Using Our Templates with Google Docs

Using Our Templates with Google Docs (Read This First)

We want to be honest with you before you start. Google Docs does not reliably preserve our templates' paragraph styles, section breaks, or headers and footers when it imports a Word file, so we do not recommend using it to format your final book. Google Docs is a wonderful place to write and draft. When it is time to format, download your work as a Word file and finish in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, or Apple Pages using the template.

Why We Do Not Recommend Google Docs for Formatting

Our templates carry a professional book design inside a set of named styles, plus print-ready page settings. Google Docs handles Word files by converting them, and that conversion is where the design is lost.

  • Styles do not survive. The template's paragraph styles (Body, Chapter Title, Subheads, Quotations, and others) are the heart of the design. Google Docs flattens or renames them on import, so the professional look does not come through.
  • Section breaks are not reliable. The breaks that separate front matter, chapters, and back matter often shift or disappear, which breaks the page structure the template depends on.
  • Headers and footers drift. Running heads and page numbers are set up to alternate and to stay off chapter opening pages. That behavior does not carry over cleanly.
  • Fonts and spacing change. The exact fonts, margins, and line spacing that make the page count and layout correct are not preserved.

None of this is a knock on Google Docs. It is simply not built to hold a print-ready book template intact. So we suggest a clean handoff instead.

You might be tempted to import the template into Google Docs, fix the pieces that broke, and export a PDF from there. We understand the appeal, but it usually creates more work than it saves, and the finished pages rarely match the professional layout you paid for. The steps below take only a little longer and give you a book that looks the way it was designed to look.

What Works: Draft in Docs, Format in the Template

This approach gives you the best of both. Write comfortably in Google Docs, then move your words (not your formatting) into the template in a program that supports it.

  1. Finish Writing in Google Docs
    • Do your drafting, editing, and revising in Google Docs as usual
    • Keep the formatting simple, since it will not carry into the template anyway
    • Mark your chapter breaks clearly so they are easy to find later
  2. Download as a Microsoft Word File
    • In Google Docs, choose File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx)
    • This gives you a plain manuscript file you can open anywhere
  3. Open the Template Separately
    • Open the .docx template in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, or Apple Pages
    • Save a working copy with your project name before you begin
    • Keep the template and your downloaded manuscript open side by side
  4. Paste Chapter Text into the Template
    • Copy one chapter at a time from your manuscript
    • Paste as unformatted text so no stray formatting tags come along
    • Paste into the body area the template provides for chapter text
  5. Apply the Template Styles
    • Set chapter headings to the Chapter Title style
    • Set the running text to the Body style
    • Apply Subhead and Quotation styles where your book uses them
    • Follow the template's chapter pattern so page breaks and section breaks stay intact

Which Program Should You Use to Format?

  • Microsoft Word is the primary program our templates are built for, and it gives the most predictable results. See our Word quick start guides.
  • LibreOffice is a free option that opens our .docx templates well. See our LibreOffice and OpenOffice quick start guide.
  • Apple Pages works on Mac. See our Apple Pages quick start guide.

A Few Honest Reminders

  • Do not upload the template into Google Docs and try to format there. The design will not hold together.
  • Move your words into the template, not the other way around. The template already has the design; it just needs your text.
  • Always proof your final PDF page by page before sending it to a print vendor.
  • Keep the original template file as an untouched master and work in a saved copy.

Your Alternatives

  • Use the Word template path, which is the smoothest and best-supported route to a finished book.
  • Prefer to have it done for you? Our sister service formats your whole book interior, cover, and marketing kit at BookDesigner.ai, with a free preview of your own manuscript.

Getting Help