Moving from Dabble
A Dabble book comes across as a Word file, chapter by chapter. Here is what moves, how to move it, and what you give up.
What comes across
- Chapters
- Headings in the Word file become chapters. A file without heading styles is split at lines such as “Chapter One”, or at page breaks.
- Scenes
- The text between headings becomes scenes, ready to split or move in the Outline.
- Text formatting
- Bold, italic, lists and block quotes come across. Accept any tracked changes before you export.
What stays in Dabble
- Plot Grid cards and scene cards
- Story Notes, characters and the Ideas Notebook
- Goals, stats and comments
Moving, step by step
- In Dabble, export the book as a Word file (.docx). Keep your Dabble account until you are happy with the result.
- Sign up free. Import is part of Scribe and above, so choose that plan when you are ready to bring the book in.
- In the Library, choose Import a book and pick the .docx. It can be up to 40 MB.
- Check the preview. It shows the chapters found and how they were found. Untick what you do not want, then import. Nothing is saved before you confirm, and the file is read in your browser.
- Rebuild the plan beside the draft: the Outline and the Plot grid for the story, and characters, places and notes for the rest.
- When the book is done, export it as Word, EPUB or PDF with front and back matter. Those exports are part of Artisan and above.
What is different
What Dabble does better
- Co-authoring, with track changes and comments, so two people can write one book.
- Desktop and phone apps as well as the browser.
- Community and teaching: sprints, challenges, a daily writing group, and courses on its top plan.
- It is firmly AI-free, and says so in its help pages.
- Lifetime plans, if you would rather pay once than subscribe.
How Author Sweets differs
- EPUB and PDF with front and back matter come out of the same tool, as well as Word, on Artisan and above. Markdown and plain text are on every plan.
- The free plan has no end date and needs no card. It covers one book.
- Readers get a read-only link and need no account, on every plan. You see their margin comments, their answers to your questions and how far each one got.
- A style check runs on your device: reading grade, passive voice, adverbs, filler words, clichés and long sentences.
- There is no co-writing yet, and no phone app from an app store. It installs from the browser instead.
| Feature | Author Sweets | Dabble |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for one book; paid plans from $7 a month | $15 to $39 a month, billed yearly; lifetime plans from $699 |
| Runs in | Any browser; installs as an app; writes offline | Browser, desktop and phone |
| Free plan | Yes, one book, no card | 14-day trial |
| Import a manuscript | On Scribe and above: Word, OpenDocument, Rich Text, web pages, EPUB, Markdown and plain text; Fountain and Final Draft screenplays; a zipped Scrivener project with its binder as the outline; and a zipped folder from Obsidian, Notion, Ulysses, Bear or iA Writer, or the zipped web page Google Docs makes | Word |
| Exports | Markdown and plain text on every plan; Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter on Artisan and above | Word, Google Docs and Markdown; PDF by printing from the browser |
| Share with readers who have no account | Read-only links with margin comments, reader codes, three questions per reader and how far each reader got | Beta-reader sharing on its Author plan and above |
The full table is on Author Sweets vs Dabble.
Why writers move, as of November 2026
The complaints that come up most often about Dabble, read from its own pages, reviews and forums on November 3, 2026. Many writers are happy with it, and a complaint here may be fixed by the time you read this.
- No EPUB or PDF export and no front or back matter, so the finished book is formatted in another tool. (Reviews by Kindlepreneur and Reedsy (September 2025), and Dabble’s own export options)
- Plans start at $15 a month, billed yearly. (Dabble’s pricing page)
- There is no free plan after the 14-day trial. (Dabble’s pricing page)
When you are ready
Start with the free plan and write in it for as long as you like. Import is part of Scribe, from $7 a month, and you can move to it when you bring the book across. Not sure yet? Try the editor without an account first.