Moving from Novlr
A Novlr 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.
What stays in Novlr
- The planning grid and notes
- Writing statistics, goals and streaks
- Comments and version history
Moving, step by step
- In Novlr, export the project as a Word file (.docx) from the project’s menu. Keep your Novlr 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 you want feedback, share a read-only link. Readers need no account.
What is different
What Novlr does better
- Detailed writing statistics, with goals and streaks.
- Writing groups, an online community and courses in its Academy.
- A free plan with two projects, where the Author Sweets free plan covers one book.
- A lifetime Studio membership that makes you a co-owner of Novlr, if you would rather pay once.
- Backups to Google Drive or Dropbox, and an author website, on its paid plans.
How Author Sweets differs
- A book can start from one of six story structures, laid out as chapters before you write.
- Versions are automatic, with a word-by-word compare on every plan. Saving and restoring a version is part of Scribe and above.
- Readers get a read-only link and need no account. You see their margin comments, their answers to three questions you set, and how far each one got.
- A style check runs on your device on every plan: reading grade, passive voice, adverbs, filler words, clichés and long sentences.
- Markdown and plain text exports are on every plan, and Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter on Artisan and above.
- There are no writing groups or community inside the app, and no live co-writing yet.
| Feature | Author Sweets | Novlr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for one book; paid plans from $7 a month | Free; $8 to $16 a month, billed yearly |
| Runs in | Any browser; installs as an app; writes offline | Browser, synced across devices |
| Free plan | Yes, one book, no card | Yes, two projects |
| 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, OpenDocument, RTF and Scrivener |
| Exports | Markdown and plain text on every plan; Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter on Artisan and above | Word, PDF and EPUB |
| 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 | Comments, link sharing and snippets for social media |
The full table is on Author Sweets vs Novlr.
Why writers move, as of November 2026
The complaints that come up most often about Novlr, 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.
- The free plan has no version history, and the Starter plan keeps 30 days of it. (Novlr’s pricing page)
- The proofreader and the advanced grammar checker are only on its Studio plan. (Novlr’s pricing page)
- Backups to Google Drive or Dropbox are not on the free plan. (Novlr’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.