FoundryInk Academy Academy / Growing your audience
Growing your audience

Start a reading group

Some readers do not just want to read your work, they want to talk about it. A reading group is a community room built around a series, with channels to chat and shared notes as members read. Here is how to open one and keep it friendly.

Read time about 5 min

1Open a room

Reading groups are in the Community space, the fan side of FoundryInk (separate from Collaborate, which is for colleagues). Start one from a series page or from Reading groups on Browse. A reading group is a kind of community room tied to a series; there are also free-standing fan rooms, studio groups, and genre groups.

A series page's Community panel: Official chat, then Reading groups with a Start a group button.
A series page's Community panel: Official chat, then Reading groups with a Start a group button.See the full screen
Start a reading group: Group name, Description, Public or Invite-only, then Create group.
Start a reading group: Group name, Description, Public or Invite-only, then Create group.See the full screen
Your studio also has its own Fans Community room, which you manage from Audience, then Community. Following you does not auto-join people, so invite them in.
Pro note
A room tied to your series gives your most dedicated readers somewhere to gather. That is where a fandom actually grows.

2Add channels and notes

Inside a room, members chat in channels (it starts with a general channel; owners and moderators add more). Posts show who said what and when, with spoiler and NSFW tags you click to reveal, so nobody gets a chapter ruined. As members read the series together, they leave page-by-page notes, turning a solo read into a shared one.

A reading group room: the general channel, with a post tagged SPOILER behind Spoiler. Click to reveal.
A reading group room: the general channel, with a post tagged SPOILER behind Spoiler. Click to reveal.See the full screen
Pro note
Add a spoilers channel early. Readers will be at different chapters, and they'll thank you for the space to gush safely.

3Keep it welcoming

Every room has a safety stack: a Report button to Trust and Safety, image scanning before anything shows, a profanity gate, and rate limits. You can appoint studio members as moderators to delete posts, tag spoilers, or issue a time-out, shadowban, or ban (studio-scoped, covering the room and your asset comments). A private room can gate entry with an invite code.

A message's menu: Report options for Trust and Safety, Tag NSFW, Tag spoiler and Delete.
A message's menu: Report options for Trust and Safety, Tag NSFW, Tag spoiler and Delete.See the full screen
The AutoMod tab: a Keyword rule that holds posts containing terms such as spoiler, leak, ending.
The AutoMod tab: a Keyword rule that holds posts containing terms such as spoiler, leak, ending.See the full screen
Pro note
You set the tone here. A warm welcome in the first few days and the room mostly runs itself.

Set up your room

A room in four moves. Links into the app. Saved on this device.

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Quick questions

Related but distinct. A reading group is a community room built around a series; your studio also has its own Fans Community room. Both are in the fan-side Community space.

No. Following you and joining a room are separate, so invite readers in. A private room can use an invite code to control who enters.

Every room has reporting, image scanning, a profanity gate, and rate limits, and you can appoint moderators with tools to delete, tag, time-out, or ban, all studio-scoped.

As members read the series together in the group, they leave notes tied to the pages, so the read becomes a shared, annotated experience.

Your readers have a place to gather

A room, channels, and page-by-page notes turn readers into a community. Next, make it easy for them to bring their friends.

Moderate your community →