In the realm of digital platforms that capture and preserve life and family stories, StoryWorth has carved its niche. The service provides the unique opportunity to document personal stories inspired by weekly prompts, culminating in a professionally bound memoir at the end of a year.

According to StoryWorth’s website, the service has helped its customers capture “millions” of stories. Each of these narratives forms a piece of a private collection - a literary mosaic depicting the user's life journey as they respond to thoughtful prompts. 

When StoryWorth works as intended, it offers an unrivaled tool for introspection, personal discovery, and legacy building. By inspiring users to write their personal narratives, it cultivates a habit of reflection and nurtures self-expression.

However, like all tools, understanding how StoryWorth works is critical before you decide to make a purchase. Before you buy, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to uncover the nuances of StoryWorth, its pros, its limitations, and various important details potential subscribers should be aware of.

You’re purchasing an annual subscription

StoryWorth’s format operates around an annual subscription framework. This means that when you make a purchase, you’re essentially enrolling in a recurring year-long service rather than acquiring a one-off product. This continuous yearly subscription model works perfectly for patrons who love the idea of regularly documenting their thoughts, experiences, and meaningful narratives. Just be sure to renew only if you or your loved one wants to keep writing after their first book. This has caused confusion for multiple customers.

Additional books aren’t cheap

Many families with a loved one who completes a StoryWorth book are excited to purchase multiple copies of the books for multiple members of the family. After all, a beautifully written book is indeed a tremendous keepsake. These folks, however, are often surprised to learn that printing an additional book can cost up to an additional $99 before shipping.So if you're planning on sharing your StoryWorth journey with family or friends, plan this aspect of your budget accordingly.

Perfect for natural writers

If you or your recipient loves writing and documenting life experiences, you'll find StoryWorth to be your ally. The platform focuses on written narratives and encourages users to document their life stories by writing them out. This works wonderfully if you love crafting stories and translating memories into words. With StoryWorth, every story turns into a personalized essay ready to be cherished for years to come.

Painful for those who don’t love to write

On the other hand, StoryWorth can seem intimidating for individuals who struggle with writing or don't find it enjoyable. The core tenet of StoryWorth involves storytelling through written words. Therefore, if writing isn't exactly your strong suit, the StoryWorth platform might come across as demanding—even overwhelming to some. Also, if someone is a perfectionist, they might worry excessively about perfecting every detail. They could end up spending a lot of time checking their spelling, fixing their sentences, and making sure everything is perfect. But the thing is, StoryWorth is really about sharing memories and great moments, not about being the perfect writer.

To some, feels like homework

Plenty of successful Storyworth participants feel that in writing their memoir, they’ve created a “gift for future generations.” For others, the task of writing a life story can feel like a school assignment. The structured, guided approach of posing questions to extract stories may not be pleasant for all, especially for those who don’t like feeling put in the spot or prefer a more spontaneous, free-flow approach to communicating their thoughts.

"We are in our late 70s and writing every week is just too much.” - TrustPilot Review

No voice-to-text options

Here's another limitation: StoryWorth does not offer a voice-to-text feature, which means stories must be composed by typing them out. This could be off-putting for some users who might find the manual typing process laborious, especially given the increasing ubiquity of dictation-based text inputs on many digital platforms.

Requires staying on top of email 

Much of StoryWorth’s interactions hinge on email communication. Invitations, reminders, story prompts, and almost every touchpoint with StoryWorth will come via email. Therefore, anyone who isn’t completely comfortable dealing with a regular influx of emails might face some initial friction while navigating the StoryWorth process. And even those comfortable with email have acknowledged in online reviews that at some point in the process, the emails stopped altogether.

Limited customization options

The ultimate cherries of the StoryWorth experience are undoubtedly the printed books. While many customers speak positively of their excellent quality, many others express frustration that customization options are limited. Restrictions include the inability to italicize text, lack of diverse font options and sizes, absence of rich text editor functionalities like bolding and underlining, and certain issues with pagination and blank pages appearing throughout the book. One customer noted, “The idea is great…However, I would highly recommend going to another company which has better editing. StoryWorth has very few tools to help design and create the look you want.”

“I was VERY surprised and unhappy that I was stuck with double spacing...it look more like a third grade reading book than the memories of a great-grandmother.”  - TrustPilot Review

Generic prompts are a mixed bag

The questions StoryWorth provides new subscribers by default dramatically streamlines the onboarding process. And while some people seem to enjoy the default questions, others find them a bit pedestrian.

“The story ideas are a mixed bag, some good and others not so good.” TrustPilot Review

Time-intensive editing & review

Be prepared to invest some time in the book editing process. Rearranging stories, fine tuning text and layout, and putting together a polished book can consume a considerable amount of time. This is particularly notable for family members who sit down to review a full year of stories all in one sitting - nearly impossible! So if you're the person who will be copyediting the book, consider this aspect prior to diving in.

Uploading photos requires login

Photos certainly amplify the storytelling experience by adding a visual dimension to your narratives. However, StoryWorth users have reported difficulties when trying to upload images to their stories. If you're not tech-savvy or if you're easily frustrated by technology glitches, you might find this as a downside to the overall StoryWorth experience.

“The addition of pictures is done inconsistently, especially if you add them later. If you try to add scanned input the result is also inconsistent.” - TrustPilot Review

Language limitation

If you're considering StoryWorth for a non-Latin alphabet user, be aware of the platform’s language constraints. The current software only supports languages that use the Latin script, potentially alienating users who wish to write in languages such as Arabic, Greek, Russian, Hebrew, or any East Asian languages. For example, one customer was disappointed to see that the cover of the book didn’t correctly print her father’s Mandarin name. 

Unclear instructions and confusing website

Although Storytellers are able to answer questions by responding to their email directly, some prefer to log into StoryWorth to write their responses. This is required for anyone interested in uploading photos. Unfortunately, many customers cited issues with navigating the StoryWorth website and the steps required to submit a new story.

“We sent requests to 20 people to answer questions; only 2 were able to navigate the software.” - TrustPilot Reviewer

No return policy for books

While the printed books are the culmination of your year's worth of storytelling, they come with a no-return policy. This means books cannot be returned once they're printed and shipped. For example, one customer commented, “When I emailed my complaint to StoryWorth I received an email apologizing for the outcome. However, the printer would not reprint the book without a new charge and therefore I would not be reimbursed for the cost of the new book.” With this in mind, plan to spend time perfecting the digital manuscript and thoroughly reviewing it before you place your order.

You can’t (easily) combine stories

Combining stories from multiple storytellers into one cohesive book is a feature that is not inherently built into the StoryWorth service. By default, each StoryWorth subscription is linked to one storyteller, resulting in one unique book. Individuals with multiple subscriptions for various storytellers can reach out to StoryWorth’s customer support to manually combine the stories from different storytellers into a single book. 

Not much to unwrap

Purchasing a StoryWorth subscription for someone else? Remember that at the time of purchase, the gift recipient will receive an email notification instead of a physical gift. Some people find this anticlimactic and it may not have the same surprise factor as a wrapped gift.

Unreliable customer service

On various review sites including TrustPilot, many StoryWorth customers share frustration with radio silence from the customer service team. They wish their customer support team had a phone number and wasn’t purely limited to email communication. One customer found that a submitted story included information different from what was printed in the book and was told she “should have read the whole book and double checked everything before purchasing.”

Shipping issues

Although the vast majority of successful StoryWorth customers received their book in the mail without issue, some users noted delivery issues and expressed frustration at the suggestion that they ought to purchase another copy.

Deleted stories

There are few things more precious than an entire life story turned into a timeless artifact. Unfortunately, multiple different reports from customers online indicate that StoryWorth stories were not saved after being written.   

"I wrote a long answer to the grandparents question and the program lost it. Not going to do again!" - TrustPilot Reviewer

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Just as with any digital platform, StoryWorth has its unique strengths and certain constraints. By understanding these details, you can make an informed choice about whether StoryWorth is a good fit for you or your loved one, and how you can make the most of it if you do decide to embark on the StoryWorth journey. Happy storytelling!

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