Export Formats
All formats are in . This page describes what each one produces. For choosing what's included, see Compiling.
Manuscript (DOCX, PDF)
Standard manuscript format for sending to agents, editors and publishers.
- US Letter, 1″ margins, Courier 12 pt, double-spaced, first lines indented.
- Running header on every page of the text: Author / TITLE / page.
- Each chapter starts on a new page with its heading centered (or runs on, with Chapter Start set to Continuous). Parts get a page of their own.
- Front matter from the Manuscript Format folder (a title page with your word count by default).
Paperback and Proof PDF
Print-ready interiors for print-on-demand services such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark.
| Format | Trim size | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback 5.06″ × 7.81″ | 5.06 × 7.81 in (mass-market) | Uploading the interior |
| Paperback 6″ × 9″ | 6 × 9 in (trade) | Uploading the interior |
| Proof PDF 5.06″ × 7.81″ / 6″ × 9″ | Same, plus bleed and crop marks | Checking the layout yourself, or at a print shop |
- Times 11 pt, justified, with a running header: page number and author on even pages, title and page number on odd pages.
- The first paragraph after a heading or scene break isn't indented, as in printed books.
- Front matter from the Paperback folder: title page, copyright, disclaimer, dedication and a blank page.
- Proof PDFs carry a faint PROOF watermark and crop marks on every page. Don't upload them as your final interior.
EPUB e-book
A standard EPUB 3 e-book for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and Barnes & Noble, and for Amazon KDP, which accepts EPUB uploads. To read it on a Kindle yourself, convert it with the free Calibre app.
- Each chapter is its own section, listed in the e-book's table of contents.
- Front matter from the Ebook folder comes first and back matter last; neither is listed in the table of contents.
- Text formatting, colors and tables are kept. Images are not included in EPUB files yet.
Screenplay, TV and documentary
- Screenplay (PDF): US Letter, Courier 12 pt, 1.5″ left margin. Headings, and lines starting
INT.,EXT.,INT./EXT.,EST.orI/E, become scene headings in capitals; short lines in capitals become character names (or transitions, if they end in a colon, likeCUT TO:); the lines after a character name become dialogue; lines in brackets become parentheticals; everything else is action. Front matter comes from the Screenplay folder. - Screenplay (.fountain): the same script as a Fountain plain-text file, which screenwriting apps such as Final Draft, Highland and Fade In can open.
- Documentary Script (PDF / Fountain): documentary format with voice-over (V/O) and on-camera cues. The PDF uses the TV Script front matter folder.
Use the Screenplay Scene or TV Scene template in the Templates section for a page that's already laid out the way the export expects.
Stage plays
- Stage Play (PDF): US traditional format, as the Dramatists Guild sets out: Courier 12 pt, a 1.5″ left margin for binding, character names in capitals centered on the page, dialogue across the full width, and stage directions in brackets indented 3″ (a direction inside a speech sits just left of the name). Act and scene headings are centered; a line starting
ACTorSCENEcounts as one. Pages after the title page are numbered. - Stage Play UK (PDF): RSC / BBC style. Act headings in Roman numerals (“ACT I”), stage directions in italics without brackets.
Both are US Letter, Courier 12 pt, with front matter from the Manuscript Format folder.
Academic papers and essays
| Format | What it sets up |
|---|---|
| Academic Paper — APA 7th (DOCX, PDF) | Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, 1″ margins, title page, abstract, running head, References. |
| Academic Paper — MLA 9th (DOCX, PDF) | Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, 1″ margins, Surname page header, Works Cited. |
| Essay — Chicago 17th (DOCX, PDF) | Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, title page, page numbers from page 2. Notes-bibliography style (footnotes and a Bibliography) by default; author-date style puts citations in brackets and ends with References. |
These formats use the style guide's own title page, not your front matter folders. You can adjust fonts, margins, labels and other settings in Preferences → Academic.
Children's books
Picture-book PDFs at 8.5″ × 8.5″ (square), 8.5″ × 11″ (portrait) or 11″ × 8.5″ (landscape).
- Each page document in your manuscript becomes one page of the book.
- The first image on a page fills its part of the page out to the bleed (0.125″). The text stays inside a 0.25″ safe zone, so nothing important gets trimmed.
- The text size adjusts to how much is on the page, from 18 pt for a line or two down to 10 pt for long passages.
- Choose whether the picture goes above or below the text for each page in the Inspector, under Image Position.
- Front matter comes from the Paperback folder, kept inside the safe zone.
The Print option in the Compile dialog, and (Ctrl+P), open your computer's print dialog for what's on screen. also works after the trial ends.
Footnotes and images
Footnotes are numbered afresh in every export, through the whole book in reading order, so deleting or moving one never leaves a gap.
- Manuscript DOCX and the APA, MLA and Chicago DOCX exports make real Word footnotes.
- Manuscript PDF, Paperback, Proof and EPUB put a number like [3] where each footnote is, and the notes in a numbered Notes list at the end of each chapter. The academic PDFs collect them on a Notes page.
- Scripts, plays and children's books don't use footnotes.
Images are included in Manuscript DOCX and children's books, but not in EPUB.