How do I publish a reader wiki? PRO
The reader wiki is a public companion site for your series. Readers choose how far they've read, and they only see the entries, facts, events and relationships revealed by then. To publish it, open Settings → Reader wiki, tick Published, and choose Save.
Your wiki's address is https://whowherewhen.app/w/ followed by a short name you choose, such as https://whowherewhen.app/w/the-ashen-crown.
Publish it
- In the universe, open Settings → Reader wiki. Only the owner can change these settings.
- Tick Published.
- Check the Address. It starts as your universe's name; change it if you like.
- Optionally set a Title (it defaults to the universe name), a Tagline and an Accent color.
- Choose Save, then View reader wiki to see it.
To take it down, untick Published and save. Edits to your bible appear on the wiki within about a minute.
What readers see
The wiki has a home page with your books, a searchable encyclopedia of entries grouped by type, a Timeline and your maps. Each entry's page shows its summary, image, facts (At a glance), relationships (Connections) and events (Moments).
Readers set Your reading point to "I've finished book 1", "I've finished book 2" and so on, or Show everything (spoilers!). Anything revealed after that book is hidden.
Never shown on the wiki:
- Notes and quotes from the text
- Chapter text
- Facts marked Secret (never shown to readers) and events marked secret
- Entries with Hide from the reader wiki or Draft idea (not canon yet) ticked
- Anything linked only to hidden entries
Control what's revealed when
Each piece of the bible can say when readers learn it:
| On | Field | If blank |
|---|---|---|
| An entry | Readers first meet them in | Shown from the start |
| A fact | Readers learn it in | Uses the source chapter |
| An event | Revealed to readers in | Uses the source chapter |
| A relationship | Readers learn it in | Shown from the start |
Brother Tolan's secret in the sample, that he set the fire at Thornwatch, is a secret fact, so it never appears. If it were revealed in book two instead, you'd untick Secret and set Readers learn it in to a book two chapter.
Good to know
- Reading points are per book, not per chapter. For a single novel, see Does it work for a single novel?
- Readers only see the books and chapters up to their reading point. In the reading-point list, later books appear by number only ("I've finished book 3"), without their titles. Books set to Planned never appear.
- A map pin with only a label and no linked entry has no reveal point, so it shows only to readers who choose Show everything. Link the pin to an entry if you want it to appear earlier.
- If you see a Custom domain section under the reader wiki settings, you can serve the wiki from your own domain by adding the DNS records it lists.
Common questions
What will readers never see?
Notes, quotes, chapter text, secret facts and events, entries hidden from the reader wiki, and draft ideas.
Can readers pick a chapter as their reading point?
No. Readers choose a book they've finished, or Show everything. Revealed-in chapters decide which book something belongs to.
Who can publish the wiki?
Only the universe's owner.
Is the reader wiki a Pro feature?
Yes. Publishing a reader wiki, and using your own domain for it, is part of Who Where When Pro. Building and keeping your story bible doesn't need Pro.
Keep your story straight
Who Where When keeps every character, place and date in your books, and tells you when the story contradicts itself.
Start your story bibleMore in Sharing and publishing
- How do I invite a co-author?Invite co-authors, editors or assistants by email as an Editor or Viewer. Everyone sees changes live, and History shows who changed what.
- How do History and undo work?History records every change to a universe, who made it and where it came from. Undo reverses a change without overwriting later edits.
Related
- How do entries, facts and sources work?Entries are the people, places and things in your series. Facts record details about them, with dates, a source chapter and a quote.
- Does Who Where When work for a single novel?Yes. A standalone novel gets its own universe with one book. Everything works, though the reader wiki can only hide spoilers book by book.
- How do I add maps and pins?Upload a map image of your world, drop pins on it, and link each pin to a place or other entry in your story bible.
- Story bible examplesWorked story bible entries for a character, a place, an item, a timeline and continuity notes, from a sample fantasy series.