Is there a Google Docs template for writing a novel?

The template

Download the novel template (Word file). It holds a title page and three chapters, each titled in Heading 1 with a # between scenes.

1. In Google Drive, choose New → File upload and pick the file.
2. Open it, then choose File → Save as Google Docs.
3. Rename the chapters, and copy one to make the next.

Three settings that matter

• Chapter titles in Heading 1. Bold text looks the same and does nothing. Heading 1 puts the chapter in the outline on the left, where one click jumps to it.
• Body text set once, in Normal text. Pick the font, size, and spacing on one paragraph, then use Format → Paragraph styles → Normal text → Update to match, so you never format a chapter by hand.
• Page numbers in the header. Insert → Page numbers. An agent or editor reading a printout will want them.

That is all a draft needs. Submission format — double spacing, one-inch margins, and the rest — can wait until the book is finished.

When one Doc gets long

A Google Doc slows down well before a novel ends, and it has a hard size ceiling. The slow-document answer covers what to do, including splitting the book into one document per act.

In Tabularia

The same file imports into Tabularia as it is: each Heading 1 becomes a Chapter. So a book started in Docs can move later, by downloading it as a Word file, without re-marking anything.