Moving from Scrivener
Your binder comes across as the outline of the book: parts, chapters and scenes, with their synopses. Here is what moves, how to move it, and what you give up.
What comes across
- The binder
- The Draft (Manuscript) folder becomes parts, chapters and scenes, in binder order. Scrivener 2 and 3 projects both work.
- Synopses
- Each scene keeps its synopsis from the index card.
- Include in Compile
- Chapters unticked for Compile come across but are left out of exports. Unticked texts inside a chapter are kept together in a chapter called “Left out of Compile”.
- Text formatting
- Bold, italic and underline come across. Fonts, colours and pictures do not.
What stays in Scrivener
- The Research folder, templates and the trash
- Document notes, labels, status and keywords
- Snapshots and Compile settings
- PDFs, images and web pages inside the Draft folder
Moving, step by step
- In Scrivener, close the project. Keep the original: the import copies it and changes nothing.
- Zip the .scriv folder. On a Mac, right-click it and choose Compress. On Windows, the project is a folder ending in .scriv: right-click it and choose Send to ▸ Compressed (zipped) folder. Or use File ▸ Back Up ▸ Back Up To with the zip option ticked.
- Sign up free. Import is part of Scribe and above, so choose that plan when you are ready to bring the project in.
- In the Library, choose Import a book and pick the .zip. It can be up to 300 MB; if your research makes it bigger, move the large files out of the project and zip it again.
- Check the preview. It lists every part, chapter and scene, with notes on anything set aside. Untick what you do not want, then import. Nothing is saved before you confirm, and the file is read in your browser.
- Open the Outline to see the binder as chapters and scenes. Add the characters and places you kept in Research, then write.
What is different
What Scrivener does better
- You buy it once for each platform and keep it, with no subscription.
- Research files, PDFs, images and web pages live inside the project, beside the draft.
- Compile has far more options and formats, including Final Draft, Pandoc and MultiMarkdown.
- Scrivenings, the corkboard and up to four documents side by side make it easy to work on many sections at once.
- It has more than 20 project templates, a long track record since 2006, and a large, active forum.
How Author Sweets differs
- It runs in any browser and installs as an app. Books you have opened keep working offline, and Scribe and above sync the draft between your devices.
- 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 your questions and how far each one got.
- Exports have fewer settings than Compile: Markdown and plain text on every plan, and Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter on Artisan and above.
- There is no place for research files. Characters, places and notes sit beside the draft instead.
- It is a subscription, monthly or yearly, after the free book. Scrivener is a one-off licence.
| Feature | Author Sweets | Scrivener |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for one book; paid plans from $7 a month | $59.99 once for macOS or Windows; $23.99 on iOS |
| Runs in | Any browser; installs as an app; writes offline | Mac, Windows and iOS apps |
| Free plan | Yes, one book, no card | 30-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, OpenOffice, plain text, Final Draft and more |
| Exports | Markdown and plain text on every plan; Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter on Artisan and above | Word, EPUB, PDF and more |
| 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 | Not built in |
The full table is on Author Sweets vs Scrivener.
Why writers move, as of November 2026
The complaints that come up most often about Scrivener, 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.
- A steep learning curve. It is the complaint reviewers raise most often. (Review sites such as Capterra and G2)
- The Windows version trails the Mac: Windows 3.1.6 (September 2025) beside Mac 3.5.2 (December 2025). (Literature & Latte’s own product page)
- Mac, Windows and iOS are each a separate licence. (Literature & Latte’s own product page)
- Sync between devices goes through Dropbox, and some writers report conflicts and missing text. Projects kept in iCloud reportedly do not sync to Windows. (The Literature & Latte forum and r/scrivener)
- There is no browser version and no built-in way to share chapters with readers. (Review summaries and Scrivener’s own feature list)
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.