Creating a digital book has never been easier with the advent of user-friendly platforms like Chapters. If you’ve crafted your narrative or non-fiction piece on Google Docs, the pathway to converting it into a professionally structured eBook is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can transform your Google Doc manuscript into an eBook using Chapters:

Preparing Your Document

• Organize Your Chapters: Before you do anything else, ensure each chapter of your manuscript starts with a heading styled as "Heading 1" in Google Docs. This step is crucial as Chapters identifies individual chapters based on this styling. Failure to adhere to this formatting guideline will result in your entire manuscript being imported as a single chapter.

Exporting Your Document

• Export to DOCX: Once your document is well-organized, go to the File menu in Google Docs, hover over Download, and select Microsoft Word (.docx) to save your manuscript to your computer.

Setting up on Chapters

• Create a New Book: Navigate to your books on Chapters and create a new book by clicking on the Create a book option.
• Add book information: Navigate to your book's Settings page, and fill in information like author, date published, and copyright.
• Add Cover: Inside the settings area you can upload a cover image.
• Add Content: Click on the “Add Content” button to begin the process of importing your manuscript.
• Import DOCX: Select the Import .docx option and upload the DOCX file you saved earlier.

Refining Your Chapters

• Verify Chapter Separation: After the upload, check that Chapters has separated your manuscript correctly. If any chapters are merged or misplaced, simply highlight the text, cut it, and then paste it into a new chapter.

Exporting Your eBook

• Ready for Export: Once satisfied with the organization of your content, click on the Export button to proceed.
• Download as EPUB: Click on the EPUB button to download your book. Your manuscript is now an eBook!
• Preview Your eBook: Open the downloaded EPUB file using an eBook reader such as Calibre or Apple Books to see how your book will look to readers.

Handling Images

• Currently, Chapters does not support image imports during the DOCX conversion. However, you can easily drag and drop images into their respective places in your eBook post-import.

By following these steps, you'll have a well-structured eBook ready to be shared with the world. Chapters makes it exceptionally simple for writers to transition from a manuscript to a polished eBook, ensuring your work is presented in a professional and engaging manner.

Selling your book

Check out our guide how to Sell your e-book on Gumroad if you'd like to make money from your book.