Building a Community
Since v0.4.0, we’ve shipped 43 commits focused on one goal: making Writers Grove feel like a community, not just a reading platform. This release brings social features, accessibility improvements, premium subscriptions, and the foundation for everything we need before going live.
Follow System
Stay connected with the authors and stories you love.
Follow Authors
Click the follow button on any author’s profile to get notified when they publish new content. Your followed authors appear in your library for easy access.
Follow Series & Books
Not ready to commit to an author’s entire catalog? Follow individual series or books instead. You’ll only get notifications for the content you care about.
Email Notifications
When authors you follow publish new chapters, books, or series, you’ll receive an email notification. Control exactly what you want to hear about:
- New Chapters - When a followed series or book gets a new chapter
- New Books - When a followed series gets a new book
- New Series - When a followed author starts something new
- Author Announcements - Updates directly from authors
Toggle each notification type on or off in your settings.
Chapter Comments
Readers can now comment on chapters directly. Share your reactions, theories, and feedback with the author and other readers.
Features
- Threaded Replies - Reply to other comments for focused discussions
- Author Badges - See when the author responds to comments
- Report System - Flag inappropriate comments for review
For Authors
Comments appear on your chapters automatically. You’ll see engagement metrics in your dashboard, and you can participate in discussions with your readers.
Social Sharing
Every chapter, book, series, and author profile now has share buttons:
- Copy Link - One click to clipboard
- Native Share - Uses your device’s share menu (mobile)
- Twitter/X - Share with a pre-filled tweet
- Facebook - Post to your timeline
- Reddit - Submit to any subreddit
- LinkedIn - Share professionally
- Email - Send to a friend
Help authors grow their audience by sharing stories you love.
Text-to-Speech
Listen to chapters read aloud using your browser’s built-in speech synthesis.
Reader Controls
- Play/Pause - Toggle playback
- Previous/Next Sentence - Navigate through the text
- Progress Bar - See where you are in the chapter
- Auto-Play Next Chapter - Keep listening without interruption
Customization
- Voice Selection - Choose from your system’s available voices
- Reading Speed - Adjust from 0.5x to 2x speed
- Word Highlighting - Follow along as words are spoken
Keyboard Shortcuts
- Spacebar - Play/Pause
- Escape - Stop
- Alt + Up/Down - Previous/Next sentence
Author Control
Authors can enable or disable TTS for their content in their profile settings. Look for “Allow Basic Text-to-Speech” under Reader Features.
Trigger Warnings & Content Filtering
Protect your reading experience with granular content controls.
For Authors
Add trigger warnings at the series, book, or chapter level. Choose from 26 predefined warnings across five categories:
- Violence - Graphic violence, gore, torture
- Abuse - Sexual assault, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal cruelty
- Mental Health - Suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, addiction
- Sensitive Topics - Pregnancy/miscarriage, death, hate speech
- Phobias - Spiders, snakes, blood, needles, claustrophobia
Warnings are displayed clearly on content pages so readers know what to expect.
For Readers
Configure your content preferences to filter what you see:
- Block AI Content - Hide AI-generated stories
- Block NSFW Content - Hide mature (18+) content
- Block Specific Warnings - Choose which trigger warnings to avoid
When you encounter blocked content, you’ll see why it was blocked and can choose to “View Anyway” if you change your mind.
Progressive Web App (PWA)
Install Writers Grove on your device for an app-like experience.
Installation
On mobile, tap “Add to Home Screen” from your browser menu. On desktop, look for the install icon in your address bar.
Features
- Standalone Mode - Full-screen reading without browser chrome
- Offline Access - Read saved chapters without internet
- App Icon - Writers Grove on your home screen
Offline Reading
Save chapters for offline reading. The service worker caches your saved content so you can read anywhere, anytime.
Public Author Profiles
Authors now have public profile pages at /u/username.
What’s Displayed
- Avatar - Gravatar integration with fallback
- Bio - Tell readers about yourself
- Follower Count - See your audience grow
- Published Works - All your series in one place
- Social Links - Connect readers to your other platforms
Profile Editing
Update your profile from the Author Dashboard. Add a bio, configure your avatar via Gravatar, and manage your public presence.
Premium Subscriptions
Writers Grove Premium is now available with Stripe integration.
Premium Features
- Personal Subdomain - Get
yourname.writersgrove.netas your author homepage - 30-Day Free Trial - Try premium risk-free
- Easy Management - Manage billing through Stripe’s portal
Subdomain Hosting
Premium authors can activate a personal subdomain that points directly to their author profile. Share one memorable URL for all your work.
Subscription Lifecycle
- Subdomains are automatically deactivated if your subscription ends
- A daily cleanup worker ensures DNS records stay in sync
- Reactivate anytime by resubscribing
Homepage Redesign
The homepage now features seven curated carousels:
| Carousel | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Latest Releases | Series with recent chapter updates |
| New Authors | Recently joined authors with published work |
| Most Popular | Highest-rated and most-reviewed series |
| Trending | Series getting reviews this week |
| Hidden Gems | Great series with 3-9 reviews |
| Completed Series | Finished stories you can binge |
| Continue Reading | Pick up where you left off |
Empty carousels are hidden automatically. As more content is published and reviewed, more carousels will appear.
Mobile Improvements
We’ve fixed numerous mobile issues:
- Touch Scrolling - Carousels now scroll smoothly on mobile
- Viewport Fixes - No more horizontal overflow
- Mobile Menu - Login/logout options in the hamburger menu
- Responsive Controls - TTS and other controls adapt to screen size
Accessibility (ADA Compliance)
Every feature is built with accessibility in mind:
- Semantic HTML - Proper heading hierarchy and landmarks
- ARIA Labels - Screen reader support throughout
- Keyboard Navigation - Full keyboard control for all features
- Focus Management - Modals trap focus appropriately
- Color Contrast - WCAG 2.1 AA compliant
Infrastructure Updates
Custom Modals
Replaced all browser dialogs (alert, confirm, prompt) with custom modals that match our design system and work better across browsers.
Database Improvements
- Self-healing migrations
- Improved trigger functions
- Better query performance
What’s Next
We’re nearly ready for production launch. Writers Grove will move from beta to production status in February. The remaining items before launch:
- Image Uploads - Upload cover images directly (currently using external URLs)
- Reader Subscriptions - Let readers support their favorite authors
- Scheduled Posts - Queue chapters for future publication
- Author Analytics - Detailed stats for premium authors
Try It Out
All these features are live on beta.writersgrove.net. Create an account, follow some authors, leave comments, and let us know what you think.
Join our Discord to connect with other writers and readers.
Questions or feedback? Reach out at steven@writersgrove.net
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