Hello Ream Authors 👋,

It's Michael, here. We have a much-requested and long-awaited update on Ream.

TLDR: Readers can opt in or opt out of viewing Mature stories in Discovery on Ream (specifically Story Search, For You, Rising Reamers, and the Genre Lists).

I'm sure you all will have a lot of questions about this update. First, I want to share why we implemented this update, what Mature Filtering looks like for readers, and what it means for you all — Ream's wonderful authors 😊. 

First, Ream will always be proud to support our steamy romance authors and provide a space for erotica authors that is free from censorship and unwieldy ban hammers.

With this said our mission is to help ALL storytellers rule the world.

This means not only creating a safe and welcoming space for stories intended for Mature audiences, but also a welcoming space for readers who may not be interested or comfortable with viewing or experiencing mature stories.

Specifically, Ream has seen an influx of thousands of young adult readers and with that hundreds of incredible young adult authors and stories. 

We want to ensure Ream is a space that all readers can trust.

With Mature Filtering, we can display Mature stories to readers who want to see them while allowing readers who don't want to view them to opt out.

We require authors to categorize their content as Mature if it contains any of the following:

• Explicit sex scenes (graphic depictions of body parts).
• A sexual relationship as a primary driver of the story or plotline.
• Graphic depictions of sexual assault or non-consensual sexual behavior.
• NSFW art containing characters (nude or not) in any sexual position or situation.

You can read Ream's full Content and Community Guidelines here, and as always if you have any questions, we are always here to help you.

Now what does Mature Filtering for Stories on Ream actually look like for readers?

Point 1: Mature Filtering for Readers NOT Logged In

First, when new readers come to Ream NOT LOGGED IN to an account, they will only see stories that are NOT Mature in the top Genre Lists and Rising Reamers.

This gives a welcoming environment to all readers, while still making it easy for readers to find Mature authors and stories.

Point 2: Mature Filters ONLY Apply to Discovery NOT When Readers Visit Your Author Page

First, not sure what Discovery on Ream is? 

You can read this guide to learn about all the ways readers can discover new stories on Ream. In short, Discovery is Ream's way to help authors grow their readership on the platform and readers find amazing stories.

Rest assured, if you are an author of Mature stories and a reader visits your author page OR you send them a link to one of your stories and they don't have a Ream account, they will still be able to access your stories and page.

This Mature filtering ONLY applies to Discovery on Ream and aims to reduce harmful and unwanted experiences readers have had seeing stories that they did not expect when first coming to Ream.

Point 3: Mature Filtering is at the Story Level. This means that Author Pages are NEVER marked as Mature or Not and this does not affect the Discovery of your page in any way.

To make things easy and effective for authors and readers, Mature content filtering is at the story level. 

This means that readers who have disabled Mature content can still find all of your non-Mature stories. 

Readers can still search for all authors on the platform. Even if every one of your stories is Mature, you will still display in the Author search to all readers.

And if a reader Follows or joins your Ream as a Member, they will also see ALL OF YOUR STORIES, whether they are Mature or not.

Point 4: How Readers Opt In or Opt Out of Viewing Mature Content

The moment you create an account on Ream, you are required to Opt In or Opt Out of viewing Mature stories and content.

And the good news is that it is SUPER SIMPLE to change your ability to see Mature Content on the platform at any time.

If you are sent a link to a Mature Story and don't have Mature Content enabled on Ream, you will be asked to opt in to view Mature Content before reading the story.

When you click into a Mature story, if you have enabled Mature content then you will be able to read it immediately.

If you haven't enabled Mature content viewing, the following message will display...

And at any time, you can visit your Settings page on Ream to toggle viewing Mature content On or Off.

So now that we understand how Mature Filtering works for readers... how can you mark your stories as Mature or not as authors?

Luckily, it takes just a few seconds.

If you have ever published a story on Ream, you have already entered this setting in... so there is NO ACTION NEEDED on your part unless you want to update your Mature rating to reflect Ream's Content Guidelines.

When publishing a new story or updating an existing story on Ream, you can easily mark your story as Mature or not.

To do so simply:

1. Navigate to your Ream Author Dashboard

2. Navigate to your Stories tab and click the Edit button on an existing story or Begin a new story.

3. On the story Details section you will find the field: "Does this book contain mature content?" 

If you select Yes your story will be included in Mature Filtering. If you select No your story will not be included in Mature Filtering.

Ream also has a little information icon that displays a bit more about what kinds of stories are defined as mature.

If you have any questions, our team is always here to help. Just reply to this email, or reach out to us at support@reamstories.com.

You also can check out our updated Content and Community Guidelines here 💜.

We will be back soon with more updates.

In fact, I have a special invitation to share with you in the next day. 

It's an invitation to the Subscriptions for Authors Summit... and Ream's first Birthday celebration taking place on May 6 - 7, 2024.

That's right... we are exactly 1 month away from Ream turning 1 year old since launching to the public.

We are just at the beginning of our journey, and we can't wait to write this next chapter together with all of you.

Ream is evolving. And will be announcing Ream's long-term vision and our plan to create a future where Storytellers Rule the World.

You are those Storytellers.

In the meantime, we have lots more updates rolling out, including audiobooks on Ream being our next huge one in the coming months... but we'll be sharing some more surprises between now and then.

In the meantime, if you want the inside scoop on the next 90 days at Ream, be sure to join us at our Quarterly Author Mixer.

It's a free online event where I share all about what's happening at Ream. It's kind of like an open board meeting and a fun time to meet fellow Ream authors.

You can reserve your spot here.

I'll see you all very soon!

But in the meantime, don't forget...

Storytellers Rule the World

With 💜,

Michael and the Ream Team