Troubleshoot a Story Sync upload or scan

If the file will not upload

Confirm that your manuscript file:

• is a PDF, Markdown .md, or plain text .txt file
• is under 10MB
• opens normally on your device

You can check a document’s size and type by - On Mac: right-click the file, select Info from the menu popup. - On Windows: right-click the file, select Properties. - On Chromebook: right-click the file, select Get info.

If you can choose the format, try Markdown first for the most accurate results. Both .md and .txt files can be previewed in Chrome by dragging the file into a Google search homepage.

You can read more about preparing a Markdown file here: Prepare your manuscript for Story Sync.

If the scan will not start

• Check whether you have an available tier-included scan credit or a purchased scan credit. Starting a new Story Sync scan uses 1 available scan credit. If no scan is available, Novelio will prompt you to buy credits before starting.
• Check your internet connection. Story Sync requires a working internet connection.
• If an error message appears, please do a hard-reload of your browser window. If the scan still does not start, please contact support@novelio.app.

If the results look incomplete or inaccurate

Sometimes, an individual document, such as a character profile, scene sheet, or page in the Worldbuilding area, might return as “incomplete” with a red ❌ next to the title. Select any failed documents and click Retry. Re-scanning the manuscript to complete those documents does not use another Story Sync credit.

Rarely, a user might notice their scan is missing large or notable documents that should otherwise be listed. This can happen when the file structure is unclear or the format is harder to interpret. Story Sync is designed for narrative manuscripts, so non-narrative material may also cause weak or unusable results.

If the pre-scan File Info panel shows a Low Scan Confidence score, consider trying a different file type or reviewing Prepare your manuscript for Story Sync.

Try these steps:

• Review the uploaded file in the Story Sync dashboard’s File Info section.
• Make sure your original file has obvious act, part, and chapter headers. If you are using Google Docs to create your Markdown .md file, make sure you are using its built-in heading styles.
• Make sure the entire manuscript was included in the file.
• If possible, re-upload the manuscript as Markdown
• Remove extra notes or formatting noise before uploading again

Plain text is acceptable. PDF is supported, but it may introduce inaccuracies or errors.

If a scan was stopped

Use Continue Scan to resume it. Resuming a stopped scan does not use an additional scan credit.

Contact support

Contact support@novelio.app if:

• A supported file keeps failing to upload
• A valid scan will not start even though scans are available
• A scan fails repeatedly
• Results appear clearly broken after a clean re-upload