A Series on WriteUpCafe is a container that groups a set of your posts into a single coherent body of work — an ongoing column, a serialised book, a course, a themed collection, or a step-by-step framework. Readers can follow the series, track their progress through it, and see every part in the intended order. You can run a series alone or invite other writers as co-authors or contributors.
This guide walks through every step: picking the right type, creating the series, adding posts, inviting contributors, and tracking engagement.
The five series types
Your choice of type shapes the layout of the public series page, the vocabulary used throughout (Parts vs Chapters vs Lessons), and the contributor roles. Pick the one that best fits what you're actually publishing — it's mostly editorial, not technical, and you can change it later from the edit modal.
| Type | Best for | Vocabulary | Progress tracking | Contributor role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | Ongoing column or multi-part coverage of a topic. Can run indefinitely. | Parts | No | Contributor |
| Book | Long-form narrative work you're serialising chapter by chapter. | Chapters | Yes | Co-author |
| Course | Structured lessons that build on each other. Self-paced learning. | Lessons | Yes | Guest instructor |
| Collection | Curated essays, poems, or short pieces that share a theme rather than an order. | Pieces | No | Contributor |
| Playbook | Step-by-step process, framework, or playbook readers follow in sequence. | Steps | No | Contributor |
Progress tracking means readers see a progress bar on the series page showing how many parts they've read. Currently enabled only for Books and Courses — the types where sequential completion matters most.
Creating a series — step by step
1. Open the create modal
Go to My Series (under the user menu) and click the Create new series button in the top right. The same modal is used for editing an existing series — it just skips step 1 and goes straight to step 2 with your values pre-filled.
2. Pick a type
The modal opens to the type picker. You'll see five colour-coded cards. Each card's accent colour matches how the series will be identified throughout the site.
Click the card that best describes what you're creating. Don't overthink it — the type mostly affects labels and the layout of the public series page. You can edit most details later, including the type (though changing type can renumber parts, so it's easier to get it right the first time).
3. Fill in the details
Step 2 collects everything needed to publish the series page:
- Title — required, up to 255 characters. This becomes the public page's headline and is used to generate the URL slug automatically.
- Description — optional, up to 500 characters. Shown as the intro paragraph on the series page. A good description sells the reader on following the whole thing.
- Cover image — optional, JPG/PNG/WebP up to 5 MB. Resized automatically. Books get a vertical cover treatment; other types get a wider hero. Leave empty to use the default type-colour gradient.
- Primary topic — one topic that best categorises the whole series. Books and Courses require this; others make it optional but recommended (it surfaces your series in topic feeds).
- Second and third topics — up to two additional topics for broader discoverability.
- Accept contributor applications — if checked, other writers can pitch themselves to join as contributors. Leave unchecked for solo-authored work.
4. Validation and publishing
Clicking Create validates your inputs. Missing required fields show inline below:
On success, the series is created immediately and you're redirected to its public page where you can start adding posts. Free accounts are capped at 2 active series; Pro accounts are uncapped.
What each type looks like live
Each type gets its own layout on the public series page so readers instantly understand what they're engaging with.
Series — the timeline
Book — the shelf
Course — the curriculum
Collection — the anthology
Playbook — the steps
Adding posts to your series
Once the series exists, there are two ways to add posts to it:
- From an existing post — open the post in the editor or on its public page as the author. Use the Add to series option and pick your series from the list. The post immediately appears as the next part.
- From the series page — on your own series page, an Add part / Add chapter / Add lesson button (depending on type) lets you pick from your existing posts or start a new one with the series pre-selected.
Posts are added to the end by default. Reordering posts within a series is a Pro feature — drag-and-drop from the series page as the author.
Inviting and accepting contributors
If you checked Accept contributor applications when creating the series, other writers can pitch themselves to join. There are also two proactive paths:
- Invite by username — from your series page as the author, use Invite contributor and enter a username. The invited writer gets a notification and accepts or declines.
- Review applications — anyone can pitch themselves via the series page's Apply as contributor link if applications are open. You'll see a badge on your My Series card whenever new applications are waiting. Open that series and accept, decline, or request more info.
Contributors can publish new parts to the series as if it were their own; they can't edit the series itself or remove other contributors. Only the series author can manage those settings and remove contributors.
How readers engage with your series
- Follow — readers click Follow this series on the public page to get notified about new parts. Follower count is visible under the CTA.
- Bookmark — readers can bookmark the series for quick access later. Bookmarks live under the reader's profile.
- Progress — for Books and Courses, readers see a progress bar based on how many parts they've opened. This is personal to each reader and not shown to the author.
- Discussion — the Discussion button opens a threaded comment thread for the whole series, separate from per-post comments.
Free vs Pro limits
- Free accounts can have up to 2 active series. Existing series over the limit become read-only but remain public.
- Pro accounts have no series cap and unlock drag-and-drop reordering of posts within a series.
- Creating, editing, and deleting series are available on every plan. Publishing posts into a series also has no plan gate.
Editing and deleting
From My Series, every series card has edit and delete actions:
- Edit — reopens the modal on step 2 with your current values. You can change title, description, cover image, topics, and applications setting. Type changes are allowed but renumber your parts, so avoid them once you have more than a handful of posts.
- Delete — soft-deletes the series and its public page. The posts that belonged to it are not deleted; they're just unlinked from the series and remain published on their own.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move a post from one series to another?
Yes. Remove it from the current series (from the series page or the post's Add to series menu, which will show it as already added), then add it to the new series. The post itself is unchanged.
Why can't I select my series when editing a post?
Two likely reasons: the post isn't yet published (drafts can't be added — save and publish first), or your account is on Free and you've hit the 2-series cap. Upgrade to Pro or remove an older series to free up the slot.
Does a series have its own SEO meta?
Yes. The series page uses the series title and description as its SEO title and meta description automatically, and the cover image is used as the OpenGraph image. No extra setup needed.
Can contributors see each other's drafts?
No. Contributors only see published posts in the series. Each contributor's drafts remain private to them until they publish.
How do I change the type later?
From My Series, edit the series. Step 1 of the modal lets you pick a different type. The change updates the public layout and vocabulary, but posts are preserved in order.