A practical writing guide
How to export your novel for editing, print, and ebook.
A practical guide to sending your finished draft to an editor, a printer, or a reader's device—and choosing the right file for each. The Lantern Archive is a fictional worked example.
A finished draft usually goes to one of three places next: an editor's screen, a printed page, or a reader's device. Each destination wants a different file, and choosing the right one saves a great deal of reformatting later.
Decide who receives the file
Before exporting, name the next step. An editor or collaborator needs a file they can change. A printer or proofreader needs stable pages. A reader on an e-ink device needs text that reflows to their settings. The destination decides the format.
Scriptorum compiles all three formats from the same ordered manuscript and publication details, so chapter and scene order, metadata, front and back matter, scene breaks, and supported formatting stay consistent whichever you choose.
- Editor or collaborator → DOCX
- Print proof → PDF
- Ereader → EPUB 3
- One compile model behind all three
Try it with your own story
Decide who receives the file: an editor who needs to change it, a printer who needs stable pages, or a reader on a device. Scriptorum compiles every format from this same ordered manuscript.
DOCX for editing and collaboration
Export DOCX when another person needs to open, comment on, and change the manuscript—most commonly an editor working in Word or Google Docs. It arrives as an editable document rather than a fixed layout.
Because DOCX is editable, treat the exported file as a copy for that stage of work. Your Scriptorum vault remains the source of truth for the book itself.
Try it with your own story
Export DOCX when someone needs to open and change the manuscript in Word or Google Docs. Treat the file as a working copy for that stage; your vault stays the master.
PDF for proofing a printed page
Export PDF when you need to see the book as stable, page-oriented output—for a print proof, a submission that requires fixed pages, or a read-through away from the editor. What you see is what prints.
Check the receiving printer's or publisher's specifications before a final submission, since trim size, margins, and bleed requirements vary between print services.
Try it with your own story
Export PDF for stable, page-oriented output when proofing something that will be printed. Check the printer's trim, margin, and bleed specifications before a final submission.
A small scene-card checklist
- Who wants something in this scene?
- What makes it difficult?
- What changes: knowledge, power, risk, or commitment?
- What question or consequence carries into the next scene?
If a card answers none of these, keep it as research or atmosphere until it earns a place in the sequence.
EPUB 3 for ereaders
Export EPUB 3 for ebook reading. Unlike a PDF, an EPUB reflows to fit the reader's device, font, and display settings, so it adapts to a phone, a tablet, or an e-ink reader.
Representative Scriptorum EPUB output passes EPUBCheck validation, but reading systems still differ. Check your own exported book in the readers you intend to support before publishing it.
Try it with your own story
Export EPUB 3 for ebooks so the text reflows to each reader's device and settings. Representative output passes EPUBCheck—still confirm your own book in the readers you plan to support.
Common questions
Useful things to know.
Which export format should I send to an editor?
DOCX. It opens as an editable document in Word, Google Docs, and similar applications, so an editor can make and track changes. Keep your Scriptorum vault as the master copy of the book.
What is the difference between PDF and EPUB?
A PDF has fixed pages and is best for proofing something that will be printed. An EPUB reflows its text to the reader's device and settings, which is what ereaders expect. Choose PDF for print, EPUB for ebooks.
Plan. Write. Publish.
Give your story a workspace.
Scriptorum for Windows 10 & 11. A one-time purchase for up to three personal devices. Activate online, then write offline.
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