@Liz some of the posters bring up a good point. What would be the incentive for writers who are not close to the target numbers for Readers Payment and writers 13-17 who do not qualify to do the gem choices? Is there any incentive?
I donāt know about thisā¦ I just canāt seem to get on board.
As a reader, Iām not really going to see gem choices as a reason to read a story. And ofc, if everyone starts putting in gem choices, whatās then different between user stories and featured stories?
As an author, I want readers to choose their choice and not feel backed into it. I hate reading a featured story and then having other characters make sly remarks at me because I couldnāt buy the better outfit. I would never want to make my readers feel that second hand embarrassment because they have lame clothes or because they couldnāt take the obvious āgoodā choice.
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You bring up some really good points! Iād also like to know how this affects weekly shelves, contests and Under 18ās
I feel like this could work! It will be easier for readers to get gems and use these in the stories they read, but the writer also gets something out of it! I like the idea 
Currently to qualify to Writer Payments an author has to get 500,000 reads across all their stories in 60 days. What we are thinking, potentially subject to changes after testing, is that you could ALSO qualify for Writer Payments by getting 100,000 gem choice reads in 60 days. Please take this number with a grain of salt as this has not been finalized yet. This would mean there are 2 ways to enter the Payments program - regular chapter reads AND Gem Choice reads.
For legal reasons the Writer Payments program has to remain restricted to authors over the age of 18, however, if you qualify for payments before you turn 18, the earnings are held there until you are of age and can claim them.
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Thank you for listening to the readersā concerns. I still wonāt use gem choices though because I think theyāre a HUGE buzzkill, and they make me very uncomfortable. Thanks for the option though, and Iām sure not that many people will abuse of gem choices.
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Liz, would a āgem choice readā mean that the reader would actually need to pay for the gem choice? Or that theyād just need to read the chapter?
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I answered your questions about Writer Payments on another post
In terms of promoting stories, remember that currently stories are selected based on reader retention and rubric score. One of the measures we already use on the rubric looks at quality of choices - this would stay the same regardless of whether or not an author is using gem choices or free choices. Using gem choices or not wonāt have an impact on weekly shelves or contest entries. A good story is a good story. Again, these opportunities arise out of retention and rubric score. Also remember that in order to get the Episode āEā and that level of featuring, stories have gem choices added to them anyway.
For the foreseeable future, authors wonāt be able to set cost of their choices. We want to be cautious about how quickly we make changes to this so its something we are considering for the long term, but in the short term - no.
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Thanks for the clarification! 
Iāve seen that some people are concerned that not using gem choices could be a disadvantage so itās nice to know that this wonāt be the case.
Ok thanks. Iām curious to know how the 2-15 gem choice amounts will be determined going forward!
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I think the reason I (and probably others feel this way too) donāt like gem choices is because it essentially makes it so that you have pay to get a good story. Iām glad that smaller authors can have the opportunity to earn money but I think in the end gem choices shouldnāt affect the plot. I think it should be understood that theyāre bonus scenes, possibly scenes that hold more character information etc.
I wouldnāt mind earning gems and spending them to see cute little cut scenes or flashbacks.
I think with the gem prices being lower now, people wouldnāt mind spending gems to do that. I also think another good way for small authors to get money would just be if they got a certain percentage of their commercial revenue say off at least their third chapter or so?
But generally I still want to be able to influence the plot without paying for it or having to wait to rack up my gems to even want to continue a story.
Gem choices are a big reason as to why I hardly read the featured stories andI donāt want the same problem to spread to other stories Iāll want to read. They take away the main component of what episode is supposed to be which is the ability for readers to choose their own story.
You canāt really choose your own story if you chose what you wanted earlier in the day but canāt do so the rest of the week because you donāt have enough gems. What are you to do when you have to spend time earning gems to get the story you want. You just kind of end up stop reading after awhile because whatās the point? You canāt get what you want. Which is the whole point of the app.
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Iām gonna be honest, Iām really proud of the Episode Team. Iāve been a part of the forums for almost 3 years now, and I see a lot of growth. I never would have imagined anyone reading our comments and actually DOING something about it. The fact that the team has read it, considered it, and is acting on it so efficiently kinda blew my mind just now. This kind of communication is crucial and I just gotta say that even though Iām not 100% for giving episode gem choice to all authors, this is a great compromise and Iām glad of what the outcome is so far. Good job everybody! 
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@Liz I think that it would be only fair- and satisfying for all including parties, if every single author would have a chance to include gem choices in the story.
But you have to limit 2 things:
- the amount of maximum cost for one choice (not more than 1 gem per choice!!)
- what kind of choices are allowed to use gem cost.
You are currently limiting the number of gem choices per chapter- I think thatās not realistic.
Also you are limiting the amount of max gem choice worth from 2-15 gems. And thatās completely not possible. As I said - for common writers- who are not featured- should all gem choices be worth maximum 1 gem.
Now letās talk about good choices. No, letās talk about bad choices first, which should never be included in gem choices:
- Choosing the outfit.
- Choosing what to eat or what do drink.
- Paying with gems for a gift which character got from another character.
- Choosing the path/choice/option - which only leads to slightly different scenes.
You mention Episode Team has chosen 5 authors to promote their stories. I want to question- What were they doing so well? What can we do, to be as good as them? Are you choosing the quality or the quantity of choices?
In my opinion only choices with branching into many stories - are good enough to be paid with gems.
So what are the good choices for gems:
- Complex branching with different story variations and many different outcomes.
- As stated in previous line, author should/can only make some of those story variations worth a gem.
- If you are giving an option to writers to include gems in other choices, which are not mentioned in this first line, then that means that youāre preferring quantity over quality.
- Not all authors know how to make complex branching which lead to many different story variations, because not all authors are good! We can divide authors to: bad ones (bad directing, bad story plot), not so experienced ones (with good plot, but bad directing), very good author (amazing plot and awesome directing) and pro authors (which are talented to create awesome plot with awesome directing) - and finally those authors, who are above pros - which think more complex and are capable to write complex stories with many story variations in just one story.
One of those ABOVE PROS authors is Wincy - author of the story The Ruby Tiara, even though the story is not yet finished and Iām not sure how many different outcomes it will have.
Featured stories are amazing in my opinion- but with terrible gem choices.
One more thing - the retention bar is worthless - itās not telling you much of story quality! Because only writers with large community friends get reads and promotions from their friends. Even if the stories are bad. So you need to find another way to find out, which stories are worth of your time.
I can list you many. Because when Iām reading a story, I donāt divide authors to friends and not friends. Iām realistic and prefer quality.
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Iām going to use gem choices in minigames. If the reader fails the minigame, they will have the option of salvaging it with gems. This way, the reader has an oppurtunity to get on track
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I think capping the choices are a must and regenerating gems should be a thing in my opinion also and the choice of the day gems are great. I like how Episode is addressing this issue.
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The problem with using gems for complex branching and different storylines is that readers will feel like they HAVE to spend gems to get a good storyline. I actually kind of like that gem choices donāt impact a story but can just give bonus content (or can assist. Like in Haute as Hell I believe gem options can help you āwinā challenges? I personally donāt spend gems lol so Iām not entirely sure). I used gem choices in one of my stories and one of the most common questions I got was āDo the gem choices impact the ending/Can we get the best ending without gems?ā I think doing that would be unfair. If you were reading a story and it felt like the gem choices made a major impact, then you might feel like you really couldnāt enjoy the story without them (I stopped reading one of the Choices stories for this reason lol).
That being said, if a story has lots of branching and āgoodā or ābadā outcomes, then I think itās fine to include gem choices that can assist a reader get a better ending. It should still be possible to get a good outcome without spending a cent though.
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Yes I had this issue with one of the Choices stories. It was a fantasy one and if I didnāt make a gem choice, I would always be stuck, so I stopped reading the story.
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I still wouldnāt use gem choices. As I believe @Antika said before, I would only add one at the end of each chapter maybe that says āIf you like this story, consider donating a little to the authorā and it would be completely optional and not affect the story.
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I like that idea Anya. I have no idea if I would use them or not use them. However if I did I would make sure I use them responsibly and not waste readers time and money to use them. I definitely would not use it if I wasnāt sure how to use them properly.
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Yes, Iām talking about choices with different outcomes, all equally good
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