy', markerId = null) {
                 </ul>
                 <button class="btn btn-outline-dark" title="Bold" onmousedown="event.preventDefault(); applyFormat('bold')"><i class="bi bi-type-bold"></i></button>
                 <button class="btn btn-outline-dark" title="Italic" onmousedown="event.preventDefault(); applyFormat('italic')"><i class="bi bi-type-italic"></i></button>
-                <button class="btn btn-outline-dark" title="Normalize" onmousedown="event.preventDefault(); normalizeSection('${id}')"><i class="bi bi-eraser"></i></button>
+                <button class="btn btn-outline-dark" title="Normalize (select text first, or normalizes entire section)" onmousedown="event.preventDefault(); normalizeSection('${id}')"><i class="bi bi-eraser"></i></button>
                 <div class="vr bg-secondary mx-2"></div>
                 <button class="btn btn-outline-success" onclick="triggerImageUpload('${id}')" title="Add Image">
                     <i class="bi bi-image"></i>
@@ -575,9 +575,307 @@ window.formatBlock = formatBlock;
 
 /**
  * Normalize section text (clean up formatting)
+ * If text is selected, only normalize the selection
+ * If no text is selected, normalize the entire section
  * @param {string} markerId - Marker ID
  */
 function normalizeSection(markerId) {
+    const selection = window.getSelection();
+    
+    // Check if there's a valid selection with actual content
+    if (selection && !selection.isCollapsed && selection.toString().trim().length > 0) {
+        // Normalize only the selected text
+        normalizeSelection(selection, markerId);
+    } else {
+        // No selection - normalize entire section
+        normalizeEntireSection(markerId);
+    }
+}
+
+// Make it globally available
+window.normalizeSection = normalizeSection;
+
+/**
+ * Normalize only the selected text - removes all formatting
+ * @param {Selection} selection - Current selection
+ * @param {string} markerId - Marker ID for context
+ */
+function normalizeSelection(selection, markerId) {
+    if (!selection.rangeCount) return;
+    
+    const range = selection.getRangeAt(0);
+    
+    // Get the selected text content (plain text, no formatting)
+    const selectedText = selection.toString();
+    
+    // Clean the text: remove extra whitespace, normalize line breaks
+    const cleanText = selectedText
+        .replace(/[\r\n]+/g, ' ')  // Replace line breaks with spaces
+        .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')       // Collapse multiple spaces
+        .trim();
+    
+    if (!cleanText) return;
+    
+    // Get the start and end block elements
+    const startContainer = range.startContainer;
+    const endContainer = range.endContainer;
+    const startBlock = getParentBlock(startContainer);
+    const endBlock = getParentBlock(endContainer);
+    
+    // Check if selection is entirely within a single formatting block (h1, h2, h3, etc.)
+    if (startBlock && startBlock === endBlock && isFormattingBlock(startBlock)) {
+        const blockText = startBlock.textContent.trim();
+        const selectedTrimmed = cleanText;
+        
+        // If we're selecting most or all of the block content, replace the entire block
+        if (blockText === selectedTrimmed || selectedTrimmed.length >= blockText.length * 0.8) {
+            // Replace the entire block with a paragraph
+            const p = document.createElement('p');
+            p.textContent = cleanText;
+            startBlock.parentNode.replaceChild(p, startBlock);
+            
+            // Set cursor at end of new paragraph
+            const newRange = document.createRange();
+            newRange.selectNodeContents(p);
+            newRange.collapse(false);
+            selection.removeAllRanges();
+            selection.addRange(newRange);
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    // Check if selection spans multiple blocks
+    if (startBlock !== endBlock) {
+        // Handle multi-block selection
+        normalizeMultiBlockSelection(range, selection, cleanText);
+        return;
+    }
+    
+    // For inline formatting (bold, italic, etc.) within a single block
+    // First, try using execCommand to remove formatting
+    try {
+        // Store the clean text before manipulation
+        const textToInsert = cleanText;
+        
+        // Remove inline formatting using execCommand
+        document.execCommand('removeFormat', false, null);
+        
+        // After removeFormat, check if we need to handle any remaining issues
+        const newSelection = window.getSelection();
+        if (newSelection.rangeCount > 0) {
+            const newRange = newSelection.getRangeAt(0);
+            const currentText = newSelection.toString();
+            
+            // If the text is still the same (formatting was removed), we're done
+            // But if we're inside a heading, we need to convert it
+            const parentBlock = getParentBlock(newRange.commonAncestorContainer);
+            if (parentBlock && isFormattingBlock(parentBlock)) {
+                // Convert the heading to a paragraph
+                const p = document.createElement('p');
+                p.innerHTML = parentBlock.innerHTML;
+                parentBlock.parentNode.replaceChild(p, parentBlock);
+            }
+        }
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.log('execCommand failed, using manual approach:', e);
+        manualNormalizeSelection(range, selection, cleanText);
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handle normalization when selection spans multiple blocks
+ * @param {Range} range - Selection range
+ * @param {Selection} selection - Current selection
+ * @param {string} cleanText - Cleaned text to insert
+ */
+function normalizeMultiBlockSelection(range, selection, cleanText) {
+    const startBlock = getParentBlock(range.startContainer);
+    const endBlock = getParentBlock(range.endContainer);
+    const editor = document.getElementById('bulk-editor');
+    
+    if (!startBlock || !endBlock || !editor) {
+        manualNormalizeSelection(range, selection, cleanText);
+        return;
+    }
+    
+    // Collect all blocks between start and end
+    const blocksToRemove = [];
+    let currentBlock = startBlock.nextElementSibling;
+    
+    while (currentBlock && currentBlock !== endBlock) {
+        // Don't remove editor markers
+        if (!currentBlock.classList || !currentBlock.classList.contains('editor-marker')) {
+            blocksToRemove.push(currentBlock);
+        }
+        currentBlock = currentBlock.nextElementSibling;
+    }
+    
+    // Create a new paragraph with the clean text
+    const p = document.createElement('p');
+    p.textContent = cleanText;
+    
+    // Replace the start block with the new paragraph
+    startBlock.parentNode.replaceChild(p, startBlock);
+    
+    // Remove intermediate blocks
+    blocksToRemove.forEach(block => block.remove());
+    
+    // Remove the end block if it's different from start
+    if (endBlock && endBlock !== startBlock && endBlock.parentNode) {
+        endBlock.remove();
+    }
+    
+    // Set cursor at end of new paragraph
+    const newRange = document.createRange();
+    newRange.selectNodeContents(p);
+    newRange.collapse(false);
+    selection.removeAllRanges();
+    selection.addRange(newRange);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Manual fallback for normalizing selection
+ * @param {Range} range - Selection range
+ * @param {Selection} selection - Current selection
+ * @param {string} cleanText - Cleaned text to insert
+ */
+function manualNormalizeSelection(range, selection, cleanText) {
+    const startBlock = getParentBlock(range.startContainer);
+    
+    // Delete the selected content
+    range.deleteContents();
+    
+    // If we're in a formatting block that's now empty or nearly empty, replace it
+    if (startBlock && isFormattingBlock(startBlock)) {
+        const remainingText = startBlock.textContent.trim();
+        if (remainingText.length === 0) {
+            // Block is empty, replace with paragraph containing clean text
+            const p = document.createElement('p');
+            p.textContent = cleanText;
+            startBlock.parentNode.replaceChild(p, startBlock);
+            
+            // Set cursor at end
+            const newRange = document.createRange();
+            newRange.selectNodeContents(p);
+            newRange.collapse(false);
+            selection.removeAllRanges();
+            selection.addRange(newRange);
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    // Insert clean text node
+    const textNode = document.createTextNode(cleanText);
+    range.insertNode(textNode);
+    
+    // Clean up any empty formatting elements
+    const commonAncestor = range.commonAncestorContainer;
+    cleanEmptyFormattingElements(commonAncestor);
+    
+    // Also clean parent elements
+    if (commonAncestor.parentNode) {
+        cleanEmptyFormattingElements(commonAncestor.parentNode);
+    }
+    
+    // Move cursor to end of inserted text
+    const newRange = document.createRange();
+    newRange.setStartAfter(textNode);
+    newRange.setEndAfter(textNode);
+    selection.removeAllRanges();
+    selection.addRange(newRange);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get the parent block element of a node
+ * @param {Node} node - The node to find parent block for
+ * @returns {Element|null} The parent block element or null
+ */
+function getParentBlock(node) {
+    const blockTags = ['P', 'H1', 'H2', 'H3', 'H4', 'H5', 'H6', 'DIV', 'LI', 'BLOCKQUOTE'];
+    let current = node;
+    
+    // If it's a text node, start with parent
+    while (current && current.nodeType !== 1) {
+        current = current.parentNode;
+    }
+    
+    while (current) {
+        if (current.nodeType === 1 && blockTags.includes(current.tagName)) {
+            return current;
+        }
+        // Stop at the editor boundary
+        if (current.id === 'bulk-editor') {
+            return null;
+        }
+        current = current.parentNode;
+    }
+    
+    return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if an element is a formatting block (heading, etc.)
+ * @param {Element} element - Element to check
+ * @returns {boolean} True if it's a formatting block
+ */
+function isFormattingBlock(element) {
+    if (!element || element.nodeType !== 1) return false;
+    const formattingTags = ['H1', 'H2', 'H3', 'H4', 'H5', 'H6', 'BLOCKQUOTE'];
+    return formattingTags.includes(element.tagName);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clean up empty formatting elements after deletion
+ * @param {Node} container - Container to clean
+ */
+function cleanEmptyFormattingElements(container) {
+    if (!container || container.nodeType !== 1) return;
+    
+    const formattingTags = ['B', 'STRONG', 'I', 'EM', 'U', 'STRIKE', 'S', 'SPAN', 'FONT'];
+    
+    // First pass: clean direct children
+    formattingTags.forEach(tag => {
+        let elements;
+        try {
+            elements = container.querySelectorAll ? container.querySelectorAll(tag) : [];
+        } catch (e) {
+            elements = [];
+        }
+        
+        elements.forEach(el => {
+            // Remove if empty or contains only whitespace
+            if (!el.textContent.trim()) {
+                el.remove();
+            }
+        });
+    });
+    
+    // Second pass: unwrap formatting elements that contain only text (to flatten the structure)
+    formattingTags.forEach(tag => {
+        let elements;
+        try {
+            elements = container.getElementsByTagName ? container.getElementsByTagName(tag) : [];
+        } catch (e) {
+            elements = [];
+        }
+        
+        // Convert to array since we'll be modifying the DOM
+        Array.from(elements).forEach(el => {
+            // If this element only contains a text node, unwrap it
+            if (el.childNodes.length === 1 && el.childNodes[0].nodeType === 3) {
+                const textContent = el.textContent;
+                const textNode = document.createTextNode(textContent);
+                el.parentNode.replaceChild(textNode, el);
+            }
+        });
+    });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Normalize the entire section after a marker
+ * @param {string} markerId - Marker ID
+ */
+function normalizeEntireSection(markerId) {
     const marker = document.getElementById(`marker-${markerId}`);
     if (!marker) return;
     
@@ -600,9 +898,6 @@ function normalizeSection(markerId) {
     nodesToRemove.forEach(n => n.remove());
 }
 
-// Make it globally available
-window.normalizeSection = normalizeSection;
-
 /**
  * Insert HTML at cursor position
  * @param {string} html - HTML string to insert