Compile and export
Turn a manuscript into a Word document for agents, an EPUB, a PDF or markdown.
When a draft is ready to leave Mythforge, compile it: put its chapters and scenes together into one file to send to an agent or editor, read on an e-reader, print, or open in another app.
Compile a manuscript
- Open the manuscript and choose the share button (Compile and export) at the top, next to ….
- Choose a Format and what to include (see below).
- Choose Export (it names the format, such as Export Word).
On iPhone and iPad, and in the Mythforge app, you'll get the share sheet: Save to Files, open in Books, AirDrop or Mail. Elsewhere, the file downloads.
Formats
| Format | What you get |
|---|---|
| Word | Standard manuscript format, for agents and editors: Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced, with your name, the title and page numbers in the header. |
| EPUB | An ebook for Apple Books, Kobo and other e-readers, with a table of contents. |
| A 6×9″ book layout to read on screen or print, with running heads and page numbers. | |
| Markdown | One plain-text file, with chapters as headings, for any other app. |
In the Word file, each chapter starts on a new page, a third of the way down, and the book ends with "THE END". The chapter headings show in Word's navigation pane.
Exporting the same manuscript to EPUB again replaces the earlier copy in most e-reader apps, rather than adding a second book.
Choose what's included
- Scenes: tick the statuses to include. Draft, Revised and Final are ticked at first, and Outline isn't, so planning-only scenes stay out. The footer counts the chapters, scenes and words that will be included. Empty scenes are always left out.
- Chapters: untick any chapter to leave it out, such as a prologue you're unsure about.
Make it look right
- Scene breaks: how breaks between scenes appear:
#,* * *or a Blank line. A divider inside a scene becomes the same break. - Chapter headings: "Chapter One" then its title, "Chapter 1" then its title, "Chapter One", "Chapter 1", or Title only. Prologues, interludes and epilogues get their own labels, such as "Prologue" or "Interlude Two", numbered among the chapters you include. A chapter still called "Chapter 3" doesn't get its title repeated under the label.
Front matter
- Title page: the title and your name. In Word it also has your contact details and the word count, rounded the way agents expect ("about 85,000 words").
- Author name: as it should appear on the cover.
- Contact details (Word, with a title page): address, email, phone, under your name.
- Dedication and Epigraph (both optional): each on its own page.
Your name and contact details are remembered on this device for every manuscript. The other choices are remembered for each manuscript.
What's left out
Compiling gives a clean manuscript:
- lore mentions become plain names, and links become their text,
- bold, italics and strikethrough are kept as formatting,
- comments, snapshots, synopses and other planning notes are left out.
In markdown, a book with a title page and * * * scene breaks begins:
# The Ember Crown
by A. Writer
## Chapter One: The Salt Road
The ash came down soft as moth wings the morning Kaela left Emberfall.
---
He was sitting on a milestone as if he had been waiting for her…