What Happens When You Paste Text From Word or Google Docs

Pasted text comes in clean. The Writing Studio removes the colors, fonts and sizes of the source and keeps bold, italic, links and lists.

Paste as you normally would, with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. The Writing Studio cleans the text for you automatically, so there is nothing to click.

What does the clean paste remove?

Whatever gets pasted in, from Word, Google Docs, an AI chat or a website, automatically has every bit of the source's own formatting stripped. That includes:

• ✦The source's colors.
• ✦The source's font sizes.
• ✦The source's fonts.
• ✦Any hidden markup or watermark-like cruft the source carried along.

What does it keep?

Real structure is kept:

• ✦Bold.
• ✦Italic.
• ✦Links.
• ✦Bullet lists.
• ✦Numbered lists.

How do I paste?

Click inside the writing area and paste directly with Cmd+V on a Mac or Ctrl+V on Windows. You can also click Paste / edit in the bottom bar, then paste your text. The Writing Studio cleans up the formatting automatically either way.

Why does it remove the formatting?

A pasted text's own inline color and size can silently override the book's real heading and body styling. It is easy to miss when scrolling past, because nothing flags the text as different from the surrounding text. Cleaning every paste prevents that.

What if I want a color or a font after pasting?

Select the text and use the toolbar. Font, size, color and line height apply to whatever text is currently selected, the same as in any word processor. See What does each button in the toolbar do?.

How do I add a sub-heading after pasting?

Click the line and choose H3 or H4 from the Paragraph style dropdown. See Which heading levels can I use?.

Is pasting the same as importing a whole book?

No. Pasting is for adding text. To bring in a book you already wrote elsewhere, use the Import Book tab, which accepts a Word (.docx) or ePub (.epub) file. See How do I import a Word or ePub file?.

Can I paste a picture?

Yes. You can add a picture with the paperclip button, or simply paste a picture into the text. Both open the same Insert Image dialog, where you pick the size, the alignment and write the ALT text. See How to Add Images and ALT Text.

Not sure where to start? The Course Coach inside the app guides you through each step, so you are never stuck on a button.

Last checked in the app: October 14, 2026.