50k gems? 
good luck to every new writer
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I don´t understand what a gem-read is can sommeone explain?
A gem read is a chapter that includes a gem choice of some sort. When a reader has read the full chapter that is a gem read.
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Do we get to chose a “price” for those gems choices?
For example, the first choice will be 6 gems while the next one will be 10 gems.
This is a pretty unpopular opinion I think, but there are a few points I have to bring up.
TLDR: Episode can’t be ~mostly~ free while also making zero money/losing money on authors that don’t make a net profit for them and you can’t expect them to NOT operate like any other business 
It’s difficult and disappointing, but Episode needs to make money SOMEHOW to sustain itself and operate for free* They have artists, coders, and reviewers that need to get paid. It’s great to help out small/medium authors (I am one myself) but if I’m doing this voluntarily knowing I don’t get paid, I can’t expect that to change. And if they don’t make money with gems, they’ll do it another way.
Futhermore, they probably did some business analysis to make this decision. It’s just operating like any other business does by paying people who bring in a net profit and letting go of those who don’t, and even though it’s harsh, I don’t think you can blame them for that. As for giving authors a cut based on how many gems people spend, I’m assuming there’s probably some threshold where if you’re not making above a certain amount, it doesn’t make sense to pay you (youtube works in a simialr way where you need 1000+ subs) and if this is true, then if you don’t like that they’re using your work without paying you, from Episode’s POV it makes more sense to let you go as an author than to start paying you.
It doesn’t mean that authors who don’t get paid aren’t talented. It just means that like applying for any other job, resources/spots are limited. As an analogy, when you have 300+ people applying to one job opening, that doesn’t mean that the 2nd choice person wasn’t qualified to do the job. It’s the unfortunate reality that there’s a limited number of resources and spots.
I’ll never include gem choices in my story besides “support the author”, which has surprisingly done enough to get my story with <1000 reads on the drama shelf (not super high up, but it was there, and for the record it took ~35 gems). But honestly, I’d rather have them optional gem choices than have to pay to just read or access the software, even if that hurts my rank somewhat.
I’m sure there’s a better business model out there, but I don’t know what it is. But from what I understand (I majored in molecular bio, not business), most corporations have a team of business people that figure this out and implement that.
*I say free kind of with a caveat, that you have to pay for gem choices and extra passes, but that’s optional and you get some free reads every day and it doesn’t cost money to use the portal.
(Edits for grammar and clarity)
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Well said 
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I was about to publish but first a wanted to see this and… well I guess I have to settle to write for free for now, I won’t put any gems choices, just free stories. We’ll see what happends
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This right here. This hit different. This is basically my whole entire argument when people try to shut me down and say that I shouldn’t be writing just to get paid. That’s not true at all. It’s the fact that many people want to earn royalties, like you said, for their hard work and dedication to a platform like Episode. Everybody knows that writing an Episode story is hard as heck, authors spend HOURS writing, and not to mention we have to learn how to code and direct; that’s not easy majority of the time.
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I’m honestly so disappointed cuz I’m a newer author and struggling to get reads and I can say 100% I’m not getting 100k reads and 300 gem choices before may and not even 500K reads either so I, along with so many other hard-working smaller authors are going to be victims of the new criteria! Which isn’t fair at all! I hate the idea of adding gems in my stories but the changes have forced me too! Yes, I’ve only added the support option in the end but still… I love Episode so much but this is a bit too much no? 
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Thanx for the luck. I think imma go for the 500k reads tho 
even tho it seemed impossible at first… Actually no… still quite impossible 
Yes you can. it’s not 6 and 10 tho. It’s 5,8,12,17,22,28, and 35 gems.
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thank you!
Absolutely!!!
I will just share that in my case specifically… I have spent close to two years learning how to code and direct and have gotten to the point where I can now incorporate advanced coding and directing in my story. I have learned how to make custom overlays in addition to developing a few tricks to make my story multi-dimensional. Even after learning all of these things… it takes me weeks to create a complete episode that includes all of the nuances and details that can aide in making my story interesting. And I have yet to publish my story.
I have read stories by other authors… and when I tell you their stories are beyond anything that I understood was possible to create on the Episode platform, I mean exactly that. The ingenuity used to create illusions and construct various aspects of the story that is absolutely not provided via Episode is truly amazing!!! I can’t imagine just how much dedication and work went into creating all of the aspects of their stories. And then I look at how many people have read their story… and my heart just breaks for them. Because their story only has 12k reads or 30k reads.
I’m not naive enough to assume that I know why the person has not had more reads, nor am I in denial that Episode is a business. But I do feel that the amount of work and dedication that is poured into this platform does not sufficiently address the intellectual property that is being provided by the authors. And the writers program to a certain extent is just a 
being dangled in front of the donkey so to speak. And even this is becoming harder and harder to obtain.
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I agree with you. It pretty normal to wish that our stories will be successful and will rank high in the episode - not for the rank itself, but simply because we want our story to be read. And opening the payment section is something like a milestone. I know that it’s not big money and is more like pocket money - but the point is it’s unlocked - it’s like if Episode noticed you and said - hay good work here we give you something back.
And there is nothing wrong to want this. I am not expecting to become a full-time writer and make Episode my only income. I have a really good paid job. So for me, it is not about the need for money. But I see it as appreciation.
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The fact if that if the author has a reather small number of reads the payment section will have not much meaning for him even if it would be open - I heard from many authors who have it that is just pocket money - tho one who can use it as the first job are only writers with several millions of reads.
But I understand your point with amazing stories with rather a small amount of reads… It took me 2 years of work to slowly dig my story from the invisible to now 3rd top stories in fantasy - in time I had 40 000k this seemed totally impossible. However eventually during the time, my story got noticed - even I suck in promoting it. I am now rather close to the payment section limit - but dunno if I will be able to make it on time before the rule change … since my gem % ratio is not 50%. But I am dedicated to getting there one day. 
So do not lose hope for these authors - practically nobody gets hundreds of thousands of reads quickly over night,
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as a soon to be new writer I don’t agree with this… now i spent so long practicing the ways of coding on here for ages, over and over again and now this new rule is crushing the game and episode is starting to be a game that we simply wont like anymore. I understand you want more money but this will destroy the app. If things don’t get better I’m simply leaving episode. This will push authors away and no good stories will be made and therefore the app will be boring and you will loose out on readers.
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Okay so… I understand where all of you are coming from. Some are scared that they might not be able to unlock the writer’s payment because of this HUGE change, but I want to share this with you.
So. I’m not really that kind of person who spends money for in-app purchases, but when authors started implementing and adding gem choices to stories (smart moves like bonus scenes, unlock scenes I did not unlock because I didn’t have much points, top up points, view deleted scenes etc.) I bought gems. Which is sooo not me. But why did I buy gems? Because what the authors are offering are worth it. Take note that I am also just a student, but I enjoy reading stories a lot.
Don’t get discouraged! I know this is a huge transition, but I believe that y’all can do it. Don’t give up!
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but payment section has no impact on story quality🤷♀️ I think you misinterpret this new rule. Before gems were added there was only the limit for 500k reads. Which is still harder to get than what is in this new rule. And I dont see point in why this should mean it will push good authors away.
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You are right … there still will be some amount of reades who do not pay for games. But after I added gem choices I was surprised about the amount I have got. I actually added them long before the rule change because my fans asked for it several times ( to buy points if they fail to get them via choices).
So it really depends on how is it done. If reader feels its more like bonus than that he is punished than he will more likely will to spend gems.
The 50% ratio seems to me personaly pretty big… but it practicly mean that with my current ratio around 30% I will need around 150k instead of 100k…so still much easier than the 500k with no gems.
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Exactly! While the 50k seem to be a big number, it’s actually attainable and not impossible to reach.
When I started spending gems, I don’t even feel bad for spending. I think authors are giving great content for the gems that readers spend.