How to Upload and Format a Manuscript on Ream
The hassle-free guide to importing your stories to Ream
We know how much of a hassle it can be to import your manuscript to a new platform.
On Ream, we make it easy to import your manuscript with your desired formatting in just a few minutes.
Follow these steps to import your story into Ream:
Step 1: Upload your manuscript to Google Drive.
Click the plus sign in the upper right-hand corner of your Google Drive (you must be signed in to your account).
Then, click “File Upload” from the drop-down menu that appears.
Select the file you’d like to upload to Google Drive.
Your manuscript will then be uploaded to Google Drive.
Step 2: Convert your manuscript to native Google Docs format
Open the manuscript file that you uploaded to Google Drive.
On the open document and click File in the upper left-hand corner. Then select Save as Google Docs.
Your manuscript will then be converted to a native Google Drive format, no matter where you uploaded it from 😀.
Note: simply uploading a .docx file to Google Docs will not be detected by our importer unless it is in the native Google Docs format.
Step 3: Format your manuscript with heading styles in Google Docs
On Ream, we search for headings inside your Google Docs to chop up your manuscript by chapters and prepare your story for publication.
Here’s how to create headings inside your Google Docs that ensure your chapters are imported correctly.
1. Highlight/select your chapter or section title inside your manuscript with your cursor
2. If on PC press: Ctrl + Alt + [1 - 5]. If on Mac, press Command (⌘) + Option + [1 - 5]. If on Chrome OS press: Ctrl + Alt + [1- 5].
Only select one number. Thus an example would be to press Ctrl + Alt + 2.
Note: The numbers 1 - 5 are for different heading sizes that vary from 1 - 5. Ream will recognize all these sizes as new chapters, so no need to worry about which specific size you choose.
3. Repeat for every chapter or section in your manuscript until complete.
Note: The text you select as each heading style will by default be each chapter name in your story on Ream. However, you can change these titles once you import your manuscript to Ream. Which about that…
Step 4: Import your manuscript into Ream
Go to the Content page on the Ream story you’d like to import your manuscript into.
Click Import Manuscript in the top right-hand corner.
On the pop-up, sign into the same Google Drive Account you uploaded your manuscript and formatted it in.
Search for your manuscript title. Your most recent 10 accessed Google Doc files will also be displayed.
Once you click on the manuscript title it will automatically be imported into Ream.
And huzzah! Your story is magically imported into Ream. It will retain all existing formatting in your Google Doc file.
Your manuscript is automatically saved. You can now make changes to your story or proceed to publishing 🥳.
Note: If you have no headings in your manuscript, then it will not be imported.
Note: At this time, if you import another manuscript into the same book on Ream, it will overwrite your existing manuscript.
Bonus Step: Automatically convert your manuscript into Google Docs format (you will only have to follow this step once to import all your books for your lifetime on Ream).
Sign into Google Drive using a valid Google Account (it’s free to create one).
Click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Then select Settings.
On the Settings page, select the check box under Convert Uploads so that all new manuscripts you upload in .docx format to Google Drive will be converted to the native GDOC format.
If you have any questions, please contact our Support Team at support@reamstories.com.