diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 86aed1439..c6b7a1d1c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ parsed by the next plugin or the default parser.
 ## Caveats
 
 ### Mobiledoc-kit and the Grammarly extension
-`mobiledoc-kit` and the [Grammarly extension](https://www.grammarly.com/) do not play well together (see [issue 422](https://github.com/bustlelabs/mobiledoc-kit/issues/422)). Until this is resolved, you can avoid any such problems by disabling Grammarly for the `mobiledoc-kit` instances on your page. To do this, add the `data-gram="false"` attribute to the `mobiledoc-kit` main DOM element.
+`mobiledoc-kit` and the [Grammarly extension](https://www.grammarly.com/) do not play well together (see [issue 422](https://github.com/bustlelabs/mobiledoc-kit/issues/422)). Until this is resolved, you can avoid any such problems by disabling Grammarly for the `mobiledoc-kit` instances on your page. To do this, add the `data-gramm="false"` attribute to the `mobiledoc-kit` main DOM element.
 
 ## Contributing
 
diff --git a/src/js/editor/event-manager.js b/src/js/editor/event-manager.js
index 2173a048c..7fc423c7c 100644
--- a/src/js/editor/event-manager.js
+++ b/src/js/editor/event-manager.js
@@ -226,6 +226,11 @@ export default class EventManager {
     if (!range.isCollapsed) {
       editor.performDelete();
     }
+
+    if (editor.post.isBlank) {
+      editor._insertEmptyMarkupSectionAtCursor();
+    }
+
     let position = editor.range.head;
     let targetFormat = this.modifierKeys.shift ? 'text' : 'html';
     let pastedPost = parsePostFromPaste(event, editor, {targetFormat});
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/editor-copy-paste-test.js b/tests/acceptance/editor-copy-paste-test.js
index b99f48842..d6aa95675 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/editor-copy-paste-test.js
+++ b/tests/acceptance/editor-copy-paste-test.js
@@ -109,6 +109,20 @@ test('paste plain text with list items', (assert) => {
   assert.hasElement('#editor ul li:contains(def)', 'list item is pasted');
 });
 
+test('paste plain text into an empty Mobiledoc', (assert) => {
+  const mobiledoc = Helpers.mobiledoc.build(
+    ({post}) => {
+    return post();
+  });
+  editor = new Editor({mobiledoc});
+  editor.render(editorElement);
+
+  Helpers.dom.setCopyData(MIME_TEXT_PLAIN, 'abc');
+  Helpers.dom.triggerPasteEvent(editor);
+
+  assert.hasElement('#editor p:contains(abc)', 'pastes the text');
+});
+
 test('can cut and then paste content', (assert) => {
   const mobiledoc = Helpers.mobiledoc.build(
     ({post, markupSection, marker}) => {