Chapters are the building blocks of your manuscript, and the chapter list on the left of Writer Mode is where you shape its structure. You can add, rename, reorder and remove chapters at any time — and the order you set here is exactly the order readers get in every export.

Add a chapter

Create a new, blank chapter straight from the chapter list whenever you want to start a fresh section. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + N (Cmd + Option + N on Mac) to add one instantly — see Keyboard shortcuts.

Rename a chapter

Open the chapter's menu (the ⋮ icon next to it, or right-click it) and choose rename. Clear chapter titles make your table of contents tidy and your manuscript easier to navigate.

Reorder chapters

The chapter list supports full drag-and-drop. Drag a chapter up or down and the manuscript reorders instantly. This is the single source of truth for sequence — there's no separate "table of contents order" to keep in sync.

Delete a chapter

Remove a chapter by dragging it to the delete target. Be deliberate here: deletion is only reversible through version history, and only if that chapter's content was snapshotted. If you're unsure, consider keeping the chapter and emptying it, or branching into an alternate draft before making sweeping cuts.

Rebuild the table of contents

After big structural changes — lots of reordering, renaming, adds or deletes — choose Rebuild table of contents to regenerate your TOC so it reflects the current chapter list.

Cover chapters

Some entries in the list carry a COVER badge — these represent your front and back covers. Clicking one takes you to the Cover Editor rather than the prose editor. They live in the chapter list so your whole book stays in one place.

Why order matters

The chapter order shown here is the order used in every export format — EPUB, PDF, print interior and so on. Get the sequence right in the editor and your finished files follow automatically.

Common pitfalls

• Deleted the wrong chapter? Check version history — recovery is only possible if the content was snapshotted, so act sooner rather than later.
• TOC looks stale after big edits. Run Rebuild table of contents to refresh it.
• Trying out a major restructure? Branch into an alternate draft so you can experiment freely and merge it back only if you like the result.