A publishing imprint for serialized fiction.
Tellura is a digital publishing platform for independent novelists. It is built around the rhythm of serialized fiction — chapter by chapter, volume by volume — and operated by Septem Montes, Inc. with the long view of a publishing house, not the short view of a software product.
Why Tellura exists.
For two decades, the internet has been generous to short-form writing and inattentive to long-form fiction. The platforms that grew up around blog posts and threads were not designed around volumes and chapters. The platforms that grew up around fanfiction were not designed for original novels. None of these are wrong. Most of them are excellent at what they do. None of them were designed for the slow architecture of a serialized novel.
Tellura is built for that architecture. Volumes, chapters, glossaries, drafts; an editor that understands how a novel is shaped; a reader that knows what a long sitting feels like; a catalog reviewed by human moderators rather than ranked by an algorithm. The premise is that long-form fiction deserves first-class tools, not a workaround.
We are not building a feed. We are building a library.
The platform, in plain terms.
Tools designed around the novel.
A markdown editor, a private dashboard, a glossary, scheduled chapters, drafts that live until you publish them. Authors retain copyright to their work. Always.
A reader for the long sit.
Four themes (light, sepia, dark, night), five typefaces, page-by-page or scrolling. Bookmarks with private notes. Settings that travel with the book. No infinite scroll, no notifications, no advertising.
A coin economy, used sparingly.
Most chapters are free. Coins are an optional currency — earned through reading or bought in small bundles — that lets readers tip writers and unlock premium chapters when they choose to.
What we hold to.
These are commitments, not aspirations. They shape product decisions and they shape what we will and will not do at Tellura.
Authors retain copyright.
Always. Authors grant Tellura a license to display their work; they do not transfer ownership. Drafts and chapters export as Markdown at any time, including after an author leaves the platform.
The catalog is human-authored.
Tellura does not host AI-generated novels. Authors may use AI tools as assistance, but the work in the catalog is written by people.
Submissions are reviewed by editorial moderators.
Every novel is read by a human before it appears in the catalog. We are not a free-for-all. We are not an algorithm. The catalog is curated, deliberately and transparently.
The product is not your attention.
Tellura does not sell advertising and does not surveil readers for ad targeting. Revenue comes from coin purchases and reader subscriptions — never from selling attention to a third party.
Coins are an option, not a requirement.
Joining is free. Most chapters are free. Coins exist so readers who want to support an author can; not so readers who can't are excluded.
The reader is the centerpiece.
Tellura's reader is built for paperbacks-on-the-train sittings, not for ad inventory. We will not introduce features that interrupt a reading session to improve a metric.
About Septem Montes, Inc.
Tellura is operated by Septem Montes, Inc., a private company founded in 2026 to build literary publishing infrastructure for the digital age. Tellura is its first imprint.
The name is from the Latin: septem montes, the seven hills. It is a deliberate reference to a city built for the long term. Septem Montes was incorporated to build products that do the same.
For press, partnership, or general inquiries: [email protected]. For legal matters: [email protected]. For copyright takedowns under the DMCA: [email protected].
Tellura opens to the public in 2026.
Authors enter first, in small cohorts. Readers can browse the full catalog at public launch. To request beta access, join the waitlist on our home page.
Join the waitlist