Export & The Formatter
Exporting your manuscript and typesetting it into a finished book with the Formatter.
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Exporting and Formatting Manuscripts with Writing Desk
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0:00 With Writing Desk you can export your manuscript in multiple formats, ready for agent submissions or for self-publishing.
0:07 What do you do when you finish your manuscript? Writing Desk gives you a few different options.
0:14 The first is exporting as one of these formats: .docx, .md, .txt, or PDF.
0:24 If you download as a PDF, it uses the print dialogue, and you save that to your device.
0:31 You can also use the agent-ready Submission Export. Add your name and contact details, the manuscript title, and total word count.
0:45 Then choose the font, page size, and how many chapters or total word count, and click Export as .docx.
0:52 This uses standardised formatting, so your document is ready for submission in moments.
1:03 Finally, there's a professional typesetting and formatting feature.
1:08 Click Typeset and this opens the Formatter in your browser, automatically uploading your manuscript.
1:15 Here you can design and format your novel for print and EPUB.
1:21 Set the front and back matter details, then use the designer to select the font, heading size, and more.
1:26 When you're ready, click Export, and your EPUB and print-ready PDF download to your device.
1:33 And that's how to export, typeset, and prepare your manuscript for print and agent submissions with Writing Desk.
Questions
From the desktop app: .docx, Markdown, plain text, and a submission-standard manuscript format. From the Formatter: EPUB and print-ready PDF.
A companion web app for professional book typesetting. It turns your manuscript into a properly designed, print- and e-book-ready file, with a range of customisable design options.
Open your project, then open the menu at the left of the toolbar and choose Send to Formatter. Your browser opens with your manuscript ready in the Formatter.
For reading and reviewing on a phone, use the Writing Desk app for iPhone and iPad. It replaces adding the Formatter to your home screen. The Formatter still opens in a phone browser, but typesetting and export need room to see your pages, so use a computer for those. Review your manuscript on your phone.
In Writing Desk, automatically, the next time you open your project. Click the comments icon in the toolbar to review them, then accept and apply each suggestion or reject it.
No, use the same login for both the desktop app and the Formatter.
Chapter text stays read-only in the Formatter, so Writing Desk remains the one place your writing changes. You can leave comments and suggest edits in the Formatter, and accept them back in Writing Desk. To edit on your phone, use the Writing Desk app, where your edits also come back as suggestions.
To keep one source of truth for your manuscript. Writing Desk is where your text lives and gets edited; the Formatter is where it gets designed and typeset.
A fixed 5x8 inch trim size.
Yes, EPUB and PDF export together as a bundle, or you can export either one individually.
Yes. Once it's typeset and formatted, you can upload your PDF and EPUB files to most major self-publishing platforms.
Not yet. A beta reader and feedback feature is planned, but there's no launch date yet.
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