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The Read section is where players publish their writing and browse what others have shared. You can publish any project to the community, and read through a library of novels, journals, and other works from fellow Dust Warriors.

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Publishing Your Project

Where to find it: Left sidebar → Community → find a project → click its ⋯ (options) button → Publish Settings Open in 4TW ↗
Publishing is a three-step process. You can navigate between steps using the Back and Next buttons at the top of the modal.

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Step 1: Publish Information

  1. Pick the Project you want to share
  2. Choose a Category. This is how readers find your project when browsing. Pick the category that best fits your work. Fantasy, poetry, non-fiction, etc.
  3. Set a Project Copyright. Choose the copyright license that applies to your writing. This tells readers how they can share or reference your work.
  4. Set a Project Status. This controls who can see your project:
    StatusVisibility
    PrivateOnly you can see it
    Private URLOnly accessible via a direct link (logged-in users only)
    PublicDiscoverable by everyone in the community Read section
To set your project to Public, it must contain at least 100 words. If it doesn’t, the status reverts to Private URL automatically when you save.

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Step 2: Customize Cover

  1. Pick a cover. Choose from 24 pre-designed cover templates, or tap Upload Image to use your own. Your selection appears in the preview on the left.
  2. Set a Cover title. This is the title shown on your book cover. It can differ from your project’s internal name.
  3. Set an Author name. The name that appears on the cover. Use your real name, pen name, or whatever name you’d like readers to know you by.

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Step 3: Project Settings

  1. Allow ratings. Toggle on to let readers rate your project 1–5 stars. Toggle off to disable ratings entirely.
  2. Display file names. Toggle on to show individual document names within your project. Toggle off to present the content without file titles.
  3. Allow comments. Toggle on to let readers leave comments on your project page. Toggle off to close the comments section.
  4. Add tags. Tap the tag icons to apply them to your cover:
    TagMeaning
    FeaturedMarks your project as a highlighted work
    Adult (18+)Content intended for adult readers
    IdeaEarly-stage concept
    WIPWork in progress
    DraftA full draft, not yet polished
    The phase tags (Idea, WIP, Draft) are mutually exclusive, only one can be active at a time.
  5. Copy your Project private URL (shown when status is Private URL or Public). This link lets you share your project directly with specific readers, even before it goes fully public.
  6. Tap Save Settings to publish. Your settings take effect immediately.
Not ready to go public? Use Private URL status to share with a small group of trusted readers, beta readers, writing partners, or a class, without appearing in the community browsing pages. Share the Project private URL link directly with them.

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Browsing the Community Read Section

Where to find it: Left sidebar → Community → Reading Open in 4TW ↗
The Reading hub is your gateway to all published works:
  • Most recent works: The latest-published projects, updated in real time. Scroll down and tap Show More to see older entries.
  • Popular: A rotating spotlight on the most-read projects in a featured category. Each visit may highlight a different category.
  • Browse by category: Use the sidebar to explore a specific genre or topic. Tap any category name to see everything published in it.
  • Search: Type in the Search for a book bar to find a specific title.
  • My Reading List: Jump to your personal collection of saved books and bookmarked sections.

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Reading a Book

Where to find it: Tap any book card from the Reading hub
When you open a book, you’ll see its cover, title, author, category, word count, and rating. From here you can:
  1. Start Reading. Opens the book at the first chapter.
  2. Add to collection. Saves the book to My Collection on your Reading List. Tap again to remove it.
  3. Rate the book. Tap a star to leave a 1–5 star review (if the author has enabled ratings).
  4. Leave a comment. Type in the comment field and tap Post Comment (if comments are enabled).
  5. Report book. Tap ⋯ → Report book to flag content for moderation.
Adding to your collection doesn’t mean you have to rate it. Save any book to your collection and come back to leave your rating when you’re done reading.

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Inside the Reader

Where to find it: Tap Start Reading on any book detail page, or tap a chapter in the table of contents
  1. Prev / Next chapter. Navigate between chapters. On mobile, these buttons appear at the bottom of the page.
  2. Bookmark. Save your place in the current section. Bookmarks appear in My Reading List → My bookmarks.
  3. Zoom in / Zoom out. Adjust text size from 40% to 200%.
  4. Section read. A green checkmark appears when you finish a section, helping you track progress through longer works.
Bookmark as you go. Long projects can take days to finish. Your Reading List always shows exactly where you stopped.

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My Reading List

Where to find it: Left sidebar → Community → Reading → My Reading List in the sidebar Open in 4TW ↗
Your Reading List has two sections:
  • My bookmarks: All your bookmarked chapters across all books. Tap a bookmark to jump back to that section.
  • My collection: All the books you’ve added with Add to collection. Scroll through your saved books and tap any cover to return to its detail page.

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Frequently Asked Questions

At least 100 words. If you set the status to Public but your project is under 100 words, it will automatically revert to Private URL when you save.
Yes, anytime. Open Publish Settings, change Project Status back to Private, and tap Save Settings. Your project will disappear from community browsing immediately.
Private URL means only people who have your direct link can access it, and they must be logged in. Public means anyone inside 4thewords can discover your project through browsing, categories, and search.
It appears in Community → Reading under the relevant category and in the most-recent feed. It also appears on your author profile page.
Only if you enable Allow comments in Project Settings. You can turn this on or off at any time by going back into Publish Settings.
No. Publishing is purely a visibility setting. Your word counts, streak progress, and battle stats are completely unaffected.
Yes. Click the ⋯ button on your project and select Change Cover to update just the cover without changing any other settings.
Check two things: (1) Your project must have at least 100 words. If it’s under the limit, the status reverts to Private URL automatically. (2) You’ve selected a Category. Projects without a category don’t appear in browsing pages.
The Save Settings button is only active on the third step, Project Settings. Use the Next button to advance through all three steps, then save from step 3.
Allow comments is toggled off. Go to your project → ⋯ button → Publish Settings → advance to Project Settings → toggle Allow comments on → Save Settings.
Confirm that Project Status is set to Public (not just Private URL), and that you’ve selected a specific Category in Publish Information. Both must be set for your project to show up in category browsing.
Organize your writing and join the conversation

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Create and organize multi-file writing projects with sections, goals, and covers.

Community & Forum

Forum discussions, Lookbook voting, News, and the Community Pool.