Translate a novel from PDF without losing its structure

Prepare the source

First determine whether the PDF contains selectable text or scanned images. A scanned file needs optical character recognition before translation, and the extracted text must be checked for missing lines and incorrect characters.

Keep chapter breaks, paragraph breaks, and headings intact. Good source structure reduces review work after translation.

Build the translation around the novel

Create a glossary for names, places, titles, powers, and repeated phrases. Test it on one representative chapter before you start a long job.

• Remove repeating headers, footers, and page numbers
• Keep chapter titles and paragraph breaks
• Check OCR output before translation
• Export to EPUB, DOCX, or text for easier reading

Review before you read or publish

Check names, pronouns, numbers, scene changes, and dialogue attribution. Compare uncertain passages with the source instead of accepting fluent text as proof of accuracy.

If you plan to share or sell a translation, confirm that you have the required rights. Translation does not remove the rights held in the source work.

Translate with a prompt in Webnovels AI

Bao can also translate a book you wrote or have the rights to. The app has no separate translation mode: you set up the book and ask in chat.

1. On the Dashboard, choose New book, then Existing book. Drop in the source (TXT, Markdown, EPUB, or a ZIP of them) and set Written in to English.
2. Open Book memory and check the names, places, and terms Bao read from the source. Set the English spelling of each one. This is your glossary.
3. In the book’s chat, ask for one chapter at a time with the prompt below. Read the draft against the source, then choose Approve or Give feedback.

Translate Chapter 1 of the source into English. Use the names and terms in Book memory. Keep every event and line of dialogue, and do not add or remove scenes. Keep honorifics and the register of each speaker. Show the chapter for my approval.

To translate novels you read in bulk, use Novel Translator, our separate translation service.