Ready to start publishing episodes of your story? You can use our handy Episode Scheduler to give each of your stories its own schedule, just like TV!
Quick jumps:
What is the Episode Scheduler?
Setting up your schedule and Auto-release
Marking your stories as complete
How Freemium works with the Episode Scheduler
What is the Episode Scheduler?
The Episode Scheduler is a tool that allows you to dictate the days when your episodes release to your readers. It can be found near the bottom of the page after clicking your story in Writer’s Web:
When turned ON, the Auto-release feature allows the Episode Scheduler to automatically publish your episodes based on the schedule you set. This works the same way for all three of our Pricing Models. If you’ve selected the Freemium model, your stories have an additional unlock schedule that shows when an episode will become Free —jump here for more info on how the Episode Scheduler works with Freemium!
Note: If you’ve marked your story as complete, the Episode Scheduler will disappear. For more on completed stories click here.
Setting up your schedule and Auto-release
So, let’s dive in! Once you’re in the Episode Scheduler and you’ve made sure the Auto-release function is ON, select the days and times you want your episodes to publish. Note: Our Episode Scheduler is in Greenwich Mean Time or GMT.
We recommend scheduling your story for 2-3 days per week, but the frequency is up to you. If you want your story to release more slowly, set fewer days per week. If you’ve got a great backlist title you’re anxious to get out to your readers, set the schedule to 3+ days per week to release faster.
You can find the episodes waiting to be published in the Unreleased section below the Episode Scheduler. Queue a batch of episodes—we recommend uploading at least 7 to start—and the episodes will release on their own according to your set schedule.
For example, if your shifter paranormal story has been set to release Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 1am UTC (8pm ET), one queued episode will release at exactly that time on those days. A push notification will be sent to your subscribers with every episode release. By releasing regularly with Auto-release, you can get readers’ attention a few times per week!
Pro tip: Keep your Episode Scheduler turned ON so your story can appear in our daily schedule located on Home.
This helps your readers remember the days you release—staying on schedule helps you create a loyal reader base!
Want some more tips on how to gain viewership for your episodes after they are published? See “How do I promote my story?”
Marking your stories as complete
After your final episode publishes, it’s a good idea to mark your story as complete. This way, you’ll get a marker on your story, and readers know they can binge read at will! If you accidentally mark your story as complete, you can easily turn it off with the click of a button.
If you’re publishing a backlist title, it’s a good idea to wait a week or two before marking it as complete. Waiting gives a newly published backlist title a chance to pop up on Home under “Newest Stories” and for your story to get more visibility.
Auto-release is awesome and all, but maybe you want to release more than one episode at a time or publish an episode immediately after you finish writing it. Our Episode Scheduler allows you to publish episodes manually.
If your Auto-release is turned ON and an episode is queued, click the ellipses to reveal our “Release” option.
If your Auto-release is turned OFF, simply click “Publish Now.” Note: If your Auto-release is OFF, you’ll have to do this every time you want an episode to release. Consider switching Auto-release back ON to avoid the hassle!
How Freemium works with the Episode Scheduler
There are many ways you can use the Episode Scheduler to fit your Freemium story’s needs. Our Episode Scheduler controls both when episodes release and unlock—these two events happen simultaneously!
Consider the following 3 examples to better understand how you can use the Episode Scheduler with our Freemium model.
Example 1: You want more episodes locked at once.
Let’s say you have published 10 episodes total of your romantic thriller and want 5 episodes to be locked at all times. You can manually release 5 episodes to have 15 total. When your 16th queued episode publishes, episode 11 will unlock simultaneously. Five episodes (12 to 16) will still be locked. This pattern will repeat as more episodes publish!
Example 2: You want to speed up when your episodes unlock.
Let’s say you have an awesome fantasy backlist title with around 28 episodes and want them to release and unlock quickly. If you set the Episode Scheduler for 7 days per week and release 7 episodes at once, an episode will publish/unlock daily. After 28 days, the story would be fully released.
Example 3: You want to slow down when episodes unlock.
Let’s say all 30 episodes of your young adult contemporary have been released and 15 episodes are still locked. If your Episode Scheduler is set for once per week, the episodes will unlock after 15 weeks. If your Episode Scheduler is set for 3 times per week, the episodes will unlock after 5 weeks.
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