Getting Started: The Export Tool
Export is the final stop on the StorySpark journey — the place where a story your child has been building in the Write and Outline tools becomes something real: a printable book, a shareable digital file, or a manuscript ready for a publishing platform.
Whether it's a parent wanting to print their kid's first finished story, or a more experienced young writer prepping a manuscript for submission, Export gives full control over exactly how the final file looks — and the story always stays theirs. Nothing is shared or published automatically; exporting just produces a file, on your terms.
Select Story
At the top, choose which story to export from a dropdown of everything in your Stories library. The Story Info panel on the right immediately shows a quick summary — description, chapter count, word count, and when it was last updated — so it's easy to confirm you've picked the right one.
Export Settings: Three Tabs
Format
- Export Purpose — pick what the file is for:
- Print/Publish (full book formatting)
- Wattpad/Online Platform (plain text, chapter-by-chapter)
- Manuscript Submission (industry-standard formatting)
- eBook (EPUB/MOBI compatible)
- File Format — the actual file type: PDF, DOCX (Microsoft Word), TXT, RTF, HTML, EPUB, or MD (Markdown). Which formats make sense will shift a bit depending on the Export Purpose chosen above.
Content
Toggle what's included in the exported file:
- Include Cover Page (title, author, and cover image) — with fields for Author Name and an optional Subtitle
- Table of Contents (chapter list at the beginning)
- Chapter Numbers ("Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc.)
- Include Story Outline (characters, settings, and notes tacked on at the end) — off by default, handy if you want the behind-the-scenes planning included alongside the finished story
Styling
Fine-tune how the exported document actually looks:
- Page Numbers on/off
- Font Family (e.g., Serif — Times New Roman, Georgia)
- Font Size (e.g., 12pt Standard)
- Line Spacing (e.g., 1.5 lines)
- Page Size (e.g., A4)
- Margins (e.g., Normal — 1 in / 2.54 cm)
Export Summary & Pages to Export
The right sidebar keeps a live Export Summary — format, purpose, font, page size, and which extras (cover page, table of contents, chapter numbers, page numbers) are included — so you can double-check everything before exporting.
Below that, Pages to Export lets you select exactly what goes into the file. It defaults to "All Pages Selected," but expanding it shows individual checkboxes for the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and every chapter — so you can deselect anything you don't want in this particular export (useful for exporting just one chapter, for example).
Two buttons finish the job:
- Preview Export — see the page count and confirm everything looks right before committing
- Export [Format] (X pages) — generates and downloads the file automatically
Export Tips
The tool includes built-in guidance for each purpose right where you need it — for example, when exporting for Print/Publish it suggests using PDF for the final version, including a cover page and table of contents, choosing an appropriate page size, and considering wider margins for binding.
Why This Matters
Export is designed so a finished story can go wherever it needs to — a printed keepsake for grandma, a Wattpad chapter upload, or a properly formatted manuscript for a writing contest — without your child ever losing ownership or control of their work. StorySpark doesn't publish or share anything on its own; exporting simply hands you a finished file to do with as you choose.
Related tools: finish drafting in Write, keep the outline current in Outline, then come here once a story (or chapter) is ready to leave the platform.