Quail How-To Guide

Contents

1. 1. Quick start checklist
2. 2. Purchase and license activation
3. 3. UI reference and navigation
4. 4. Importing a book
5. 5. Exporting EPUB and PDF
6. 6. Troubleshooting and FAQs

1) Quick Start Checklist

1. Download and install Quail for your platform.
2. Open Quail and create your first project.
3. Import your manuscript (or start writing in a blank project).
4. Set metadata (title, author, language, ISBNs if available — separate fields for EPUB and PDF editions).
5. Choose a theme and configure page size if exporting print PDF.
6. Export EPUB and/or PDF, then review output before publishing.

2) Purchase and License Activation

Quail uses Stripe Checkout for secure payments. After purchase, your license key is delivered by email.

Purchase flow

1. Click Buy license in the top navigation.
2. Confirm product and price on the Stripe Checkout page.
3. Enter your billing email and payment details.
4. Submit payment and wait for checkout confirmation.
5. Check your inbox for your license key email.
6. Open Quail and paste your key in the license activation field.

Activation verification

• The app should show a clear “License active” state.
• Premium themes and extra PDF sizes should become available.
• If activation fails, confirm copied key has no extra spaces.

3) UI Reference and Navigation

The Quail interface is organized for writing first, with project tools and publishing controls always within easy reach.

Main UI regions

• Project sidebar (left): chapters, front matter, and back matter sections. Drag to reorder, add new sections, or insert from the built-in snippet library (copyright page, dedication, title page, and more).
• Editor (centre): rich text editing with a format bar for headings, bold/italic/underline, alignment, lists, block quotes, horizontal rules, and an ISBN tag button. A distraction-free focus mode hides everything except the text.
• Inspector (right): cover image, book details (title, subtitle, author, publisher, ISBN for EPUB, ISBN for PDF, language), chapter settings including a show chapter heading in export toggle, word count statistics, export theme picker, and PDF page size selector.
• Story Bible (right): project-specific notes organised by category — characters, scenes, locations, items, factions, events, themes, and custom. Searchable and taggable.
• AI Tools (right): generate blurbs, KDP keywords, Amazon categories, comp titles, run a sensitivity reader, consistency checker, story bible generator, and timeline tracker. Uses your own API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, or a local model).
• App bar (top): project title, panel toggles, save status, and the Export button.

Writing features

• Find & Replace (Ctrl/⌘+F) with case-sensitive matching, match-by-match navigation (Enter / Shift+Enter or Ctrl/⌘+G), and replace all.
• Inline comments — highlight text and attach notes visible only in the editor, never in exports.
• Smart quotes — one-click conversion of straight quotes to typographic curly quotes throughout the document.
• {{ISBN}} tag — insert on your copyright page and Quail automatically substitutes the correct ISBN for each export format (EPUB edition or PDF/print edition).
• Snippets — reusable templates for common front and back matter pages. Built-in templates for copyright, title page, dedication, acknowledgements, about the author, and more. Save your own for reuse across projects.
• Auto-save — your work is saved automatically a couple of seconds after you stop typing.

Toolbar icons

The format bar sits above the editor; panel and focus controls live on the app bar.

Format bar

Undo & redo

Headings

Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough

Alignment: left, centre, right, justified

Lists, blockquote, indent, section break, insert tag

Comments and smart quotes

App bar (top)

Chapter overview (sidebar), metadata inspector, Story Bible, and AI Tools are toggled from the top bar. Distraction-free mode expands the editor and hides chrome until you exit (for example with Esc).

4) Importing a Book

Quail can import .docx (Microsoft Word) files, splitting them into chapters and preserving formatting so you can edit, structure, and publish from one place.

Recommended pre-import checks

• Make a backup copy of your source manuscript first.
• Use consistent heading styles (Heading 1 for chapter titles) — Quail uses these to detect chapter breaks.
• Remove tracked changes/comments if your workflow requires clean text.

Import workflow

1. From the library, click New Project and choose Import from Word.
2. Select your .docx file. Quail shows a preview with the detected title, author, and chapter list.
3. Confirm and create the project — chapters appear in the sidebar.
4. Review imported chapters and adjust order, titles, or formatting (scene breaks, italics, headings) as needed.

5) Exporting EPUB and PDF

Export creates distribution-ready files for ebook and print channels. Both formats use the selected export theme for consistent typography. Always review exports before uploading to stores or distributors.

Export themes

Themes control typography, paragraph style, heading treatment, and scene breaks in both EPUB and PDF output. The Free edition includes Classic; Pro unlocks all five:

• Classic — EB Garamond, traditional serif, centred bold chapter headings.
• Literary — Cormorant Garamond, elegant serif with small-caps headings and asterisk scene breaks.
• Modern — Inter, clean sans-serif with block paragraphs and ruled headings.
• Manuscript — Source Code Pro, monospaced and double-spaced for submission.
• Book Club — Literata, warm serif with italic chapter headings.

EPUB export

1. Confirm your metadata, cover image, and chapter order.
2. Click Export and choose EPUB.
3. After export, use Show in Folder to find the file, then open it in an EPUB reader to verify.

PDF export (print-ready)

1. Choose a page/trim size in the Inspector — Pocket (5×8″), Digest (5.5×8.5″), US Trade (6×9″), Royal (6.14×9.21″), A5, and more.
2. Click Export and choose PDF.
3. Review the PDF for pagination and headings, then upload to your distributor.

Quail’s PDFs are built for print: mirror margins for correct binding, CMYK / DeviceGray colours with no ICC profiles, and proper trim dimensions. They’re designed to pass Amazon KDP and IngramSpark preflight checks without manual adjustment.

6) Troubleshooting and Help

I paid but did not receive a license key.

Check spam/promotions folders first. Then contact support@quailwriter.com with your payment email and approximate checkout time.

License activation isn’t working.

Confirm the key is copied exactly with no extra spaces. If it still fails, you can reset your license data by deleting ~/.quail/license.json (macOS/Linux) or %USERPROFILE%\.quail\license.json (Windows), then restarting Quail. Do not delete the entire ~/.quail folder — it contains your projects.

Import formatting looks different from my source file.

Normalize heading levels and scene break markers in the source document, then re-import and review chapter boundaries.

PDF pages do not match my target print spec.

Re-check selected page size in the Inspector and try a different trim size. Quail handles margins and colour space automatically, but the trim must match your distributor’s requirements.

How do I show different ISBNs in my EPUB and print editions?

Enter each ISBN in the Inspector under ISBN (EPUB) and ISBN (PDF). Then type {{ISBN}} on your copyright page (or use the ISBN tag button in the toolbar). Quail substitutes the correct one for each export format automatically.

Need direct help? Email support@quailwriter.com with your Quail version, operating system, and a brief issue summary.