Import a Word manuscript

Already have a draft? Importing keeps your words exactly as written and sets the book up so you can revise, continue or finish it with AI. Importing is free on every plan.

Before you start

• Save the manuscript as a Word document (.docx). From Google Docs, use File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx).
• Check the limits: up to 200,000 words and 25 MB. Remove very large images, or split a long work into volumes.
• If you can, format chapter titles with Word’s Heading 1 style. It makes the chapter split almost automatic.

1Step 1: Start an import

In My books, choose Import Word file. Pick the type your manuscript is — Fiction or Non-Fiction / Educational. Visual books can’t be imported from Word.

You can also import into a book you’ve already created: on its Start step, choose Import a Word manuscript.

2Step 2: Add the file

Drop the file onto Drop your .docx here, or use Browse files. The file is read in your browser first, so nothing is imported until you’ve checked the result.

A summary shows the word, chapter and image counts. Notes below it explain anything that changes on the way in: tables arrive as plain paragraphs, and footnotes are kept as numbered notes at the end of their chapter.

3Step 3: Check the chapter split

Under Chapter split, choose how the manuscript is divided:

• At each Heading 1
• At each Heading 1 or 2
• At lines starting “Chapter…”
• Don’t split — one chapter

The option that finds the most likely chapters is picked for you, and the preview lists every chapter with its word count. Click a title in the list to rename it. If the first entry is “Front matter” — a title page or dedication — you can select Leave out the front matter (title page, dedication).

4Step 4: Fill in the story bible

Keep Read it and fill in my story bible switched on. After the import, the AI reads every chapter, writes a short recap of each, and suggests the premise, genres, style and characters. It’s free, and anything you’ve already filled in is kept.

5Step 5: Import

Press Import N chapters — the button shows the number. A banner reads “Reading your manuscript to fill in the story bible” while the AI works through the chapters, and you can leave the page in the meantime. When it finishes, the book opens on Basics.

6Step 6: Review what was filled in

Work through the planning steps and correct anything the AI got wrong:

• Basics — the title (taken from the file name if it was empty), description, genres and chapter count.
• Details & style — point of view, tense, tone and style. Paste a few paragraphs of the manuscript into Your writing sample so new chapters match the ones you imported.
• Characters — check names and roles, and especially how each person speaks.
• Outline — every imported chapter has a card, with its recap as the summary.

7Step 7: Keep writing

Open Write chapters. Each imported chapter keeps its text, and its History starts with a version labeled “Imported”, so you can always get back to the original. From here you can:

• add new chapters in Outline with Add chapter, then have the AI write them in your voice;
• ask for a new draft of a weak chapter — it’s offered next to your text and only replaces it if you choose Use the draft;
• revise passages with AI edits on Plus and above, or run a whole-book review in Review.

Tips

• Importing into a book that already has written chapters asks you to select Replace them with the imported manuscript. To keep both versions, import into a new book instead.
• If the split looks wrong, try another option before importing. It’s quicker than merging or renaming chapters afterward.
• A manuscript with no chapter headings can still be imported as one chapter, then divided by adding chapters in the outline and moving text across.