Everything you need to write a book in Folio

Start blank, import, or plan

In Your books → New book, choose Start blank for a title, author, synopsis and your own chapter titles. A blank chapter has a manual writing entry point. Choose Import manuscript for Word, Markdown or text, then inspect the converted chapter split before creating the book.

Heading 1 in Word, # headings in Markdown and recognized chapter lines help the split. No headings can leave one chapter. The preview lets you rename chapters and confirm the language. The original file is retained when you create the imported book; Word page layout, fonts, floating-image placement and section breaks are not preserved.

Plan with AI proposes a format and outline variants from your brief. Review titles, subheadings, key points and the resulting chapter count. Requested counts are targets. The final creation action starts the first chapter, so check current AI access before submitting. Open book planning.

Your working manuscript

Use the outline to choose a chapter. The header separates drafted chapters, finalized chapters, review state and proof state. Write opens prose; Organize, Review and Publish open Author Studio tools for the same book.

Type through the manual entry point, edit the chapter and watch the saved-state indicator. Focus reduces surrounding controls; Read opens reader mode; Download book opens the export workbench. The book menu also contains search, activity, settings, Story Bible, the legacy manuscript audit and archive actions.

A brief, source files and custom instructions can guide a new chapter draft. Single-chapter and sequential remaining-chapter drafting require eligible access and capacity. Word goals and continuity instructions guide the model; review the resulting prose and its evidence.

Use the editor and book blocks

Select text to open formatting and assistance controls. Headings, lists, links, tables, alignment, right-to-left direction and selection comments support ordinary editing. Use + or / to open the block picker.

The 22 block types include Recipe Card, Exercise, Definition, Author's Note, Key Takeaways and Reflection Questions, plus checklist, steps, figures, pull quotes, comparison tables and other structures. Choose the structure that suits the reader, fill its fields, then inspect its output format.

Figure controls can retain a saved Prism visual with caption, attribution, alt text and export-specific placement. Image Studio also accepts image inputs. Generated visuals require separate eligible access and human review; the presence of an insert control does not prove image quality, rights or printable resolution.

Choose the right assistance action

Use Continue for prose at the current point, AI Write for new content, Quick AI for a selected passage and Power Edit for an instruction-led rewrite. Ask Folio proposes a change for review.

Inspect the proposed wording before accepting a change. Eligible replacement paths recheck the selected quote and revision and keep the prior text; stale or unsupported selections need a fresh review. Assistance can change meaning or introduce errors.

Auto-continue is an explicit toggle and can request more writing after an idle interval. Turn it off before stepping away. Current AI access and capacity apply to these actions separately from manual editing and own-book downloads.

Save, snapshot and recover

Auto-save runs after an idle interval and during sustained editing. Ctrl/Cmd+S requests a save. If a write cannot be confirmed, keep your working text and resolve the message before navigating away.

The chapter menu offers Save Snapshot, Version History and Import as New Version. Inspect a version before restoring. Snapshots and browser recovery copies are bounded by retention and storage; browser copies depend on the device and browser.

Folio checks saved revisions to refuse stale overwrites and preserve working text when a conflict is found. This supports recovery and review, but it does not make simultaneous editing conflict-free. Finalizing a chapter is a separate author decision with a minimum-length check.

Organize parts, scenes and cut passages

Open Organize → Structure. Select a chapter, adjust its order and open Parts and chapter names for the larger arrangement. Select a passage or extend the selection before a scene or section action.

Scene or section records can carry titles and metadata. Move a passage to the cut-text stash when it belongs outside the current draft; inspect retained text before reinserting it. Split and merge actions act on current selections and preserve bounded earlier copies.

Organization tools help retain structure and decisions. They do not enforce a story arc or guarantee that a reordered book reads well. Read the surrounding chapters after a structural change.

Set book-local workflow and voice

Open Organize → Workflow & voice. Choose an author profile, answer its reader and revision questions, and set the constraints and writing example for this book.

Working inputs and approved context are distinct. Preview and explicitly approve the context that should guide later work. Profiles differ in readiness and scope; a limited profile is not a validated author outcome.

The book's own constraints and example can be used without claiming a perfect imitation. Loading an existing shared voice profile has its own access conditions. If approved voice changes after an edition is frozen, that earlier edition keeps its earlier source identity.

Keep source coverage visible

Open Organize → Sources to add and inspect research material. Research-source uploads are separate from importing a manuscript as a new book.

Check extraction status and the readable ranges before relying on a source. Search operates over available extracted text; an empty result does not prove that a fact is absent from the original. Inspect a passage and record the range you reviewed.

Source records can guide drafting and bounded factual comparisons. Marking a range reviewed records your work; it does not establish truth, permission to reuse, full extraction or complete evidence coverage.

Separate claims from approved canon

Open Review → Claims & canon. This extends the Story Bible with review states, chapter scope, narrative time, who knows an entry, supporting anchors and decision history.

Proposed, rejected and uncertain entries stay visible but are excluded from authoritative writing context. Review the wording, scope and supporting material before approving an entry. Author-declared or approved context still represents an author decision, not independent certification.

Supporting manuscript changes can mark an entry stale. Use the retained history to understand an earlier decision rather than quietly replacing uncertainty with a confident claim.

Plan and resume editorial reading

Open Review → Editorial. Choose developmental, copy, factual, continuity or production work, define its question and save a reading plan. A plan records bounded passages and progress.

Read or continue an eligible plan in stages. Review findings and their quoted evidence, then record decisions. Factual work compares supplied manuscript and source passages in bounded pairs; missing or partial evidence limits the conclusion.

Scheduled reading completion is not proof that every fact is verified. Ungrounded suggestions, unread material and changed inputs remain relevant. The older Manuscript audit is a different consistency check and includes a model pass when started.

Manage beta-reader feedback

Open Review → Review rounds. Choose the review kind and chapters, record a question, and use existing access for readers who can view and comment on the book.

A round binds feedback to selected chapter revisions and a quoted block. An owner or editor records acceptance, rejection or resolution with a reason. Accepting a note alone does not replace manuscript prose.

A separate explicit replacement action checks the current quote, revision and eligible plain-text block, then saves the previous text before applying. A decision can still be recorded on older feedback, while applying stale prose is refused. This workflow manages feedback from your readers; it does not recruit or supply a reader pool.

Use the book worklist

Review → Needs attention gathers saved review work and outstanding states so you can return to the relevant passage, plan or proof.

Readiness states distinguish drafted text, finalized chapters, evidence coverage and proof inspection. A changed manuscript can make a prior review or edition earlier than the live text.

Use the worklist as navigation for author review. Its counts and checks may omit defects, and a readiness label is not retailer eligibility, a factual certification or a promise that the reader's questions are resolved.

Read the whole book

Use Read from the workspace or its menu. Reader mode presents the manuscript without the editing tools, with display and chapter navigation controls.

Check chapter order, transitions, repeated wording, placeholders and the limitations around practical examples. Reader mode is useful for reading prose; actual EPUB devices and printed PDF pages still need separate inspection.

Your library keeps current, completed, team, archived and recently deleted books distinct. Archive and restore controls differ from deletion. Review confirmation messages carefully; deletion and retention are not a substitute for your own durable copy.

Choose the output format

Open Download book for full-book formats or use the chapter menu for chapter output. Authorization, file size and renderer validation apply, but ordinary own-book downloads do not require a new subscription.

Own-book exports carry no Gixo colophon. Attribution on source images is separate. A translated book is an International Edition workflow; ordinary export uses the saved original manuscript.

Inspect print layout and cover controls

Choose Print PDF, then inspect Page Layout: trim, margins, mirrored inside/outside margins, page numbers, running headers, footers and optional bleed. Full-book interior and chapter-review scopes differ.

The separate paperback wrap-cover mode derives spine geometry from the rendered interior page count and selected paper settings. Inspect front, back and spine content, dimensions and any required cover file for your destination.

Measured font, image, page and geometry warnings are preflight checks. The PDF is RGB and is not certified PDF/X. Specialist prepress, CMYK conversion, destination paper/ink limits and acceptance checks remain external review steps.

Freeze an edition and make its proof

Open Publish → Editions & proofs. Label the edition, confirm saved manuscript and settings, freeze them, and generate the actual file. Keep the frozen source and settings distinct from the live book.

Download and inspect that exact proof. Its file identity includes a hash, so approval belongs to the inspected output. New text, metadata, voice or layout can require a new edition or proof; earlier files and decisions retain their earlier identity.

This demonstration is below KDP's minimum paperback length and is deliberately unapproved. Generating a file is different from approving it, completing editorial clearance or receiving retailer acceptance.

Inspect the actual PDF pages

Use Open actual PDF proof to read the saved file. Move through its pages and adjust the view, or download that same proof for inspection in another reader.

Check every page, including front matter, chapter starts, page chrome, figures, blank pages and the end of the book. A settings preview cannot substitute for inspecting the downloaded artifact.

The demonstration has short continuation and book-matter pages and is below paperback minimum length. This view demonstrates file inspection controls; it is an unfinished proof rather than a print-quality outcome.

Record page notes on the exact PDF

The actual PDF viewer reads the saved proof file. Page annotation numbers include front matter. Record a visible location, a comment and optionally the frozen chapter, then save the note on this exact output.

Page notes do not edit the manuscript or the saved PDF. A note needing correction blocks approval until its decision is resolved. Adding notes or decisions requires a fresh inspection and approval; an observation can be approved after review.

A note remains bound to its original output hash and frozen chapter revision. If the manuscript moves on, it is earlier feedback rather than a review of the current prose. Correct the live manuscript, generate a fresh proof and inspect it before recording a new approval.

Prepare your author upload

Open Publish → Publishing handoff. Start with an approved exact file, review destination requirements, select the relevant proof and declare the actual authorship and AI use.

A prepared package contains the reviewed file, its provenance declaration and official requirement links for the author to upload. Folio does not submit to retailers or verify acceptance. A later submission record is reported by the author.

The metadata and destination checklist can include ISBN, categories, keywords, pricing and rights-related inputs. ISBN helpers validate, convert and barcode a number you hold; they do not issue an ISBN. Confirm separate cover, tax, price and content requirements with the destination.

Use a book as connected source material

Open Publish → Connected work after reviewing an approved proof. Choose a source preparation path and finish the working material in the product that owns the destination format.

Destinations include article-series source, companion workbook source, presentation source, infographic source, reading-sample source, book-launch campaign source and a video sample or trailer brief. A source draft is editable working material, not a finished talk, visual or video.

Source preparation and destination generation have distinct steps. The destination presents its workflow and applicable access/cost before submission. Saved source identity and freshness help explain what a draft came from; they do not guarantee a citation or external writeback.

Translation, narration and adaptation

Edition services are separate from ordinary manuscript downloads. Translation and narration have their own eligibility, purchase and length conditions. Passage review applies to those saved editions. Check the current service screen before submitting or buying.

Voice previews and edition creation are service actions with their own access conditions. A language without a mapped narrator can be refused before audio purchase. Supported translation locales do not imply the same narration-language support.

Plans and privacy

Current plan prices and included AI access are shown at Folio plans. Manual authoring, importing and own-book export are separate from eligible AI work. Commercial author plans are single seat; existing sharing permissions determine who can view, comment or edit a book.

Books default to private. Choosing to share, existing team membership and organization policy can change who has access. Inspect recipients and permissions before sharing. Paid edition services have separate access and purchase conditions from ordinary own-book files.

Free book tools and quick links

The public tools work with the text or files you supply. Their deterministic checks and builders are useful preparation steps; a result does not establish complete editorial quality or publishing acceptance.

Quick links

Current as of 11 October 2026 and checked against active Folio code. If a screen has changed, open its current controls and contact gixo.ai/support.