Figment FAQs
About
What is Figment?Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other people who love to read, and discover new stories and authors. (In a nutshell.)
Who is behind Figment?Figment was co-founded by Dana Goodyear, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and Jacob Lewis, the former Managing Editor at The New Yorker and Condé Nast Portfolio. Pretty spiffy bunch, no? There are other people who turn the little gears inside the Figment machine, who you’ll meet if you stick around long enough.
Copyright
Who owns my writing?You do! You wrote it, you own it. Posting to the site grants Figment the right to display your work (until you decide to take it down), but does not mean you are giving up your ownership of your work. To see the full Terms of Service, go here.
How do I report inappropriate/copyrighted content?To report content that violates Figment's terms of use, flag it. A moderator will review the content within 24 hours.
General
What is Figment Features?Figment Features is where you can find excerpts of new books, interviews with authors, contests, conversations, and more. We work with a variety of publishers and authors to give Figmenters like yourself access to a variety of different genres and styles, recommend new releases, and involve published authors in our community. We switch them up every couple of weeks, so be sure to check back often.
What does “following” someone mean?Following is a way to keep up with authors who you like. All of their writing will appear on your desk, so you’ll know when they update a story you’re reading or add a new work.
What's a heart?A heart is a way of showing you enjoyed a story. Hearting a story boosts its status and helps it gain popularity. You can only heart a story once.
Why can't I leave anonymous comments?We have disabled anonymous commenting in an attempt to reduce inflammatory and derogatory statements. By maintaining a certain level of culpability, we hope to keep comments honest and respectful.
What’s the difference between a comment and a review?While a comment is just a short post--maybe just to say you liked the work or a couple of lines about your favorite parts--a review is a longer, more in-depth critique of the work. Reviews show up in your profile, and you can even earn badges for how many reviews you put up.
What are those spiffy badges and what do they mean?Newbie - just for signing up and being you!
Junior Editor - for writing 2 reviews
Critic - for writing 30 reviews
Inkslinger - for publishing 2 books
Wordsmith - for publishing 10 books
Anthologist - for publishing 50 books
Novelist - for publishing a book of 10 or more chapters
Cardiologist - for receiving 5 hearts
Heartbreaker - for receiving 75 hearts
Bookworm - for reading 25 writings
Chatterbox - for posting 20 forum replies
Forum Fiend - for posting 100 forum replies
Shares Nicely - for updating your writings on Facebook and/or Twitter 10 times
Pied Piper - for having 50 followers
Bard - for posting 5 poems
Jokester - for receiving 10 "laugh" reactions
MTV ACT - for participating in the 2011 MTV ACT contest
NaNoWriMo11 - for participating in the 2011 National Novel Writing Month
Daily Themes - for responding 10 times to the 2012 Daily Themes email prompts
Right now, no. But it’s coming soon!
Can I change the name that appears on my stories and profile?Yes, just go to “edit my profile” and change your name.
Writing
How do I create a new writing?Go to “my writing”, and click “create something new.” Be sure to complete all the tabs.
How do I edit a work that I’ve started?Go to “my writing”, click “edit” beneath the story you want to edit. When you’ve finished your edits, press save.
Is there a minimum or maximum word count for stories?Nope.
Can anyone read my work / can I limit who can read my work?You can choose to make your story public, available to select people, or visible only to you (save it as a draft).
What is an Early Access Code?This is a code you can share with the people you want to read your writing before it's published. Just send them this code and the URL of your writing (example: www.figment.com/books/165). When they go to that URL and put in the code, they will be able to access everything that you've saved as a draft (whether that be the entire work or just the latest draft of a chapter in an already published work).
Do you accept content in languages other than English?Yes, although our website only supports languages that use the Roman alphabet.
Is fan fiction accepted on Figment?Yes. Though you must give the author who created those characters credit.
How can I get more people to read my stuff?Try commenting on other people’s stories. That normally encourages those people to check out what you’ve written. Also try entering contests and participating in the forums. This helps you get more visibility on the site.
Mobile
Is there a mobile version of Figment?Yes, point your mobile browser to m.figment.com.
Do you have an Android/iPhone/mobile app?A free Android and iPhone app is in development; we’ll let you know when it’s released.
Can I update my story via SMS?Not right now.
Can I get story updates via SMS?Coming soon...