Version: 1.0 Date: March 15, 2026 Status: Draft

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NovelVerse is a serialized fiction platform targeting global markets across all genres. It consists of a mobile app (iOS + Android) as the primary reading experience and a website serving as both a discovery funnel and a full authoring/analytics platform. The key differentiator is transparency in earnings and crypto-based payments (USDT/USDC on EVM networks), enabling writers worldwide to see and withdraw their money in seconds — not days.

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2.1 Website

• Discovery and marketing funnel (pushes readers to the app)
• Full writer dashboard: chapter editor, drafts, scheduling, publishing
• Writer analytics (reads, earnings, retention per chapter)
• Admin and editor dashboards

2.2 Mobile App (iOS + Android)

• Primary reading experience
• Chapter editor (paste-based)
• Social features (comments, reviews, follows)
• Coin purchases (fiat + crypto)
• Push notifications

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3.1 Reader

• Browse, search, and read serialized fiction
• Purchase coins, unlock chapters, gift authors
• Social interactions: comment, review, rate, follow authors, create reading lists
• Daily login bonus accumulation

3.2 Writer

• Submit manuscripts (3-chapter minimum for review)
• Paste and publish chapters (app or website)
• Manage drafts, schedule chapter releases
• View analytics and earnings (website)
• Withdraw earnings (crypto or fiat, after KYC)

3.3 Editor (Limited Admin)

• Access limited admin dashboard
• Review submitted manuscripts
• Propose and manage contracts
• Content moderation

3.4 Admin (Full)

• Full dashboard access
• Revenue reports
• User management
• Content moderation queue
• Coin economy controls (pricing, packages, thresholds)
• Per-user withdrawal threshold overrides

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4.1 Reading Experience

• Dark mode supported
• Font resizing controls
• Reading mode toggle: scroll or page-flip (user's choice)
• No offline reading — online only
• Reading progress sync across devices (web + app)
• Age gate: 18+ content gated behind an age confirmation prompt (question-based, no document required)

4.2 Discovery & Search

• Search: by title, author, genre, tags/tropes
• Predefined genres: Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Historical, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Fan Fiction, Action/Adventure, Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, etc.
• Rankings/Lists:
  • Trending
  • Top Rated
  • Most Gifted
  • New Releases
  • Editor's Picks
  • Completed Books

4.3 Recommendation Algorithm

A hybrid 3-layer approach:

1. Collaborative Filtering — "readers who liked X also liked Y" based on reading history and chapter completion rates
2. Content-Based — genre tags, tropes, word count, completion status, ratings
3. Popularity Signals — trending velocity (reads per hour), chapter retention rate, gift volume, average rating

Cold Start (New Users): Genre preference quiz on signup → serve curated editorial picks + trending books until sufficient behavioral data is collected.

4.4 Social Features

• Chapter comments — readers can comment on individual chapters
• Book reviews & ratings — star rating + written review per book
• Reading lists — user-curated collections
• Follow authors — receive updates on new chapters
• Gifting — virtual gifts to writers (see Section 6.4)

4.5 Audio Narration

• Text-to-speech available on select books (not all books)
• Audio narration is enabled per-book by the platform/editors (not by the writer)
• Readers can listen to chapters with playback controls (play, pause, speed adjustment)

4.6 Notifications (Push)

• New chapter published by a followed author

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5.1 Chapter Editor

• Paste-based chapter input (app and website)
• Word count limits: minimum 800 words, maximum 1,500 words per chapter
• Draft saving
• Chapter scheduling (set future publish date/time)
• Chapter ordering and management

5.2 Submission & Review Flow

1. Writer submits a 3-chapter manuscript
2. Editors review the manuscript manually
3. If accepted → book status changes to "Signed"
4. Book remains hidden from readers until the contract is signed by both parties (writer + platform)
5. Once contract is signed → book becomes visible to readers

5.3 Analytics Dashboard (Website Only)

• Total reads (by book, by chapter)
• Earnings breakdown (coins earned, revenue share, bonuses)
• Chapter retention rates (drop-off analysis)
• Gift/tip income
• Historical trends

5.4 Earnings & Withdrawals

• Transparent earnings: real-time visibility into all revenue
• KYC required before any withdrawal
• Minimum withdrawal threshold: $100 (adjustable per user by admin)
• Crypto withdrawals: USDT/USDC on EVM networks — near-instant settlement
• Fiat withdrawals: supported (standard processing times)

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6.1 Coin Packages

Package	Price (USD)	Coins	Bonus
Starter	$0.99	100	—
Popular	$4.99	500	10%
Value	$9.99	1,000	20%
Premium	$49.95	5,000	30%

• Purchase via fiat only (credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, app store IAP)
• Coins do not expire

6.2 Chapter Pricing (Word-Count Based)

Word Count	Coin Cost
800–999	10 coins
1,000–1,200	20 coins
1,300–1,500	35 coins

• Pricing is platform-set and fixed (not author-adjustable)
• Free chapters: writer chooses how many chapters are free. If not set, default paywall after chapter 5 (first 5 chapters free)

6.3 Alternative Unlock Methods

• Ad-supported unlocks: readers can watch an ad to unlock a locked chapter
  • Ad provider: Google AdMob
  • Daily limit: 3 ad-unlocks per day
• Daily login bonus: accumulates bonus points (not coins)
  • 5 bonus points per daily login
  • 100 bonus points = 1 chapter unlock (equivalent to 20 days of consecutive logins)
  • Bonus points are separate from coins and cannot be purchased
  • Bonus points expire on the last day of each month — unused points reset to zero

6.4 Virtual Gifts

• Readers purchase virtual gift items using coins
• Gifts are sent to writers on their books/chapters
• Gifts contribute to "Most Gifted" rankings
• Gift catalog:

Gift Item	Coin Cost
Rose	10 coins
Crown	50 coins
Diamond	200 coins
Castle	1,000 coins

• Gift revenue split: Writer receives 15% of the gift's coin value, platform retains 85%

6.5 Revenue Share

Exclusive Contract

• 15% revenue share to the writer on book earnings
• Signing bonus: awarded upon reaching 50,000 words
• Monthly Attendance Bonus (MAB): requires 50,000 words/month to qualify
  • MAB runs for 6 months
  • From month 4 onward, book must earn at least $20/month to continue receiving MAB
• Special performance bonuses for exceptionally well-performing books
• Exclusivity clause: book must not be published on any other platform
• Penalty for violation: contract termination + clawback of all bonuses + writer must pay back 2x the amount they were set to receive
• MAB contract duration: 3 months minimum, renewable
• Update requirement: writer must update for at least 25 days per month and meet the 50,000 words target within the stipulated time frame

Non-Exclusive Contract

• 50% revenue share to the writer on book earnings
• Platform promotions included
• No bonuses (no signing bonus, no MAB, no performance bonus)
• Writer is free to publish on other platforms
• No update frequency requirement — writers can update at their own pace
• No limit on number of active books per writer (applies to both contract types)

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7.1 Content Guidelines

The following content is strictly prohibited:

• Pedophilia or sexualization of minors
• Depictions of rape
• Glorification of murder
• Depictions or glorification of slavery

7.2 Age-Restricted Content

• Mature (18+) content is permitted with age verification
• Age-gated content is tagged and hidden from unverified users

7.3 Moderation Flow

• Manual review by editors
• Editors review the initial 3-chapter manuscript submission
• Ongoing moderation of published content via the admin moderation queue
• Reported content flagged by readers enters the moderation queue

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8.1 Supported Tokens

• USDT (Tether)
• USDC (USD Coin)

8.2 Supported Networks

• Popular EVM-compatible networks (Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, Arbitrum, Base, etc.)
• Chosen for low transaction fees

8.3 Reader Payments

• Readers can purchase coin packages using fiat only:
  • Credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, app store IAP
• No crypto purchases for coins — crypto is used exclusively for writer payouts

8.4 Writer Payouts

• Writers withdraw earnings in USDT/USDC to their own wallet
• Near-instant settlement on EVM networks
• Fiat withdrawal also available
• KYC required before first withdrawal
• Minimum threshold: $100 (admin-adjustable per user)
• Transparent earnings dashboard: real-time balance, transaction history, pending amounts

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9.1 Full Admin Capabilities

• Revenue reports: platform-wide earnings, coin sales, ad revenue, payout summaries
• User management: view/edit/ban readers, writers, editors
• Content moderation queue: review flagged/reported content, approve/reject manuscripts
• Coin economy controls: adjust coin packages, chapter pricing, bonus structures
• Contract management: view all active contracts, statuses, penalties
• Withdrawal management: approve/deny withdrawals, set per-user thresholds
• Analytics: DAU/MAU, retention, conversion funnels, top books/authors

9.2 Editor Capabilities (Limited Admin)

• View and review submitted manuscripts
• Approve or reject manuscripts
• Propose contracts to writers
• Access moderation queue
• View their assigned writers' revenue and retention rates
• Ban users
• Cannot access: platform-wide finance/revenue reports, coin economy controls, withdrawal management, system settings

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• Multi-language support from day one
• App and website UI localized into all major global languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Turkish, Polish, Swedish, etc.)
• Content in any language — genre/tag system is universal
• Writers select the language of their book upon creation

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11.1 Platforms

Platform	Purpose
iOS App	Primary reading experience, chapter editor, coin purchases, social features
Android App	Same as iOS
Website	Discovery funnel, writer dashboard, analytics, chapter editor, admin/editor dashboards

11.2 Cross-Platform Sync

• Reading progress synced in real-time across web and mobile
• Library, bookmarks, and reading lists synced
• Coin balance synced across all platforms

11.3 Performance Requirements

• Chapter loading: < 2 seconds
• Search results: < 1 second
• Coin purchase confirmation: < 5 seconds (fiat)
• App startup: < 3 seconds

11.4 Security

• User authentication (email, social login, phone number)
• Writer KYC via Sumsub: NIN (National Identification Number), driver's license, or any valid government-issued ID — no selfie required
• Age verification for 18+ content: readers are prompted with an age confirmation question when attempting to access 18+ books (no document upload required)
• Secure wallet integration for crypto payments
• Rate limiting and anti-abuse measures
• Data encryption at rest and in transit

11.5 Infrastructure

• Cloud-hosted (AWS / GCP)
• CDN for global content delivery
• Scalable microservices architecture
• Real-time WebSocket support for notifications and sync
• Blockchain integration layer for crypto payments (EVM-compatible)

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Metric	Description
DAU / MAU	Daily and monthly active users
Reader Retention	Day 1, Day 7, Day 30 retention rates
Chapter Completion Rate	% of readers finishing chapters they start
Conversion Rate	Free reader → paying reader
ARPU	Average revenue per user
Writer Retention	Active writers publishing monthly
Time to Withdrawal	Average time from earning to cash-out
Content Volume	New chapters published per day/week

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• Offline reading / downloads
• Writer tier/leveling system
• Referral program
• AI-assisted content moderation (manual only for v1)
• In-app messaging between readers/writers
• Translation tools

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1. Brand name — placeholder "NovelVerse" used; final name TBD

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This document will be updated as open questions are resolved and feature priorities are refined.