Help

The status bar at the bottom of the editor shows your current word and character count, updated as you type.

Your work is automatically saved to your browser's local storage as you type (with a brief delay). This means:

• If your browser crashes or you accidentally close the tab, your work is preserved
• When you return to the editor, you'll be prompted to recover your local draft if it differs from the server version
• Local saves are stored on your current computer/browser only

When enabled, your chapter is automatically saved to the server every minute. This provides an additional layer of protection for your work.

• Auto-save is enabled by default
• You can toggle it on/off using the switch in the status bar
• Your preference is saved per computer - if you disable it on one device, it stays disabled on that device but not others
• Auto-save only works for existing chapters, not new ones (you must create the chapter first)

The status bar shows the state of your local draft and of the server copy. Each one has an icon and a label that says the state in words, so you never have to rely on the icon or its colour:

• "Local saved" or "Server saved" (checkmark, green) - Successfully saved
• "Local unsaved" or "Server unsaved" (X mark, red) - Unsaved changes
• "Local saving" or "Server saving" (spinning circle, blue) - Currently saving
• "Local save failed" or "Server save failed" (X mark, red) - Save failed

If you close a new chapter form before creating it, your draft is saved locally using the book's identifier. When you open the "Add New Chapter" form for that book again, your previous draft will be restored.

Links are not part of chapter text, descriptions or comments. A link pasted into any of them is kept as its plain text when it is saved, and a web address typed out stays as ordinary text that readers can copy. The links on your author profile are the place for your website and social accounts.

Each month can hold a writing contest, listed on the Contests page under Write. Sign up there first: give the PayPal address the prize goes to (the same one the Referrals page uses) and agree to the Contest Terms and Conditions. Without that, the dashboard button sends you to the Contests page. While the month runs you can then enter one published series from its dashboard, and withdraw it again the same way. At the end of the month each entry is scored on how readers responded during the month: how many signed-in readers opened chapters published that month, how many of them followed the series, and how readers who read it rated its books. The winner is picked on the first of the next month. The standings appear on the contest's page once the month is scored, the winner and the top ten are marked on their series pages, and an author can win once. The prizes:

• 1st: US $100 by PayPal and 12 months of Premium
• 2nd and 3rd: 6 months of Premium
• 4th and 5th: 3 months of Premium
• 6th to 10th: 30 days of Premium

Premium time is added to your account as free Premium time after the standings are published. If you pay for Premium, your subscription is not charged for that many months instead of losing anything.

A chapter or a comment is refused if its text contains one of these, because each is a known way of attacking web servers:

• A lookup command of the form ${jndi:...}, used in the Log4J attacks
• The markers of a serialised Java object, such as rO0AB or java.io.Serializable in program-like text
• The markers of a React server component payload

Prose that mentions these things in passing is fine. It is the exact pattern that trips the filter, so rewording it is enough.

A web address, a search or a title is refused if it looks like a script (for example an HTML tag with script or an event such as onload=), like a file path on a server (../ or /etc/passwd), like a link to another server hidden in the address, like an attempt to read the server's own settings, or if it ends the way a program or system file name ends, such as .exe or .php.

A web address, a search or the data your browser stores for this site is refused when it is far longer than anything the site would normally send. This almost never happens in ordinary use.

Requests are refused when they come from an internet address on Amazon's lists of addresses known for attacks or for scanning sites, when the browser does not say what it is or names itself as attack software, or when one address sends far more requests in a few minutes than a person reading would. If you are refused for too many requests, wait a few minutes and try again.

The message names the reason. Rewording the part it points at will normally work. If you were typing something ordinary and keep being refused, please write to support@writersgrove.net and say what you typed, so the filter can be corrected.

Chapter pages answer these keys when nothing on the page has keyboard focus (for example after you click on the text or press Escape to leave a box):

• Left arrow and Right arrow - previous and next chapter
• Space - play or pause text-to-speech, where the author allows it
• Escape - stop text-to-speech
• Alt with Up arrow and Alt with Down arrow - move text-to-speech back or forward a sentence

On a phone or tablet, swipe left on the chapter text for the next chapter and swipe right for the previous one, like turning a page.

The keys are ignored while you are typing in a search box, a comment, a review or the chapter editor. If they still clash with your screen reader or your own keyboard commands, switch them off on your Edit Profile page under Content Preferences, Keyboard Shortcuts. The switch applies wherever you are signed in.

You can rate a book once you have opened a chapter of its series while signed in. The stars are on the book page, and you can change your rating at any time.

A series, book or chapter that is marked AI-generated or mature (18+), or that carries a content warning, opens with a box at the top listing what it holds. The box says where each thing comes from: the series itself, one of its books, or some of its chapters, so a warning on a single chapter is still shown on the series page.

The first page you open that holds mature content or a content warning asks you to say you are 18 or older. We ask once. Signed in, the answer is kept on your account and holds on every device; signed out, it is kept in your browser for an hour and moves onto your account when you sign in.

The Account page, under Content Preferences, is where you choose what you would rather not meet. Hiding AI-generated content, mature content or a particular warning takes those stories out of the home page, browse and search. A link straight to one still opens it, with the box at the top saying what it holds. You can also turn the box off there.

Your writing stays exactly where it is. Series, books and chapters are never removed when a subscription ends, and readers can keep reading everything you have published. Authors can publish on Writer's Grove for free, so your account simply goes back to the free plan.

If you cancel, premium stays on until the end of the billing period you have already paid for, and ends on that day. When premium ends:

• Your author subdomain is switched off. Your page stays available at its regular Writer's Grove address
• Your paid subscription tiers are hidden, so new readers cannot sign up to them
• Readers who already subscribe to one of your tiers keep their subscription and their access. They pay you directly through your own Stripe account, and they can cancel from their Subscriptions page at any time
• You can no longer set up early access for paid readers on new series or books, or change existing release schedules. Any series or book you already set up keeps its schedule, and that includes new chapters you add to it
• Analytics, ad code and the larger cover upload limit stop until premium is active again

If you subscribe again later, your tiers become visible again on their own. Your subdomain can be switched back on from the author dashboard.

Yes. If a renewal payment fails, nothing changes straight away. Premium stays on for a 15 day grace period while Stripe retries the payment.

• Stripe retries the card several times over those 15 days and emails you after each failed attempt with a link to update your payment details
• You can also update your card at any time from Manage Billing on the author dashboard
• If a retry succeeds, your subscription carries on as normal and the grace period is cleared
• If no payment succeeds within the 15 days, the subscription is canceled and premium ends as described above

The date your premium access ends is shown on the author dashboard as soon as a payment fails.

Premium and reader subscriptions are paid through Stripe today. Stripe does not accept some kinds of content, including adult fiction. We plan to integrate custom payment solutions so authors who need a different payment processor can still be paid by their readers.

If this applies to you, email support@writersgrove.net and tell us which processor you use, so we know what to build first.