New feature: Author Subscriptions

Author Subscriptions Author Subscriptions are a simple way for readers to support writers they value. And to keep reading their work, month after month. Pilot availability Author Subscriptions is initially open to a small pilot group while we test setup, recurring payments, subscriber access, moderation, and support. We plan to expand access after the pilot. To request consideration, enter your email here. What are Author Subscriptions? Author Subscriptions lets readers pay a monthly fee for access to an author’s subscriber-only work on Gavagai. You (the author) choose one monthly price and decide which stories are available to everyone and which require a paid subscription. One subscription gives a reader access to all of your subscriber-only stories while their subscription is active, including additional subscriber-only work you publish during that time. Subscriptions renew automatically until canceled. They apply to an individual author; subscribing to one writer does not unlock other authors’ subscriber-only work. Author Tips remains a separate option for voluntary, one-time support. A tip does not create a subscription or unlock subscriber-only stories. Author Tips can be given on subscriber-only stories for those readers who want to show additional appreciation. Why we built it Some readers want to support a particular story. Others want to keep following a writer’s work and contribute regularly. Author Subscriptions gives authors a way to build recurring income around those ongoing relationships. You can continue publishing work that everyone can read while offering additional stories to paying subscribers. You decide how subscriptions fit your writing, your audience and your publishing goals. Who can participate? During the pilot, Author Subscriptions is available only to invited authors. After the pilot, we plan to make the feature available more broadly to eligible Gavagai authors. Participating authors must maintain an account in good standing, follow Gavagai’s publication and monetization rules, accept the Creator & Subscription Terms, and complete the required Stripe setup. Eligibility also depends on your country, account type, and Stripe’s ability to verify your identity and payout information. A pilot invitation does not guarantee payment-account approval. If you already use Stripe for Author Tips, complete the subscription setup process as well. Additional information or acceptance of subscription terms may be required. How do subscriptions work? Authors choose a monthly price in whole U.S. dollars, from $3 to $50. Once setup is complete, select Paid subscribers when publishing an eligible story. You can choose how much non-subscribers see: Story details only: Readers can see the public story information, but the story text requires a subscription. Free preview: Add a subscriber break in the editor. Readers can read the opening portion before subscribing to continue. The subscriber panel in the Story Editor. Readers sign in to Gavagai and complete checkout through Stripe. Their subscription renews monthly until they cancel. You can publish a mixture of freely available and subscriber-only stories. Offering subscriptions does not require putting all of your work behind a paywall. Which stories can be subscriber-only? Eligible Story Posts can be offered to paid subscribers when the author’s subscription setup is active. These can include: Newly published stories. Stories you previously published on Gavagai. Reprints of work first published elsewhere, provided you have the necessary rights. Subscriber-only stories have publicly visible story pages, even when their text requires payment. They are different from stories shared privately with selected people (for example in Critique Circles). Private stories, drafts, and material that does not meet Gavagai’s publication or monetization standards cannot be offered as subscriber-only stories. Comments, replies, and other discussion attached to a subscriber-only story remain public. Readers should avoid revealing or reproducing restricted story text in public discussion. Stories selected as Editor Picks cannot be paywalled and will always remain free to read in full. What should I publish? Publish work that gives readers a clear reason to return: stories, essays, poems, or other writing that fits your interests and strengths. An existing collection of work can give new subscribers something to explore immediately. Reprints can be especially useful when you hold the necessary rights and want to introduce older work to a new audience. Be clear about what you offer. If you describe a publishing schedule or promise a particular kind of work, make sure those expectations are realistic. Gavagai subscriptions do not themselves guarantee a particular number of stories, publishing frequency, or personal contact with the author. A subscription offering can take time to develop. Publish work because Gavagai makes sense for it, without assuming that putting it behind a paywall will generate income. Content eligibility Gavagai welcomes mature literary work, including writing that explores sex, violence, disturbing imagery, and difficult themes. Subscriber-only work must also meet Gavagai’s monetization standards. The Creator & Subscription Terms prohibit certain monetized content, including pornography, sexual exploitation, prohibited sexual content, and extreme or exploitative violence or gore. Genre labels do not determine eligibility. Literary context, explicitness, presentation, and promotion matter. Content warnings help readers make informed choices, but they do not make otherwise prohibited material eligible. Payment-processor restrictions also apply. Stripe prohibits pornography and other mature content designed for sexual gratification, including literature. See Stripe’s prohibited and restricted businesses policy. Gavagai may review stories, request changes, or restrict monetization when necessary. Publishing rights and reprints Only publish text, artwork, and other material that you own or have permission to use. Publishing a previously unpublished story on Gavagai can affect its eligibility at magazines, anthologies, and other publishers seeking first-publication rights. Do not assume that placing a story behind a subscription preserves those opportunities. Markets define prior publication differently, so check their submission guidelines before posting work you still intend to submit elsewhere. For reprints, review the original contract. Confirm that any exclusivity period has ended and that you have the rights needed to republish and monetize the work. For Gavagai’s Editor Picks program, a story first posted publicly on Gavagai remains eligible for consideration. We do not treat its initial Gavagai publication as a reprint for that program. Selection is never guaranteed, and any Editor Pick payment is separate from subscription income. Pricing, fees, and payouts Gavagai’s platform fee is 5% of each subscription payment. Stripe’s applicable payment-processing and related fees (as of September 2026, 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction on the full price of the transaction) are deducted separately. For example: Monthly subscription payment: $3.00 Gavagai’s 5% fee: $0.15 Remaining before Stripe fees: $2.85 Stripe card-processing fee: $0.39 Estimated author earnings after card processing: $2.46 Monthly subscription payment: $5.00 Gavagai’s 5% fee: $0.25 Remaining before Stripe fees: $4.75 Stripe card-processing fee: $0.45 Estimated author earnings after card processing: $4.30 Monthly subscription payment: $10.00 Gavagai’s 5% fee: $0.50 Remaining before Stripe fees: $9.50 Stripe card-processing fee: $0.59 Estimated author earnings after card processing: $8.91 Monthly subscription payment: $20.00 Gavagai’s 5% fee: $1.00 Remaining before Stripe fees: $19.00 Stripe card-processing fee: $0.88 Estimated author earnings after card processing: $18.12 Note that these Stripe deductions are estimates. Stripe processing costs vary by account, payment method, country, and services used; recurring billing can carry additional fees. See Stripe’s payment pricing and Billing pricing. Stripe sends funds to your connected payout account according to its available payout schedule. Verification, account status, refunds, disputes, and banking timelines can affect the amount and timing of payouts. Can I change my price? Yes. A new price applies to future subscriptions. Existing active subscribers keep their current monthly rate. If they cancel and later subscribe again, your price at the time of the new subscription applies. How much can I make? Earnings depend on how many readers subscribe, the price you choose, and how long subscribers stay. For example, 100 subscribers paying $5 per month would generate $500 in monthly payments. After Gavagai’s 5% platform fee, $475 would remain before Stripe fees and any other applicable adjustments. That is an illustration, not a forecast. Subscriptions can create recurring income, but subscriber numbers and earnings can change from month to month. A complete profile, freely available work, Author Updates, participation in the community, and sharing your writing with an existing audience can help readers discover you. None guarantees a particular result. Why use Gavagai if another platform is already working? You do not need to leave a platform that works for you. Gavagai can provide an additional place for readers to discover your writing and support it. Our Editor Picks, related-story recommendations, social features, and Author Updates help readers move from discovering one piece to following its author. Where your rights and other agreements allow it, publishing on Gavagai can extend your reach. Consider what a Gavagai subscription offers readers, especially if you also sell access elsewhere. Describe the offering clearly so readers can decide whether it suits them. Subscriptions, Tips, and Author Updates These features serve different purposes: Author Subscriptions Access to an author’s subscriber-only work while subscribed. Recurring monthly payment. Author Tips A way to support an eligible public story. Voluntary, one-time payment. Author Updates Email updates from an author the reader chooses to hear from. Free. A paid subscription is separate from an Author Updates signup. Payment information must not be treated as permission to add a reader to an unrelated newsletter or marketing list. Author Updates pair well with Author Subscriptions, in that interested readers will receive emails when you publish new content, and will then either read the content to which they are subscribed or will be presented with the option to do so. Privacy: what can an author see? When a reader purchases a paid subscription, Gavagai shares their public display name, username, and subscription status with the author. Stripe may separately make limited customer and transaction information available to the author as the payment recipient. Authors do not receive the reader’s full card or bank-account details. Authors should also choose their payment-support email carefully during setup: Stripe may display it on receipts and other payment communications. Keeping the default support@gavagai.com is a wise choice. Managing and canceling a subscription Readers can manage subscriptions through Settings → Payments → My paid subscriptions. From there, they can open Stripe’s billing portal or cancel a subscription. Cancellation stops future renewals, and access normally continues through the end of the current paid billing period. Cancellation does not automatically refund earlier payments. If a renewal payment fails, subscriber-only access may be interrupted until the payment issue is resolved. Unsubscribing from Author Updates does not cancel a paid subscription. How do I request pilot access? Open the Gavagai feed. Find Offer Reader Subscriptions here. Enter your email address and select Request subscription access. If invited, open your profile settings and enable Offer paid subscriptions. Choose Complete setup, set your monthly price, accept the Creator & Subscription Terms, and complete any required Stripe steps. Once your account is ready, choose Paid subscribers for eligible stories and decide whether to include a free preview. Submitting a request does not guarantee admission. We are keeping the initial group small so we can respond quickly to setup, billing, access, moderation, and support issues. Frequently asked questions Does one subscription cover every author on Gavagai? No. Each subscription is to an individual author and covers that author’s subscriber-only work. Can I keep publishing free stories? Yes. You choose access settings for individual eligible stories. Can older stories and reprints be included? Yes, provided they meet the eligibility requirements and you have the necessary publishing rights. Does a subscription give readers ownership of the work? No. It provides access while the subscription is active. Readers may not redistribute or republish the work without permission. Where can readers subscribe during the pilot? Use Gavagai’s website on desktop or mobile web. Am I responsible for taxes? Authors are responsible for understanding and meeting their own tax and reporting obligations. What about refunds and disputes? Subscription payments are generally non-refundable except where required by law or where Gavagai approves a refund under its terms. Refunds, chargebacks, and disputes may affect an author’s balance. Contact Gavagai support for help with a billing or access problem, and review the Creator & Subscription Terms for the applicable responsibilities. Ready to help test Author Subscriptions? Request pilot access here, choose work you have the right to publish, and think about the monthly offering you want to make to readers. Your feedback will help us improve the experience for authors and subscribers before wider availability.