Updates

What has changed on Writer's Grove, newest first.

Accessibility pass

Version 1.0.35 · September 10, 2026

Release 1.0.35.

Every text box, drop-down, button outline and card border is drawn in a lighter grey so the edges of controls are clear against the dark background, and a focused text box now shows the same blue ring as buttons and links.
The chapter editor's status bar says the state of your local draft and the server copy in words ("Local saved", "Server saving", and so on), and the Help page describes the states the same way.
The content warning picker works with a screen reader: the list announces the highlighted warning, and each selected warning's Remove button can be reached with the keyboard.
The link box in the chapter editor has a labelled URL field and keyboard-operable Save, Edit and Remove buttons.
The schedule plan, override and warning dialogs, the branch dialogs, the draft conflict dialog and the tier dialog keep keyboard focus inside them, close on Escape and return focus to the button that opened them.
Skip to content and chapter-to-chapter navigation move keyboard focus into the page content.
Every form with required fields says that fields marked with an asterisk are required, and the sign-in box says the link works for five minutes.
On screens between phone and desktop width (a tablet, or a laptop at 200% zoom) the search box and account menu no longer sit past the right edge of the page.
Filled rating stars are gold again.

Version 1.0.34 · September 9, 2026

Release 1.0.34.

The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy now say that what appears on an author subdomain (your-username.writersgrove.net) is controlled by the author, not by Writers Grove: the stories, the profile, the links, and any analytics or ads the author has added.
Both documents list our mailing address in Dexter, Michigan and our phone number, +1 (888) 836-5902, and the Privacy Policy has its own Contact Information section. DMCA notices can be mailed to that address as well as emailed.
The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are at version 1.3.0, so you will be asked to agree to them once at your next sign-in.

Version 1.0.33 · September 9, 2026

Releases 1.0.32 and 1.0.33.

Account archive: the author dashboard has an Account Archive block. Request Archive builds a zip of your account data as spreadsheets and every chapter as Markdown, arranged by series and book, with your covers and profile picture, and emails you when it is ready. You can request one a day; each new archive replaces the last and it stays available until your account is permanently deleted. The Download Backup button, which built the whole zip during the click and could not handle a large account, is gone.
Delete Account: the Edit Profile page ends with a Delete Account section. Deleting hides your profile and works right away, cancels your premium subscription and any author tier subscriptions immediately, prepares an archive, signs you out everywhere and emails you the date everything is removed for good, 30 days later. Signing in during those 30 days offers two choices: Download Archive and Cancel Delete. Cancelling brings your account and works back; premium is not restored.
The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are at version 1.2.0 and describe the archive and the deletion process, so you will be asked to agree to them once at your next sign-in.

Version 1.0.31 · September 9, 2026

Releases 1.0.26 to 1.0.31.

A Classics carousel on the home page with up to ten published series from the classics account, always listed last so it never pushes the site's own authors down.
Referral earnings: when someone who signed up through your referral code pays for premium, you earn 10% of each payment. Earnings are pending for 90 days and then owed to you. The Referrals page under the author dashboard lets you set your code once, shows your share link, your signups and paying referrals, your pending, owed and paid amounts, and your payout history, and takes the PayPal email your payouts go to. Payouts are made once the owed amount reaches $25.
The referral tables fit the phone screen without widening the page.
The Change Username box on the Edit Profile page now warns you before you change it: links to your current username stop working with no redirect (your profile, series, book and chapter pages all move to the new name), and your current username becomes free for anyone else to claim.

Version 1.0.25 · September 8, 2026

Releases 1.0.24 and 1.0.25.

A premium author's analytics and Google AdSense ads now run only on the author's own subdomain, never on writersgrove.net itself.
The author edit page says so when your subdomain is not active, with a link to switch it on from the author dashboard. Your analytics and ad settings are saved either way and apply as soon as the subdomain is active.
A new option in the Google Ads section hides your ads from readers subscribed to one of your paid tiers. Readers on a free tier and visitors who are not signed in still see them.