Author Progress Report
The Author Progress Report is a shareable, spoiler-safe graphic that shows your book's progress without revealing story details. Perfect for Kickstarter updates, Patreon posts, newsletters, and social media.
APR can measure progress in three ways:
| Mode | How It Works | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Stage Tracking | Tracks one stage at a time against a scene goal. | Zero drafting, focused revision passes, or any stage-specific sprint |
| Full Manuscript | Tracks all scenes across Zero → Press. | End-to-end public progress across the full pipeline |
| Date Goal | Tracks elapsed time between a start date and a target date. | Deadline-driven campaigns and schedule-based updates |
Stage Tracking focuses on one stage at a time. Choose the tracked stage, then set a scene goal when you want a fixed denominator. This is especially useful in Zero when you know the target scene count for the draft and want APR to reflect that specific push.
Full Manuscript measures the book across the full revision path from Zero to Press. Use this when you want APR to reflect overall manuscript maturity rather than just the stage you are currently pushing.
Date Goal measures progress against time rather than scene counts. Set a start date and target date, and APR will show how far you have moved through that range.
Note: APR tracking is separate from the timeline's Estimated Completion feature, which projects pace inside the working manuscript view.
Control how much of your story structure is visible:
| Option | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Subplots | Multiple concentric rings for each subplot |
| Acts | Act boundary spokes dividing the timeline |
| Status Colors | Scene stage/status colors (Todo, Draft, Complete, etc.) |
| % Complete | Large percentage number in the center |
Tip: Uncheck all options for a simple progress ring—perfect for early teasers or minimal updates. Manual reveal options are disabled when Teaser Reveal is enabled.
For campaigns, enable Teaser Reveal to automatically show more detail as your book progresses.
Reveal stages:
| Stage | Shows |
|---|---|
| Teaser | Progress ring only |
| Scenes | Scene cells (no colors) |
| Colors | Scene cells with status colors |
| Full | Complete timeline with subplots and acts |
Preset schedules:
- Slow: 15%, 40%, 70%
- Standard: 10%, 30%, 60% (default)
- Fast: 5%, 20%, 45%
- Custom: Set your own thresholds (1-99%)
You can click the middle stages in the preview (Scenes, Colors) to skip them and jump to the next stage.
The Size selector (Thumbnail, Small, Medium, Large) controls the design intent of the graphic — which elements are shown and how dense the layout is — not the final export resolution. The dimensions below refer to the in-modal preview only.
| Size | Preview | Design Intent |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnail | 100×100 px | Bare progress ring; no text or labels |
| Small | 150×150 px | Compact graphic for inline embeds |
| Medium | 300×300 px | Default — balanced density and labels |
| Large | 450×450 px | Full layout with all reveal elements |
The exported file is always rendered at one of three pixel sizes, chosen via Export quality:
| Quality | Output | File Size | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1200 px | ~150 KB | Web posts, social media, newsletters |
| Ultra | 2400 px | ~400 KB | Crisp embeds on high-DPI displays |
| 4800 px | ~1.2 MB | Print-quality graphics, large banners |
The combination of Size (design intent) and Export quality (resolution) determines the final PNG: e.g., Medium + Ultra produces the medium layout rendered at 2400 px.
- Transparent Background: Recommended for embedding on any background
- Background Color: Use when transparency isn't supported
- Theme Contrast: Light or dark strokes for visibility against your background
- Book/Author Color: Color for the perimeter text ring
- Branding Color: Color for the "RT" badge
APR exports a static PNG or SVG file. The Output file row in the panel is clickable and reveals the current export file in your system file manager.
- Update frequency: Manual Only, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. Manual mode requires clicking the update button in the modal.
- Refresh alert threshold: Days before showing a refresh reminder in the Radial Timeline View.
- Output file: Shows the current export file path for the default report or the selected campaign. Click it to reveal the file.
- Auto-update export paths: When size or schedule changes, updates the default export path if it still matches the default pattern.
Create multiple APR configurations for different platforms:
- Kickstarter: 7-day refresh reminders
- Patreon: 14-day refresh reminders
- Newsletter: 14-day refresh reminders
- Website: 30-day refresh reminders
Each campaign can have its own update frequency, refresh alert threshold, output file, export size, and reveal settings. Teaser Reveal can be enabled per campaign, and manual reveal options are available when Teaser Reveal is disabled.