Lore & LilacChoose the best export
Export the whole book as one file. If your app offers several formats, this is the order to prefer:
| Format | Choose it when | What comes across |
|---|---|---|
| Word (.docx) | Your app offers it; almost all do | Headings, emphasis, links and scene breaks, plus comments, which can go into the margin. Tracked changes are taken as shown. |
| EPUB | Your app exports ebooks, or the ebook is the cleanest copy you have | Chapters in reading order, emphasis, links and lists. Cover, title and contents pages are skipped; styling and fonts aren't kept. |
| RTF | Older apps, or a compile from Scrivener | Paragraphs, emphasis and centred scene-break markers. Footnotes, pictures and comments are listed, not imported. |
| Markdown (.md) | A plain-text or Markdown editor | Headings, emphasis, links, lists and block quotes. The top heading level becomes chapters and the next one scenes. |
| Plain text (.txt) | Nothing else is available | Paragraphs only, with chapters found from lines like “Chapter 12”. |
Using Scrivener? You don't need to export at all: import the zipped project.
Exporting from common apps
- Google Docs: File › Download › Microsoft Word (.docx).
- Microsoft Word: save as a Word document (.docx). Older .doc files can't be imported; open them in Word and save as .docx first.
- Apple Pages: File › Export To › Word.
- Other novel-writing apps: look for Export or Download and choose Word (.docx) for the whole manuscript. If the app only exports one chapter per file, check whether it can compile the whole book into one document first.
Menus change from version to version, so if a step doesn't match what you see, look in the app's own help for “export to Word”.
How chapters and scenes are recognised
- Heading styles are the most reliable. In Word and Google Docs, chapter titles styled as Title or Heading 1 start chapters, and Heading 2 starts scenes.
- No heading styles? The studio can find chapter lines on its own: “Chapter 12”, “CHAPTER TWELVE”, “Chapter XII”, “Chapter 3: The Storm”, “Prologue”, “Epilogue” and “Part One”. Chapters found this way are marked in the preview, and you can switch detection off if the split looks wrong.
- Scene breaks such as * * *, *** or # on their own line become scene breaks.
Notes, characters and research
Exports usually carry only the manuscript. Character sheets, worldbuilding pages and research rarely come along, so plan where they'll live:
- Characters, places and rules belong in the story bible, where details can cite the passage that establishes them. Add the ones you rely on by hand, or, if you allow AI for the book, let a story scan propose entries with their sources for you to accept.
- Loose research and notes can be pasted into notes inside the book.
- Keep the old app's files as your archive. There's no need to delete anything.
Check before you commit
- Import the file from your library with Import a draft. Files can be up to 20 MB.
- Read the preview: chapters, scenes, word counts and the opening of each scene.
- Read the list of anything that didn't come across — tables turned into paragraphs, footnotes, pictures — and decide whether it matters.
- Import, then read a few chapters through and export a DOCX to be sure you know your way out.
Moving checklist
A short list for moving one book safely.
The ticks are just for you; nothing is saved or sent.