Updates

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

Pricing page, policies on the site, and this Updates page

Version 1.0.23 · September 8, 2026

Releases 1.0.15 to 1.0.23.

A Pricing page at /pricing: the free plan beside premium at $14.99 a month after a 30-day free trial, with a Start Free Trial button.
A help note for authors whose work Stripe will not process: custom payment options are planned, with an address to write to.
The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are now pages on the site, linked from the footer and the sign-in box. Both are at version 1.1.0: passwords are gone from the text (sign-in has never used one), exports are described as Markdown, the premium price and trial match the pricing page, the chargeback section no longer promises a backup, and the privacy policy says that premium authors may run their own analytics and ads on their pages. Everyone is asked to agree to the new versions at their next sign-in.
This Updates page, with every release back to the first, five to a page.
The footer matches the top menu and credits The Simple Dev.
Signing in as a different account on a shared browser clears the previous account's drafts and reading positions.
Text links on the pricing, help and dashboard pages use the site colour.

Version 1.0.14 · September 8, 2026

Releases 1.0.12 to 1.0.14.

The Help page has Writing and Billing tabs with collapsible topics. Billing explains what happens when you cancel: your writing stays, your subdomain switches off, your tiers are hidden and existing subscribers keep their access.
After a failed payment, premium stays on for 15 days while Stripe retries up to four times and emails you a link to update your card. A cancellation you asked for simply runs to the end of the paid period.

Version 1.0.11 · September 8, 2026

Releases 1.0.6 to 1.0.11.

Signing up with a referral code starts you on premium for the number of free days the code carries, and the referral is recorded on your account.
At checkout, Stripe shows the full promised free period.
If a card payment fails, premium stays on while Stripe retries the card.
Admins manage referral codes and grant free days from an admin page, linked from their user menu.
The dashboard subscription buttons are grouped, and the free time line disappears once you subscribe.

Version 1.0.5 · September 7, 2026

Releases 1.0.1 to 1.0.5.

The sign-in modal returns focus to where you were, on desktop and on the phone.
Escape closes the phone menu and returns focus to the menu button, which now has the site focus outline.
The "log in to continue reading" prompt on a chapter preview is readable and opens the sign-in box.

Version 1.0.0 · September 7, 2026

The first production release. The BETA badge came off writersgrove.net.

Readers who rate a chapter can write a review of up to 2,000 characters, edit it, or delete it while keeping the rating. Authors can remove review text on their own chapters.
A Reading History page in the user menu lists every series you have opened, newest first, with a Continue link or a caught-up note.

Sixteen genres, one per series. The Genres page lists them with counts, and each genre pages through its series.
Search and genre pages filter by status, length and the content warnings you hide, and a warning on a series also hides its books and chapters.

Bullet lists in the chapter editor stay bullet lists, links inside chapters are readable, and a username change shows in the menu straight away.
Thirteen accessibility fixes from a full pass over every page: a clearer focus outline, readable tags and badges, a dark editor theme, Tab moving between fields, named buttons and menus for screen readers, and working Go Back buttons on blocked screens.
Cover uploads work on the create-a-series and create-a-book forms, replaced covers are deleted, and oversized images are shrunk if an account drops off premium.