Yeah I understand it’s not ideal. As an author and a reader I definitely would prefer there not to be gems in community stories 
but unfortunately that’s not the case.
It would be so much better though if it didn’t affect trending as much as it does.
1 Like
I love the idea of gem choices for bonus content, but I don’t like the idea of using a gem choice to skip a chapter they already read. It doesn’t seem fair, and it even seems like it capitalising on the issue of readers having to re-read chapters in the first place, when that is a problem that needs to be fixed within the episode app- not just something we should accept. But I don’t have an issue with gem choices that actually give good results :))
1 Like
Yeah that particular gem choice is in a grey area cause I feel like it doesn’t take anything to read the chapter again without spending gems plus it’s also a way to support the author with gems but then also it doesn’t really make sense cause you being made to read that chapter again was not your fault so why should you spend gems to skip it.
All in all I personally wouldn’t use that gem choice in my story and I won’t pick it as a reader.
ugh, kinda annoyed by them but mostly annoyed at myself for throwing all my money at my faves to unlock early access. smh they’re definitely targeting impulsive, binge readers like me and ugh, it’s working
2 Likes
I guess once in a while it’s good to support your favorite authors 
and they know early access would work that’s why they did it
I mean hey, i binged an official story to pay for early access so i don’t think that part is bad. As long as the feature isn’t abused then it’s fine. I would totes do early access for my story, but it needs to have a bigger audience in order for me to do it. I already use the gem choices for bonus scenes and support the author, the only problem is people aren’t doing gem choices for me.
1 Like
The early access option really only works if you have a loyal fan base cause I don’t so that’s why I don’t use it and you’re right i think gem choices could work well if they aren’t abused but unfortunately that’s not the case.
It also kinda shows how episode only cares about the popular authors cause readers are more likely to spend gems on stories that are popular and that they can see trending.
1 Like
I guesss gem choices aren’t that bad considering all the work authors put into their stories and the early access is fine. It’s annoying but understandable. However that last thing I DEF agree. I currently see a lot of trending stories on the app and they honestly aren’t all that. There should be another way that stories are able to trend, instead of it being based on how much a story makes off of gems. There is no type of quality control when it’s built off of capitalism.
1 Like
Exactly like I don’t think gem choices are bad but it’s making all the stories trend based on who spends gems and not based on the quality of the stories.
The bad thing about that is that new readers will probably not find the true good stories and new authors will have a hard time getting their stories read
I agree with you, on some parts.
There’s a difference between “rewarding” your readers and then just using it for greed. Like episode’s stories is so full of gem choices, it’s annoying.
30 gems for a story that’s mediocre, I will not spend. I would rather get married to my soulmate in a cardboard box than pay 30 gems for the big fancy wedding scene that’s barely 3 lines of dialogue long.
I use gem choices very scarcely throughout my story because I trust that if my readers think my story is good, they will want to spend gems.
Episode needs to trust the fact that if they create/promote good stories, we will pay. Instead of creating cliches and pushing the gem choices in our faces over and over again.
1 Like
I agree but they’re also taking advantage of the fact that there are little teens reading these stories and those are the ones that’ll ultimately spend the gems.
I personally would never use more than 8 gems on a choice in my story cause I know that gems are hard to get and people need to spend on other stories too.
I think since episode cuts 30+ stories to about 10 episodes it’s hard for it to be of better quality so they have to rely on gems 