Share Stories on Your Terms

One of the biggest additions in Story Thyme v1.17.0 is Private Publishing.

You can now publish stories privately and protect them with a password, making it easy to share works-in-progress, beta releases, or exclusive stories with friends, collaborators, testers, or early supporters—without making your story publicly discoverable.

Whether you're gathering feedback before launch or simply sharing a story with a select audience, Private Publishing gives you complete control over who can read your work.

Better Reader Analytics

Understanding how readers experience your story just became even easier.

Choice Analytics now exclude your own choices by default, allowing you to see how other readers naturally interact with your branching story.

• Optionally include your own choices at any time.
• Analytics update instantly using AJAX.
• No page refreshes when changing filters.
• Switch between time ranges without interrupting your workflow.

Help New Readers Discover Your Stories

Teen and Mature stories are now visible to guest visitors while browsing Story Thyme.

Guests can discover your stories before creating an account, helping creators reach a wider audience while still requiring registration before age-restricted content can be read.

It's a small change with a big goal: helping more readers find great stories.

Protect Your Story Assets

We've also added an important safeguard behind the scenes.

Assets that are currently being used by one or more stories can no longer be accidentally deleted.

• Prevents broken scenes caused by missing assets.
• Keeps published stories working reliably.
• Simply remove the asset from every story before deleting it.

Small Improvements That Add Up

We've also made several quality-of-life improvements throughout the publishing workflow, including fixes to publication dates for unpublished stories and smoother interactions throughout the Story Analytics page.

These updates may be subtle individually, but together they make Story Thyme more reliable, easier to use, and better equipped for creators who are actively building and sharing visual novels.

Available Now

The Reader Engagement Update is available today for every Story Thyme creator.

We're excited to see how you use Private Publishing, explore your reader analytics, and continue creating amazing interactive stories.