Books, series and stories
Pay for the chapters you read. Nothing more.
OpenShelf is a home for independent writing. Pick the parts you want, pay a few cents for each, and the writer is paid the moment you do. No subscriptions.
Free to join with your email or Google.
How it works
Find a story
Browse what's new or explore by topic. Plenty of parts are free to read.
Pay a few cents a part
Each part has its own price, set by its writer, from $0.05. Pay only for the parts you want.
Keep it for good
Everything you buy waits in your library, to read again whenever you like.
Two ways to earn
Every sale pays out the moment it happens: most of it to the writer, a share to the readers backing the story, and a small fee to OpenShelf.
Follow the money
Readers back stories
A reader puts $10 behind a story they believe in. It stays theirs, and lifts the story up the most-backed list.
Another reader buys a part
One chapter, for $0.25: the price its writer set.
Everyone is paid on the spot
70% to the writer, 20% shared by the story's backers and 10% to OpenShelf. And the story gains a reader.
Write
Publish a book or a series one part at a time, and set a price for each. You're paid the moment someone buys a part, straight to your account: no invoices, no waiting for a monthly payout.
Back what you love
Think a story will take off? Put money behind it and share in every sale it makes from then on. It stays yours, to take back after a short lock.
No crypto know-how needed
- Sign in with your email, Google or a passkey.
- We set up a secure wallet for you. It works like a balance in the app.
- You pay in USDC, a digital dollar that's always worth one US dollar.
- We cover the network fees on every purchase.
Questions
What is OpenShelf?+
A place to read and publish books, series and stories, where readers pay for each part instead of a subscription, and writers are paid instantly.
How much does reading cost?+
Writers set the price of each part, from $0.05 to $100, and many parts are free. You only pay for the parts you choose to read.
How do writers get paid?+
The moment a part sells, the writer's share goes straight to their account. A share goes to the readers backing the story, and a small fee to OpenShelf.
What does backing a story mean?+
You put money behind a publication you believe in, and share in each sale it makes. The money stays yours: you can take it back after a short lock.
Do I need to know anything about crypto?+
No. Sign in with your email or Google, and OpenShelf sets up a wallet for you and covers the network fees. Payments are in USDC, a digital dollar.
Is this real money?+
Not yet. OpenShelf is running on a test network, so everything uses free test dollars: a good time to try it all out.