Publish your novel. Keep your rights.
This is a home built to support authors, and a place where readers come to find them. Plain terms, written down before you start, so you can decide with all the facts in front of you.
Two ways to use Candlelit Stories
Write privately
Your own desk for drafting, importing, outlining and exporting. Everything stays private to you. There is no publishing, no fee and no earnings page, and the free allowance is one novel and 20,000 words.
Publish and sell
When a novel is ready, submit it for review and sell it to readers, keeping your rights. It adds covers, review, scheduling, sales and payouts, and includes the desk.
You choose after you create your account, and you can add the other at any time.
Your rights
You keep your copyright. You can sell your novel elsewhere too. There is no gag clause and no claim on your future books.
AI and your writing
Your drafts and manuscripts are never used to train AI. Not by us, and we do not sell, license or hand them to anyone who would.
Most of the site uses no AI at all. The spelling checker and the style insights run in your browser, so your text stays with you. The Writing Studio is optional and off until you switch it on. When you use it, only the text you send for that request is shared with our AI provider to write a suggestion, and the provider is not allowed to train on it. Nothing is ever added to your chapter unless you choose it.
Every novel's copyright page also reserves your work from AI training and text and data mining. Whether you love AI or want nothing to do with it, the choice is yours.
Readers find you here
Readers come to Candlelit Stories to discover novels. The first 3 chapters of every novel are free, so they can try your writing before they buy. New novels get a featured place every day, and ratings and comments come only from readers who bought the novel.
Shares and fees
- Author share
- 55% of each sale, or 70% with the monthly plan
- Exclusive bonus
- plus 5 points if the novel is only sold here
- Publishing fee
- 9 USD once per novel, not refundable (free for the founding authors above)
- Plan
- 12 USD per month
- AI plan
- 19 USD per month
These are our launch terms. They are final when we open.
Prices are set for you
The app sets the price of each novel automatically from its chapter count. Authors never set prices by hand.
Tools
Story manager. Chapters, drafts and private notes for each novel, with a story bible for characters and places, and a shelf for your research.
Outline board and plot templates. Plan your chapters as cards you can rearrange, or start from a romance, three-act or hero's journey outline.
Timeline and character relationships. See your story in the order it happens, and map how your characters are connected.
Importer. Bring in a Word or PDF manuscript you already wrote.
Spelling and style checker. Catch typing slips and see your writing patterns. It runs in your browser, so your text stays with you.
Version history and proof of authorship. Every version is kept, and the date of each chapter's first save is on record.
Scheduled publishing. Choose the day and time each chapter goes live.
Beta readers. Share draft chapters through a private link, with an optional passcode and name on every page, and collect comments.
Wellbeing reminders. Gentle reminders to drink water, stretch, rest your eyes, eat and work out, as a quiet note at the side or a pop-up. They show while the app is open.
Goals and deadline planner. Daily word goals, a writing streak, and a plan to reach your deadline. On the Study plan, add a daily writing time goal that counts only the time you spend writing, and stops by itself when you do.
Export and backup. Download your novel as Word, ePub or PDF, or keep a full backup of everything.
Muse, your optional writing helper (Coming soon). Suggestions for those who want them, only when you ask, and never written into your chapter without your tap. You can switch it off completely.
Writing, the spelling checker, word lookup, style insights, offline writing, the outline board, the story bible and all your exports are free within the free allowance. Beta readers, the research shelf, plot templates, the timeline, continuity, the relationship map, the deadline planner, the writing time goal, wellbeing reminders, proof of authorship and the full collection of 50 colour themes come with the Study plan. Five themes are free. Publishing and the higher author share come with Atelier.
On your phone and your computer
Your desk works in any modern browser, on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and your writing is the same everywhere you sign in. You can also add it to your Home Screen so it opens like an app, with no store and nothing to download.
On an iPhone or iPad
- Open the site in Safari.
- Tap the Share button.
- Choose Add to Home Screen, then Add.
On an Android phone
- Open the site in Chrome.
- Tap the three dots at the top.
- Choose Add to Home screen, or Install app.
Offline writing, which you switch on yourself, keeps your chapters on your device so you can keep writing without a connection.
Coming soon
- Apps for the App Store and Google Play.
- Muse, the optional writing helper.
The rules
- Original work only.
- No erotica.
- At least 10 chapters at launch.
- A new chapter every week.
- AI-written novels are allowed with a visible tag.
Payouts
Payouts are made through Stripe, with a minimum payout of 50 USD.
Questions
Do I have to publish to use the writing desk?
No. You can use the desk only to write. Your manuscripts stay private, and there is no fee, earnings page or payout until you choose to add publishing to your account.
Will my writing be used to train AI?
No. Your drafts and manuscripts are never used to train AI, by us or by our AI provider. See "AI and your writing" above.
Do I keep the rights to my novel?
Yes. You keep your copyright and you can sell your novel elsewhere too. We make no claim on your future books.
Is there an early offer?
Yes, while the founding places last. The first novels published here pay no publishing fee, and the first paid members keep a discount for as long as they stay subscribed. The current numbers are shown above. Publishing itself still needs the Atelier plan.
Why is there a publishing fee?
The one-time fee is paid once per novel, before it goes live. It is not refundable.
Who sets the price of my novel?
The app sets it automatically from the chapter count, the same way for every author.
Can I publish a novel written with AI?
Yes, as long as it carries a visible AI tag so readers know.
How often do I need to post?
A new chapter every week keeps your novel active for your readers.
How are payouts made?
Through Stripe, once your balance reaches the minimum payout.
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