Story Builder documentation

Roles and permissions

Roles and permissions decide who can do what in a project. Use them to co-write a novel online with a co-author, an editor or a world-builder, and give each of them exactly the access they need.

How do I invite someone to co-write my novel? #

Open Users in the project's sidebar and select Invite User. Type the email addresses of the people you want and select Invite. If you do not see Users, switch the module on in Settings → Modules (see modules).

  • Each person must already have a Story Builder account.
  • You can invite up to five addresses at a time, three times an hour.
  • The invitation reaches them as a notification, and by email unless they have turned invitation emails off. They choose Accept or Decline, and nothing is shared until they accept.

What contributors should know #

Everything in a project belongs to whoever created the project, including work contributed by the people invited into it. Being removed from the project or closing your account leaves your contributions with the project.

Tell people before they start rather than after. The invite dialog reminds you under What contributors should know, the person sees the same note when they accept, and it is section 3 of the terms.

One level, many actions #

Everything is decided inside a project. Permissions are granular: a read, write and delete permission for each record type, plus publishing, backups, the archive, the dashboard, relations, AI use, editing the project itself, and inviting or removing people.

That is why a copyeditor can be given write access to chapters and nothing else, and a worldbuilder can be given every record type but no ability to publish.

Roles cover the whole project, not one book at a time; see Can I limit someone to one book?. The permissions reference lists every permission and what it controls.

Role Chapters Characters Maps Publish Copyeditor reads and corrects the draft read+write read — — Worldbuilder owns the setting, not the release read+write read+write read+write — Owner everything, including publishing and backups
Two roles from one project's matrix. Every cell is a separate permission.

How do I create a role? #

Open Settings → Permissions. Type a name in Role name, select Add, then tick the actions the new role may take. Filter actions and Filter roles narrow a long matrix to the rows you need. A role with Super can do everything.

To give someone a role, open Users and pick it under User role beside their name. The change takes effect straight away; they do not need to sign out.

Importing roles from another project #

Import permissions, under Settings → Actions, copies the roles from another project. It replaces the current project's permissions, so it asks you to type confirm first.

Can someone have different access in different projects? #

Yes. A role is granted in one project and means nothing in another, so every project is decided on its own. Someone with no role in a project cannot open it.

Removing somebody #

In Users, remove the person from the project. Their access ends immediately and everything they wrote stays. Removing people needs the Remove User permission.

Tips #

  • Keep Manage Publication and Manage Backup for yourself unless you mean to share the release.
  • Give beta readers a role that can only read chapters. With live collaboration they see the draft change as you write.
  • Use Import permissions to keep the same roles across every book in a series.
  • Name roles after what people do (Co-author, Editor, Reader) so the matrix stays readable.