Help, Bringing work in and out
Export your book
Make a Word manuscript for agents and editors, an EPUB for e-readers and stores, a PDF to print or read, or a print-ready paperback interior.
Exporting makes a file from your book that other people and other programs can open. It never changes your book.
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| Word | Agents, editors and print. Standard manuscript layout. |
| EPUB | E-readers and online stores. The text reflows to fit any screen. |
| A manuscript to print or read, with the fonts built in. | |
| Paperback interior | A print-ready PDF for KDP paperbacks. |
Export Word, EPUB or PDF
- Open the book and choose Export above the page. On a phone, it is on the Book tab.
- Under Format, choose Word, EPUB or PDF (on a phone, Word document, EPUB or PDF).
- Check the other rows:
- Version: normally Your draft, as last saved. Choose Change to export an alternative draft or a milestone instead.
- Author: the name on the title page and at the top of each page.
- Page size (Word and PDF): A4 or Letter.
- Choose Export Word document or Export EPUB. For a PDF, choose Prepare PDF manuscript, wait while Onwarder sets the pages, then choose Save prepared PDF.
The file is named after your book, for example The Salt Road.docx.
On a phone
On iPhone, Onwarder opens the share sheet: choose Save to Files, or send it straight to someone. On Android you can choose Share Word document (or Share EPUB, Share PDF), or Save to phone to pick a folder.
What goes in
Only your saved writing, in book order. Sketches, deleted scenes, research and history are left out. An export is not a backup: it cannot be opened back into Onwarder with your story bible and history. For that, see Backups and restoring.
Title, author and fonts
For more control, open Writing tools and choose Finish your book, then Book details. There you can set the Book title, Author or pen name, Manuscript language, paragraph direction for right-to-left languages, and the Word manuscript font: Times New Roman, Arial Unicode MS, Noto Serif or Noto Sans CJK KR. Word does not carry fonts inside the file, so pick one your editor will have.
Finish your book also has front and back matter (title page, dedication, acknowledgements and so on), page starts and blank pages, and Other text formats for Markdown and HTML.
Make a paperback interior
- Open Writing tools, Finish your book, then Paperback interior.
- Choose a Trim size: 5 × 8 in, 5.5 × 8.5 in or 6 × 9 in.
- Choose the Paper: Cream or White.
- Choose Prepare paperback interior. Onwarder typesets the book on your device.
- Check the results: the number of Pages, the Spine width, the Inside margin, and the Cover, full wrap size you will need for your cover designer.
- Choose Download paperback interior (PDF).
If Onwarder warns that the page count is outside what KDP accepts for that trim, deal with that first. Then upload the file to KDP’s print previewer and check every page there. Fonts are embedded, there is no bleed, and it is set in Libertinus Serif with curly quotes, proper dashes and ellipses. Your manuscript itself is not changed.
Long books are best prepared on a computer, as a phone can run out of memory.