Your whole story, in files you keep
Last checked against the product November 10, 2026
A novel is more than its final text. It is the cast, the rules of the world, the plan of every chapter and the beats inside them - the decisions that make the book yours. The Novelmint Studio lets you download all of it as one open project file: Markdown you can read anywhere and JSON other tools can read. Edit it on your own machine and bring it back, and every change is shown to you before it lands. Import it as a new series to make a copy. What Minty, the editor built into the Studio, has learned about how you work comes out as a plain file too, and goes back in the same way. You can leave with all of it, whenever you like.
Key takeaways
- Export series, on a series’ Series tab, downloads it as one project file: settings, voice, references, characters and places, plot threads, story state, and every book’s chapter plans, beats, prose and cover.
- Each beat comes as its own Markdown file you can read or edit anywhere, and everything also comes as documented JSON. A beat is one story moment, such as a scene or an exchange.
- A project file comes back in two ways: as a new, private series - which is also how you copy a series - or as an update to the series it came from, where you see every change and tick the ones you want.
- An update never deletes anything, keeps locked beats as they are, saves a backup first, and readers keep their current text until you publish updates.
- Download my data includes what Minty knows about how you work and every chat, as Markdown. Account > Memory takes an "About me" from another AI, or your own memory file, and shows what goes where before anything is saved.
What it does
What moves, and how
The whole series in one file
Settings, voice, voice modes, references, characters and places with their bible pages, plot threads, the story state, and for each book its chapter plans, beats, prose and cover. Pick which books to include; the series-wide parts always come along, because every book needs them.
Open, and meant to be read
Every beat is a Markdown file with its plan, notes, AI prose and final text. The same content is in JSON with the links between things kept, documented so other tools can read it. A sample file shows what one holds before you export your own.
Edit anywhere, bring it back
Change a beat’s Markdown file or the JSON in your own editor, then import. Edits are matched back to their beats. Anything the importer could not use is listed with the reason, so nothing disappears without a word.
Every change shown first
Update from a project file compares the file with your series and lists each change, new or changed, for you to tick. Anything you changed on the website after the file was exported starts unticked, so an old file cannot quietly replace newer work.
A copy, ready to build
Import as a new series brings the file in as a private copy, with nothing published. Chapters that were planned and written keep their plans and prose, so building again picks up where you left off rather than planning from scratch.
What Minty knows about you, out and back in
Download my data includes Minty’s memory of how you like to work as one Markdown file, and every chat with Minty and with your characters, one file per chat. Account > Memory takes it back, or an "About me" written by another AI.
How to use it
Out, edited, and back in
Open the series’ Series tab
Find the Export series card. Under Books to include, tick the books you want, then press Download project file. Minty or a connected AI app can also make the download link for you.
Read or edit it anywhere
Unzip it. Each chapter folder holds a Markdown file per beat. Edit beats in any text editor, or work with the JSON in your own tools.
Bring it back into the same series
On the Series tab, choose the file under Update from a project file. Every change is listed; tick the ones you want, confirm I have a backup, and apply. Novelmint saves its own backup just before, listed on the card with a download.
Or import it as a new series
In the Studio, open Import and choose Import a project file, then Import as a new series. The copy arrives private, with its plans and prose kept.
Carry what Minty knows
Download my data, in your account settings, includes her memory and your chats. To bring memory in, open Account > Memory, press Import, paste or drop the file, and press Show me what goes where.
Example
What an update shows before it applies
You ask
Update from a project file: the-harbor-saga.novelmint.zip
You get back
- Book 2, chapter 9: "The Lantern Fair" - Changed: 3 changed, prose for 2 beats.
- Character: Wren Halloway - Changed.
- Book 3: The Drowned Bell - New: 4 chapters.
- Book 1, chapter 12 - Changed or removed since this file was exported. Starts unticked, so your newer work stays unless you tick it.
An illustration with an invented series, to show the shape of the list. Your changes come from your own file.
Questions
Frequently asked
- Can I export my whole novel project from Novelmint?
- Yes. Export series, on a series’ Series tab, downloads it as one project file: settings, voice, references, characters and places, plot threads, story state, and each book’s chapter plans, beats, prose and cover. It is free on every plan.
- What format is the project file?
- A ZIP of Markdown and JSON. Each beat is a Markdown file you can read or edit anywhere, and the JSON holds everything with the links between things kept, in a documented layout other tools can read.
- Can I edit the file and bring it back?
- Yes. Edit a beat’s Markdown file or the JSON, then use Update from a project file on the Series tab. You see every change first and choose which to apply. Nothing is deleted, locked beats stay as they are, a backup is saved before anything is written, and readers keep their current text until you publish updates.
- How do I copy a series?
- Export it, then import the file as a new series from Import a project file in the Studio. The copy is private, and its chapters keep their plans and prose, so you can build on from where the original stood.
- What is not in the project file?
- Things that belong to the published book and its readers: reads, ratings, sales, translations, audio and character chats. Your account’s own data, including chats, comes with Download my data instead.
- Can I take what Minty knows about me to another AI, or bring another AI’s memory in?
- Yes. Download my data includes Minty’s memory of how you work as one Markdown file, and every chat with Minty and with characters. To bring memory in, open Account > Memory, press Import, and paste an "About me" from ChatGPT or Claude or drop in a Novelmint memory file. The parts about how you work are offered as memory for you to tick; everything else goes into your Notebook word for word. You can undo an import.
- Can Minty or a connected AI import a project file for me?
- They can make the export link for you. Bringing a project file in is done on the website, where you choose the file and review the changes yourself.Use Novelmint from Claude
What this page does not claim
- A project file carries the story, not its readership: reads, ratings, sales, translations and audio stay with the published book.
- Only Novelmint project files, or files made to the same layout, import this way. A manuscript in Word, EPUB or Markdown goes through Import a book instead.
- An update never deletes anything. To remove a chapter or beat, do it in the Studio.
- Chats you download can hold unpublished prose and personal details. Read them before you hand them to another company’s AI.
- The sample update on this page is invented. It is not taken from a real series.
Keep reading
Why the file holds the whole story
Novelmint keeps a book as structure - a bible, a plan in beats, and prose built from them - rather than one long document. That is what a project file carries, so the decisions travel with the words. The same structure keeps a version history of each chapter and a record of who made each decision.
Related
Plan a book with Minty
Talk the story through and watch it become chapters and scenes on your Timeline.
Chapter builds
Turn a chapter’s beats into prose, written from your plan, your bible, and your voice.
Bring your own AI key
Build chapters on your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI or OpenRouter key, or on the AI your credits include. Your choice, per series.
Choose your AI model
Pick the AI model that writes your series, compared on measured writing quality and cost, and pin a different one to any single beat.
Write your story somewhere you can always leave with it.
No card. Your first chapter is free.