Publishing and Formatting Guide

Last Updated: July 30, 2026

This is NovelCult's official guide to creating a novel, publishing chapters, and formatting web fiction in the Author Dashboard.

Before you begin

NovelCult welcomes writers of all experience levels. Authors can publish original novels, update or schedule chapters, build a readership, receive feedback, and participate in community events while retaining ownership of their work.

Every novel on NovelCult must be the author's own: written by you, migrated by you from a platform where you originally published it, or a translation you have permission to publish. Fan fiction is allowed only under the specific permission rules described in the Content Policy. NovelCult does not allow uploading someone else's writing without authorization, republishing content scraped or copied from other sites, or using the platform to distribute pirated material. Violations are handled under the Content Policy's DMCA and Repeat Infringer Policy.

Create a NovelCult account at novelcult.com, or open the NovelCult Author Dashboard and sign in with your email address or Google account.

Create a novel

From the Author Dashboard:

1. Select Start Writing.
2. Choose Create New Novel. If your story already exists on another supported platform, use Migrate Story instead.
3. Complete the required novel details:
   • Novel title: Use a clear, memorable title that represents the story.
   • Novel type: Choose Original or Fan Fiction.
   • Primary genre: Select the genre that best describes the story.
   • Subgenres: Add other genres that materially apply.
   • Leading gender: Select the option that best fits the lead character or ensemble.
   • Language: Identify the language in which the novel is written.
   • Planned length: Add an estimate if you have one.
   • AI assistance: Disclose whether AI tools were used to create or polish the novel or its chapters.
4. Add the story description, optional hook, and content rating.
5. Upload a book cover or use the available cover-generation option as a temporary starting point.
6. Select accurate tags and, if applicable, a novel abbreviation.

Selecting Save as Draft keeps the novel private. The novel becomes publicly available only after you publish it.

Publish your first chapter

After the novel has been created:

1. Open My Novels in the Author Dashboard.
2. Select Manage for the novel.
3. Select Write Chapter.
4. Replace the draft chapter name with the chapter's real title.
5. Write or paste the chapter into the editor.
6. Add an optional author note when you need to share context with readers.
7. Select Publish Now to release the chapter, or use the scheduling option to publish it later.

Review the chapter title, body, author note, and publication time before publishing. Published chapters are reader-facing content and may also trigger update notifications or appear in discovery surfaces.

Edit or remove a chapter

To edit or remove a chapter, open the novel's Manage area and select the relevant chapter. Use the available edit or delete action and review any confirmation carefully.

Removing a published chapter can affect readers' progress, paid access, and subscription expectations. If the chapter was part of paid early access, review the refund and dispute policy and contact NovelCult support before removing it.

Edit or delete a novel

To update a novel's title, description, cover, genres, tags, content rating, status, or other settings, select Edit Novel from the novel's action menu.

To delete a novel, open the three-dot menu beside Manage and select Delete Novel. Deletion can affect readers, library entries, links, comments, subscriptions, and moderation records. Treat it as a final action and export anything you need first.

Basic chapter formatting

NovelCult's chapter editor is designed to feel familiar to writers who have used Google Docs or Microsoft Word. The editor toolbar provides common formatting controls, and keyboard shortcuts are available for frequently used actions.

• Bold (Ctrl+B): emphasis, important terms, or interface-like text inside a story.
• Italic (Ctrl+I): thoughts, foreign words, titles, or voice emphasis.
• Underline (Ctrl+U): available, but best used sparingly in web fiction.
• Strikethrough: edited text, interrupted ideas, or deliberate stylistic effects.
• Headings: structure long reference-style chapters, system messages, or appendices.
• Ordered and unordered lists: quests, inventories, objectives, rules, or structured notes.
• Blockquotes: letters, messages, documents, quoted speech, or in-world records.

Use formatting to improve meaning and readability. Dense decoration, excessive heading levels, or long blocks of emphasized text can make a chapter harder to read on smaller screens.

Advanced editor features

The editor also supports features commonly used in web fiction:

• Tables: stat blocks, skill descriptions, progression data, or other structured information. Review the result on mobile after resizing columns or rows.
• Images: maps, character art, diagrams, or other story-relevant media. Only upload media you own or are allowed to use.
• Links: links to related chapters, your permitted creator pages, or useful external resources.
• GIFs: short animated media when it adds genuine value and does not distract from reading.
• Soft glow: decorative emphasis for small amounts of text.

External links must comply with the Content Policy. Do not use misleading destinations, malware, phishing links, unauthorized downloads, or spam.

Author notes and content warnings

Author notes let you speak directly to readers before or after a chapter. Use them for brief context, acknowledgements, schedule updates, or notes about the writing process. Keep story content in the chapter body so the note remains easy to distinguish from the novel.

Set accurate content warnings and ratings when a novel contains violence, strong language, sexual themes, self-harm, abuse, or other sensitive material. Warnings help readers make informed choices and are part of the author's publishing responsibilities.

Originality, rights, and professionalism

Publish only content that you own or have permission to publish. Plagiarism, unauthorized translations, deceptive metadata, duplicate spam, and unauthorized use of another creator's art are prohibited.

Authors retain ownership of their work while granting NovelCult the permissions described in the Terms of Use so the platform can host, display, distribute, index, and operate the service. Read the Terms of Use and Content Policy before publishing.

Getting help

For account, migration, publishing, or moderation questions, use the official options listed on Contact NovelCult. Include the novel title, relevant chapter, what you expected, what happened, and any non-sensitive screenshots that help explain the issue.

Never send a password, authentication token, full payment-card number, or card security code.

Related guides

This page covers the mechanics. For the craft behind them, see how to write a web novel — in particular ending every chapter with a reason to read the next one and planning your novel from start to end. Once chapters are going, how to market a web novel covers finding the readers who would actually enjoy them.