diff --git a/ce/edit.c b/ce/edit.c
index 636d9b2..0d540d4 100644
--- a/ce/edit.c
+++ b/ce/edit.c
@@ -89,7 +89,10 @@ static bool prepare_lines_cb (void* ctx, const char* start, size_t len) {
 }
 
 static void prepare_lines (const char* text, size_t len) {
-  str_split_lines (text, len, NULL, &prepare_lines_cb);
+  if (len == 0)
+    str_split_lines ("\n", 1, NULL, &prepare_lines_cb);
+  else
+    str_split_lines (text, len, NULL, &prepare_lines_cb);
 }
 
 static void update_horz_scroll (size_t screen_cols) {