In order for this platform to succeed, it needs users. Users both in terms of strong writers capable of writing fresh pieces people are willing to pay for, as well as enlightened readers looking for something they can't find anywhere else on the internet, and willing to use cash for the internet to access it.

It is with this in mind that I designed Proof of Writing to have as little friction as possible for both sets of users. I wanted it to be as easy as possible for talented writers to publish their work and make money, and just as easy for curious readers to spend their money on content that hopefully doesn't leave them feeling like they've wasted their time.

Simply put, I wanted to build a platform that is delightful to use for everyone, whether you're here to earn XEC or to spend it.

For Writers

Talented writers are going to be the life blood of this platform. Without content that attracts paying readers, this platform cannot exist, so one of my goals is to make it as easy as possible to onboard such people, as well as provide them with the freedom and flexibility to shine and maximize their earning potential.

If you are looking to publish on Proof of Writing, all you need to do is create an author account by signing up with an email address and providing a valid eCash address to receive payments. That's it. No need to connect with Stripe, or provide your name or any other identifying information. If you are reading this, I assume you already know how to use an eCash wallet. The reason we need a valid email address is in case you forget your password and need to reset it in order to access your account.

Once you've signed up, go to your dashboard and start writing! As a fellow writer, I have tried to make this aspect of the site as painless as possible. You can save drafts, preview them before publishing, and delete published articles as well. You get to choose how much people have to pay. Currently, the minimum amount you can charge is 100 XEC and the maximum amount is 1,000,000 XEC. Every time someone clicks to pay for an article, the payment link redirects the user to their eCash wallet that creates a transaction with two outputs: output 1 representing 94% to the author's address, and output 2 representing 6% going to the platform address. This means that the platform never holds your funds and payments are sent directly to you.

The reason every article requires payment and can't be served for free is to avoid incentivizing spam or ai slop on this platform. We are only interested in content people are willing to pay for. 100 XEC was chosen as the minimum because the smallest amount of XEC that can be sent on the network is 5.46 XEC, aka a dust transaction, which is why the 6% was chosen. This is still significantly less than the 10% that Substack charges, and that doesn't include the additional 3-6% fee charged by their credit card processor. I have currently set the max amount you can charge to 1,000,000 XEC to avoid a situation where someone posts an article for some extremely high amount and have a user accidentally sign for the transaction. At current prices, 1M XEC is ~$7, and I think that seems like a reasonable maximum amount for an internet article.

While paying readers can post comments on your article, authors also have the ability to delete comments if they want. Comments can only be made to the posts themselves and not as nested replies. Finally, you can also delete your account and all related articles at any time, which will wipe all traces of your presence on Proof of Writing. The dashboard let's you sort your articles by unlocks, denotes published articles versus drafts, and you can even preview drafts before publication to make sure they appear as you desire.

Give it a try and feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions. There is also a link to a leaderboard at the bottom of the site that shows the top 10 authors by number of unlocks and XEC earned.

For Readers

If talented writers are the lifeblood of Proof of Writing, devoted readers are the breath that brings it to life. As someone who enjoys reading myself, one of my biggest gripes with the internet is when you come across an article you want to read but are forced to sign up for a subscription to read it.

Proof of Writing does away with that model and allows readers to only have to pay for what you want to read. Simply "login" using the Reader login button that generates a dust transaction to the platform address. Also, anytime you pay to unlock an article, your address is automatically logged in. The site will track which articles you've already paid for so that whenever you come back, you don't have to pay for the same article again.

Paying readers can also comment on articles, but keep in mind the platform and the authors themselves have the ability to delete comments.

I want this place to be as fun for readers as it is for writers. So if you're on a desktop, turn up the volume to hear the sound of magic internet money at work.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed reading and feel free to comment below with any questions or suggestions. Thanks for reading!

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