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Story Modes, Roles, and Review

Chapter 3 by Friedman Friedman

Story modes, roles, and review

Story Mode controls contributions from people who do not have a trusted writing role. User Roles give selected collaborators additional permissions. Together, they decide who may add, publish, edit, review, move, and delete chapters.

These settings apply to story collaboration after the story itself is published. Every newly created story still begins as a draft and must be submitted and approved before readers can find it.

Choose a Story Mode

Story Mode A user with no story role When to use it
Public May add a chapter, which publishes immediately Open collaboration where outside contributions do not need prior review
Moderated May add a chapter, which is submitted for approval Open collaboration where story reviewers check contributions first
Private Cannot add a chapter A closed project limited to selected collaborators

Moderated is the default. It is usually the safest starting point when you welcome contributions but want to check their fit with the story and Writer guidelines before publication.

Story Mode does not override a trusted writing role. Owners, Editors, Assistant Editors, and Authors can publish chapters directly in any mode.

Understand the roles

Role Publish chapters directly Edit chapters Move or reorder chapters Delete chapters Approve or decline submitted chapters Edit and submit the story itself
Owner Yes All chapters Yes All eligible chapters Yes Yes
Editor Yes All chapters Yes All eligible chapters Yes No
Assistant Editor Yes All chapters No Their own eligible chapters No No
Reviewer Only when the Story Mode already allows it Their own chapters No Their own eligible chapters Yes No
Author Yes Their own chapters No Their own eligible chapters No No

The roles are intentionally narrow:

  • Use Editor for someone trusted to manage the entire chapter tree and review contributions.
  • Use Assistant Editor for someone trusted to edit and publish all chapters without giving them control over branch order, contribution review, or deletion of other authors' chapters.
  • Use Reviewer for someone who should approve or decline submitted chapters without editing the story's existing work.
  • Use Author for someone trusted to publish and manage their own contributions.

A person's Story Mode access still matters where their role has no writing permission. A Reviewer can add and immediately publish a chapter in a Public story, submit one in a Moderated story, and cannot add one in a Private story unless they also have a writing role.

Assign or remove a role

The Owner can open Edit Story and find User Roles:

  1. enter the collaborator's exact username;
  2. choose the role;
  3. add the role to the list;
  4. select Save Story.

Review the role table before granting access. When someone only needs to review submissions, Reviewer is safer than Editor. When someone needs to edit chapters but should not restructure the story, Assistant Editor is the closer match.

Removing a role removes the permissions granted by that role. It does not delete chapters the person already wrote. A collaborator can also use Leave story from My stories to remove their own role; their existing chapters remain.

What happens to a new chapter

For a visible story, the publication result follows both the mode and the contributor's role:

Contributor Public Moderated Private
No role Publishes Submitted for approval Cannot add
Reviewer Publishes Submitted for approval Cannot add
Author Publishes Publishes Publishes
Assistant Editor Publishes Publishes Publishes
Editor Publishes Publishes Publishes
Owner Publishes Publishes Publishes

The chapter form reflects the result:

  • Publish Chapter is shown when the chapter can become visible immediately.
  • Submit Chapter for Approval is shown when review is required.
  • Save as Draft keeps the chapter unpublished in either case.

A story that is still a draft or under review does not publish its chapters separately. Its saved chapters are submitted and published with the story.

Review submitted chapters

Owners, Editors, and Reviewers can open Review chapters in the Library. The list contains chapters waiting for approval in stories where they have review access.

Before deciding, read the chapter in its story context and compare it with the Writer guidelines. A reviewer can:

  • approve the chapter, making it visible in the story; or
  • decline it with useful feedback, returning it to the author as a draft that needs revision.

Assistant Editors and Authors do not receive review permission from those roles.

The chapter author can still open and edit a submitted chapter while it waits. If it is declined, the feedback appears on the chapter and in the author's Needs revision list. After revising, the author can select Submit Chapter for Approval again.

Follow story approval

A newly created story is saved as Not published. The Owner opens it and selects Submit for approval when the title, synopsis, first chapter, settings, and any additional draft chapters are ready.

While the story is waiting, its status is Under review and the Owner can still edit it. If it is returned, the story appears under Needs revision with feedback. The Owner updates the draft and submits it again.

Story roles do not let an Editor, Assistant Editor, Reviewer, or Author submit the story itself. Story submission and story settings remain Owner responsibilities.

Set expectations for contributors

Use Writer guidelines on Edit Story to explain the intended direction, tone, point of view, boundaries, and continuity expectations. Clear guidelines make a Moderated story easier to review and help Public-story contributors understand what fits before publishing.

Story review is not a substitute for clear communication. When returning a contribution, explain the changes needed rather than only saying that it does not fit.

Decide whether the story may be adopted

The story setting Opt out of story adoption after inactivity controls whether the story may become available for adoption after six months of owner inactivity.

  • Leave it cleared if you want active contributors to be able to request adoption after that period.
  • Select it if the story should never be offered through that process.

An adoption request does not automatically change ownership. The preference only decides whether the story may be presented as available for a request.

If you have contributed to a story with no listed Owner, Editor, or Reviewer, CHYOA may show Request adoption in the story's Contributors section. Use it to explain your history with the story and how you would continue it. The request is reviewed before any ownership changes; sending one does not transfer the story automatically.

Your account settings also include Opt out of story adoption for all my stories. Enabling it opts out your existing stories and keeps new stories opted out. Disabling it later does not clear the individual choices already saved; edit a story to allow adoption for that story again.

Before changing access

Check that:

  1. the Story Mode matches how much outside review you want;
  2. each collaborator has the narrowest role that covers their work;
  3. at least the Owner understands who can review pending chapters;
  4. Writer guidelines explain what contributors should preserve;
  5. the adoption preference matches your long-term wishes for the story.

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