Importing Your Manuscript From Word (DOCX) and Exporting Back
If you already have a manuscript in Word, you do not have to start over to use Storynote. You can bring an existing DOCX file in, organize it into cards, and develop it with the coach. And whenever you need a Word file again, for a beta reader, an agent, or a submission, you can export back out. Your work is never trapped.
This guide covers importing a DOCX, checking what came across, splitting it into cards, and exporting back to Word.
Importing a DOCX file
Start an import and choose your .docx file. Storynote reads the document and brings your text into the editor, preserving the formatting it can map cleanly, such as paragraphs, headings, and basic emphasis.
Import is the fastest way to migrate an in progress book. Rather than copying and pasting chapter by chapter, you move the whole manuscript in one step and start working immediately.
What carries over and what to check
Most standard manuscript formatting transfers well: paragraphs, headings, bold and italic, and the overall reading order. After importing, give the result a quick pass and check a few things:
- Headings, since these often mark your chapter or scene boundaries and are useful for splitting later
- Special formatting like custom styles, footnotes, or comments, which may not map exactly
- Scene breaks, to confirm they survived the trip in the form you expect
A short review now saves confusion later. Fix anything that did not come across the way you wanted before you build structure on top of it.
Splitting an import into cards
A freshly imported manuscript usually arrives as one large block of text. Storynote is built around cards, so the next step is to break that block into the structure that makes the rest of the app useful.
Split your manuscript into one card per chapter or scene, and lift out the material that is not prose: character notes, worldbuilding, and plot outlines belong on their own cards. Headings from your Word document make natural cut points.
Once your manuscript lives as cards, everything else opens up. You can develop any chapter with the coach, visualize your structure, and track progress. See organizing your story with cards for how to shape it.
Exporting back to DOCX
When you need a Word file, export your work back to .docx. This is what you use to hand a draft to a reader, send a submission, or keep a local backup in a familiar format.
Because you can export at any time, Storynote fits into a workflow that still involves Word. Draft and develop here, export when an outside step needs a document, and keep going. Your manuscript stays portable.
New to the editor? Learn the basics of writing and structuring your story in organizing a novel with cards and folders.
Import your manuscript and split the first chapter into its own card.