Run your first Story Sync scan

Before you begin

Make sure you have:

• an available Story Sync scan credit, whether included in your plan or purchased.
• a supported file type: Markdown .md, plain text .txt, or PDF
• make sure your manuscript file is under 10MB

Markdown is recommended for best results.

Note: Starting a new scan uses 1 available scan. If you are resuming a stopped scan, no additional scan is used.

Start the scan

1. Open your story’s Story Sync workspace. If you’re starting from the New Story creation window, you’ll have to name the story first.
2. A welcome screen may appear to help guide you through the upload process. Click the link on that page to read the prep guide for more detailed information if needed, then click Continue to upload.
3. Upload your manuscript via drag and drop or browse/select. Click the Upload Manuscript button.
4. You will now see the Story Sync dashboard. Browse through the initial findings such as genres, word count, scan compatibility, scan confidence, story structure, brief summary (click to reveal), and tropes used (click to reveal).
5. Select your preferred scan settings.
   • Image Generation: Toggle this on if you want Story Sync to generate images for your character and worldbuilding cards.
   • Image Generation Style: If image generation is enabled, this style selection drop down will appear. Select the visual style you want to use.
   • Scene Template: Select the scene sheet template you want Story Sync to use.
   • POV Tags: Toggle this on if you want POV tags for each scene. This is most useful for manuscripts with multiple POVs, or if you want to check whether your POV shifts unintentionally.
   • Pre-defined Worlds: Optionally add world profiles manually. Leave this empty if you want Story Sync to detect world profiles from the manuscript.
6. Click Start Scan.
7. Review the terms. If Novelio does not have your saved Story Sync Terms agreement, it shows the terms before the scan starts. Note: if any user scans a document that they do not have the legal right to use, their Novelio account can be terminated.
8. Click Acknowledge & Start Scan.

What happens next

After the scan starts:

• Story Sync begins analyzing your manuscript to identify character profiles, worldbuilding details, scene-level insights, plot arcs, and lingering reader questions for you to review
• Analysis Status shows scan progress
• You can watch Story Sync’s commentary and updates, or you can return to this Story Sync dashboard later on.
• When completed, Novelio can notify you by email or push notification depending on your notification settings.
• You can review the results after the scan completes. See Review & Apply Story Sync Results.

If you do not have an available scan

You can still upload your manuscript and prepare it.

To start a new scan, you need an available included scan or a purchased credit. If none are available, Novelio will prompt you to buy Story Sync credits before you continue.

Contact support

If the scan will not start after you upload a valid file, contact support@novelio.app.