Based on 103 reviews
I’m wondering if when constructing these questions if it dawned on the writers that not everyone had a happy childhood and some of these questions are hard to answer. Maybe there should be guidelines for people who grew up motherless ( different set or restructured sentences etc.? ) not being shady - hopefully a good tip
some of the stories are not printed as I wrote. it showed when I asked a question which i don't understand why it was in the story as i wrote it separately also why is my husband's name on each page?
Questions were too narrow. Dictation feature was hard to find but then did work well. Ability to insert photos should also allow editing but didn’t Over whelming to have a question every week. Should be 2-3 x month
The photos were on the page following the story page.It makes it awkward to read. Otherwise the book was good quality!
I think story worth is a really good idea overall. On a personal level, I have found the prompts bring up lots of memories that I have chosen to ignore over the years. Sometimes I find myself late at night thinking of experiences and people from the past that I do not want to share with family. I am spending a lot of time considering what is appropriate to write for posterity. Right now, I am stuck on the question what is the bravest thing you’ve ever done? I took some personal risks in my life that had major repercussions, but I don’t want to share them with my children . that leads me to wonder should I just say something about riding a bull or climbing a mountain? As I said, overall, if you can sanitize it, story worth is a great idea.
Like the book except for one thing. I found a couple of typos while reading. This after using your proof reading device twice. I also proofread when I did some editing.
this is not something I want to do. Your questions may be great, but I do not want to have my information and any questions about my life put on display. This is not for everyone, great happy life, yes, maybe want to tell the world. But painful memories are bad and not for display
Sorry Sally, I don’t mean to be difficult. But I don’t see the point in this for me anyway. My kids might glance through it and that would be it. I’m sure many people would get very excited with this.
I thought when I bought this for my mother, that I would receive a book with all of her answers, that I could gift to her.
Everything is great except the photos take a very long time to upload abd it’s difficult to figure out how to add photos once the story is complete
Hard to navigate through it all Answers to questions need to be more clear
The call back feature of oral story telling is not working
I just want the purchase price refunded to my daughter-in-law. I had a horrible, abusive family and lived in poverty. None of these questions apply to the life I lived and I'm certainly not sharing those awful things.
It is fun to write my story or stories, however the prompts are sometimes childish or not in my interests so then I’ve got to find another question I’d rather answer.
The questions are too broad (e.g., "What were your friends like in high school") and not specific enough ("Who inspires you today"). For the former, I would think the question should be something like, "Tell me about some of the interesting things of your high school friends"; while the latter should be, "Today, who do you admire and wish you could be more like."
I like being able to share stories, but some questions don’t fit my situation very well. I think it would also be more meaningful to at least have voice recordings (if not video recordings of the answer) so our children and grandchildren would be able to have a deeper connection with us.
I find it very frustrating that I have little to no control over formatting--the spacing, the indentations. I would like to be able to control the LOOK of my stories--have single spacing when I want it, have indenting be easy. Perhaps I just don't know how to use the site well, perhaps not having control of formatting is my fault--I'm not sure--but try as I do, I can't seem to do much about the LOOK. Other than that, however, I am really enjoying writing on Storyworth. I generally do not use their prompts, despite their being good, for I always seem to have ideas of my own that I prefer to follow!
I like that I can add photos and that each entry can be proofread. I don't like that some of the questions are so open ended, and similar.
I do like the fact that my stories are proofread.
I asked several specific questions that were not all answered.
I don't know how to get back to the missed stories that I need to do?
I would strongly caution anyone considering Storyworth as a gift. I purchased this as a one-time gift for my grandfather. Like most people, I assumed that meant I was paying for a single year—end of story. What I did not expect is that Storyworth would then go directly to the recipient and prompt them to continue the subscription by entering their own credit card. In our case, this went on for about five years. My grandfather kept paying annually, even though he wasn’t using the service, because it was never clearly communicated that the original gift had already been fulfilled. He believed he was supposed to continue it. Let’s be honest: the vast majority of people buying this product have no idea it turns into this kind of setup. A gift should never quietly become an ongoing financial obligation for the person receiving it. The way this is structured feels predatory. It relies on confusion and puts the burden on recipients—many of whom are older and more likely to assume they’re expected to keep paying. That is not a coincidence. It’s a design choice, and it’s a bad one. I only caught this because I happened to receive a notice that his card was about to be charged again and stepped in to cancel it. Otherwise, it likely would have continued indefinitely. This is not how a gift should work. Be very careful before purchasing.
Spent $85 on StoryWorth + $80+ for the book. I made a small cover photo mistake and asked about a reprint. They declined and offered 20% off another copy. $165 total felt high for that outcome. I understand it was my error, but it seemed like an easy fix. Very disappointing.
Did not print my full total stories, and printed my book, charged me for the order, and sent me an incomplete book, not happy.
You send me an email to write in my storyworth and when I click the link, I am told to put in my email so you can send a new link TO MY EMAIL. It's about the dumbest thing I've seen.
Prooffread continues to miss corrections even after several tries
I recommend a larger size book. I love the concept of Storyworth and the customer service and questions are great. I have not seen the finished project yet but I know that the book is just so small and I think it dramatically limits how pictures work on each page.
You have kept the writer enjoy writing their book. But for some reasons, I lost the opportunity to read the store periodically for a long time. I miss it. But don't know how to resume the option. Thank you.
The finished product turned out ok but the process definitely wasn’t great. I didn’t like that some questions were tagged with a “requested by Raymond” as if my dad wanted to answer those questions. When I asked him about them (after adding them to the book) he said no, he knew nothing about that. He didn’t like that he would jot down some ideas on a question so that he could come back and elaborate later, and he would get an email saying “congratulations! You’ve made a new entry”. He said the default emails were very insincere. I didn’t understand why my dad got an email when finalizing the book asking for additional money. I believed that the payment I made at the beginning would cover the book. He never should have gotten that email. If anything, I should have. He paid an additional $50 for the book I asked him to do. He reached out a few times with questions. One for example was how to get more than one photo on a page and he was told to find an app that allows you to make a collage and figure it out.
There's nothing you can do, I just find it as another chore to add to my busy to do list. It's just not for me. I'm sure when I'm all done with the questions, going back proofreading it, adding photographs, making it perfect, and the book is ready to publish, I'm sure by then I'll be very glad I did it to leave to my daughter.
Good first dozen topics
I think people need to use whatever life writing service works for them, and I’m not going to dissuade anyone. Instead, let me share my experience. Like those people and my demographic, we face health challenges. I extended and bought another year of prompts despite multiple surgeries and an aggressive bombardment. They sent me in the recently reminding me it’s time for more money. I alerted them to my situation and basically they didn’t give a crap. Zero empathy. I will be including my experience in my memoirs, and I will be sharing this with in the senior community. Amazingly enough, it cost them nothing zero to send out emails, with the writing prompts. 95% of which I don’t even use. Anyway, one of the customer service specialist responded in a timely manner with a really horrible response that basically just give us more money. Just a heads up folks.
I really liked the Storyworth subscription, however, when that subscription for the 52 weeks of new questions is up, you have about a year to finish all your stories before going to print. My issue is they send 2-3 emails a week telling you to “renew” your subscription, but that is for new stories and new books. Not to complete the first. My mom did not realize that and paid the renewal fee and it took days to get a hold of someone to get her money back. It’s deceptive ethical practice on older people who are gifted this and very annoying.
I need to talk to a person. There is a problem with my order. 240-286-3199
In hindsight, I didn't think outside the box, so to speak and I would've liked to have added more details regarding my ancestry as well as additional life experiences, specifically as a child. I wanted to label the spine of the book differently than what appears at the top of the pages, but I couldn't get it to work. I received the subscription as a gift. I didn't realize I'd have to pay an additional $125.00 CAD for colour. That was quite disappointing and shocking. This cost seems excessive considering the cost of the subscription. Thank goodness I didn't need extra copies! I liked receiving the regular notifications and helpful suggestions, although I didn't have a chance to read all of them. I did get behind, mid-book as I didn't have internet for a couple of months. All in all a costly good experience. I see there are other companies providing a similar subscription, but I have not done any comparisons. Thank you for asking for my input/review.
I received this as a Christmas gift. I did not understand it at first. Once I figured it out. It was a lot easier. I had trouble with the pictures. I was leaving a whole page per picture but it kept saying the picture was to big. Then when I went to order my book. I found out it is I believe $39.00 to get colored pictures in your book. When I got my book 99% of the pictures were so small you could hardly see them. That made me very unhappy. I spent a year doing this and it came out looking bad.
This was a gift from my oldest stepson’s family for Christmas. What a wonderful gift. I was excited every Monday to begin answering the next question. One question a week is just about the right timing. Sometimes I sat and wrote the whole story as soon as I received the question. Other times I needed to think about the question adding more information over several days. I never felt like it was overwhelming. Thinking about what to add in the next story and hunting for pictures to support that story was a wonderful trip down Memory Lane! Stories, people, times that I had not thought about in some time were pleasant reminders of my life. The StoryWorth program was extremely easy to navigate. I liked being able to adjust the questions to fit what I needed to tell MY story. Returning to questions to edit the story or add a photo was simple. The ability to move the stories to make it somewhat chronological was great! Directions were easy to follow and the FAQ was very helpful. Having time after the last question to polish the stories and add more pictures was valuable. I never felt hurried to complete the book. The reminders about having a story to complete or to add a photo or proofread was helpful. It was nice that I could go ahead to the next question if I was stuck on one. The ability to add readers was fun. Of course the stepson was on the list and when I told a friend about the gift, she requested to be on the reader list! I hate to even talk about any problem I encountered, but while the proofread was helpful, it was not consistent! I always did proofread after finishing a story and again after adding or deleting any part of a story. When I would proofread it was suggest changes that were not needed, were inaccurate, or would suggest a change from what it had suggested the time before. Proofreading was beneficial, but certainly needs to be checked out / improved. When I was ready to order my book, the suggestion to order one first to check it out, then to order more was helpful. I ended up ordering a total of five (includes the one that was included in the gift). The books were shipped in a very timely order. I have and will continue to tell everyone that this is a great gift to give someone. I had one person purchase the program for her family. As you can tell from my comments, I LOVED my gift of StoryWorth! I cannot wait to present the books to my three stepchildren, my siblings, and friends. Hopefully, the grandchildren will read it sometime!!
Too much pressure to complete.
When you put two people on one story the second name doesn't get the fancy first letter. It is terrible trying to edit each page to be printed in its appearance. I tried to make spacing changes and when I reviewed laterit was back to the original. Also the header of each page was edited twice for two lines but was crammed back to one line. Since this is a book for us and our memories we should be able to editor two our desires.
I don't always feel like writing
I tried to add pictures to a story, it didn't work, wrote for help, received instructions for how to do it, did what said to do, didn't work! Just emailed the pictures !
The website is very difficult to use. It is not smooth and understandable. I found many walls to hurdle and was almost going to forget the book. Editing, speaking, and grammar checking is inaccurate according to the English language. Your process needs refined.
I was told I had 3 months from December 26th 2025 to complete my questions but now I cannot finish and it is only March 14th
Nothing went wrong...maybe I went wrong. Questions come so fast and each require a very thoughtful answer. I was sick for 2 weeks - questions still keep coming, of course. I have a life beyond Storyworth and its so hard to keep up. I feel depressed that I'm falling so far behind in the questions. Storyworth seems like a "nag" sometimes.
Good concept but way too long of a process. I began to dread it. And the charge at the end to the “recipient “ was unexpected and forced unless I wanted to basically throw the gift and my time away.
Buyer beware - Avoid this company! I bought this for my mum a couple of years ago, she enjoyed writing the stories and didn’t have time add all the detail she wanted so we paid for another year to get more time. We are now 2 years in and ready to print the book, we have spent hour after hour getting this right, then ordered the books. 2 black and white copies for members of the family and a colour copy for my mum. At the confirmation page it wrongly said there was only one copy ordered. Within 1 minute of this order, I reached out to say that the quantity was wrong and that we required the 3 books I was trying to order. They came back the next day to say that I didn’t select the 2 black and white copies I had already paid for - when selecting the credits it actually used them both on the colour copy. I explained this was misleading and wrong and we required 3 books. Two days later response came back - sorry, we have sent it to the printers now, no other copies can be added!! Complete waste of time. Very expensive for what it is and the service is abysmal. Do not waste your time or money on this company.
The proofreading section while a great tool has a few glitches. It continually suggests I change the spelling of my husbands name when it doesn’t align with your version. E.g. Philip with 2 ll’s instead of one. Why do I have to ignore the unnecessary correction more than once? You need to allow for Canadian English spelling for your Canadian customers. E.g. favourite instead of favorite and so on. We use the “u” in many of the words your proofreading tool tries to correct. If I ask for proofread again once I’ve added more to the story it often suggests I change my edits back to what I had originally, and still tries to have me correct all the suggestions I have already ignored.
These books are very expensive and I was disappointed with several of the stories in mine because photos were placed in the middle of the text causing words and sentences to be divided which made reading the story confusing because the photo caption was mixed in with the text. In one story as you read a sentence it stops and there’s a photo at the end of the page then you turn the page and the last word of the sentence is on the next page and it’s the only thing on that page. Why wouldn’t the sentence have been completed and the photo placed on the next page? The punctuation isn’t correct either. There is no space between the period at the end of a sentence and the beginning of the next sentence. I tried to edit this but it wouldn’t correct. Also, a relative I wrote about has the name Short and the book autocorrected to Shortly even after I edited. I would not recommend this company to anyone
I’ve liked doing this for my kids, but I’m a bit lazy. Getting the story request once a week became a bit, well… too much. I regularly thought I will do it tomorrow… and then the next one arrived. Now even with the 90 day finish up grace period I’m still 20 or more in the hole.
The proofreader is excellent, but there is virtually no customer service. I have written to you at least three times and never received a reply. I want to run the earlier stories through the proofreader, but I can't tell if this is possible. My queries about this remain unanswered. If this was corrected, my rating would be much higher.
I lost some creative work while using the Proofreader. Support was unable to retrieve.
Formatting was off on 17 pages. The title of a page was put in the last line of the page before the correct page.
The concept is brilliant. The finish product was good. But the editing features, especially for photos and their captions are archaic. Surely you can do better. Hard to recommend to friends.
I have no personal interest in answering these questions, many of which I find prosaic and somewhat banal and only reply because my daughter signed up to this project and I am doing it for her.
Weak questions
The questions are odd
It’s my first experience with story writing and I am glad you could give me this opportunity I to revisit my childhood and my family especially my loving parents -a history that could have been lost. Please keep it up.
Cannot edit to add or delete pictures or part of the story i have finished. Shin i go to story that is finished no edit info acailable
My subscription i about to expire and it will not let me sign on to finish my book. I am having surgery next week and need to get it done!!!!
I’ve tried to keep every story in draft form until I decide they’re finished but you keep calling some complete. And I think you’ve sent some to Kevin King but I didn’t ask you to or want you to. Pushing myself to finish.
It didn’t allow for page format. I couldn’t bold text or change font size. I couldn’t format my paragraphs or sentences differently.
You are unable to help me with photos. You are unable to edit the beginning of a couple of pages where I do not want the large script font at the start of the page. That said, your customer service has been great with what they ARE able to do.
Got story book for Christmas. I am NOT a writer. If I could rate a zero I would. I know my daughter had good intentions when she gifted it. the questions are intrusive. Not for me. hope they print out a blank page book at the end of the year, so the grand kids have something to color in.
I find the app hard to navigate. When I do manage to get back to a story I’ve saved for editing I find it has been sent out to my contacts as is. Also I wrote about 500 word story and saved it for editing and that the last I saw of it. Could not retrieve it.
A pain in the ass. Recipients of this "gift" should have to consent.
I hated Mondays and the stupid questions. People should be asked if they wish to do this.
Never got my book that was promised in November, 2025! Not happy!
I have enjoyed the concept of Storyworth, but your software platform is less to be desired. It is not writer friendly and it is very remedial when you want to go back to adjust a story, or proofread. I dictate my story, edit, and proofread it several times before I actually save it to email. Each time I proofread, your software reverses itself and I normally cut and paste to another proofreading software, for accuracy. Then, I have to go back in and remove my existing story, retype the question and drop my new edited version into the Storyworth file. In order to save it for publication, I have to go back to Storyworth’s proofreading and I ignore every suggestion from your software. In addition, you don’t have a designated app, so you can only go through by email. The backup or download to PDF, is not very friendly and many times there is a program error. Storyworth was a Christmas gift from my daughter, and the way that I have been able to capture my life in a story (with pictures) has been incredible. But the mechanics of writing it, is so frustrating on your software program. I can only say that it’s a $99.00, purchase with a $5.00 software program. Please fix it! I have several friends and family to ask me to recommend your company and I refuse to. I don’t want my family or friends to be frustrated as well, trying to write their memories. Maxine Leftwich
My first order was excellent service. My third - book was lost - I had to fight to get that refilled My last order of three books - 2 were damaged with embedded scratches and all three were dirty like they had been in a warehouse for 5 years. It took many emails , proof of damage with me sending pictures, ( which still wasn’t enough!) , SO MUCH frustration and fighting for them to get my order right, undamaged , and to stand behind their product. Finally I was told “ they would fulfill and MAKE A ONE TIME EXCEPTION” Are you kidding me ? It was their mistakes. Their damaged goods . That says they do NOT stand behind their product. Unreal . Unbelievable . Pathetic customer service. NEVER AGAIN! EVER!
The books I ordered never arrived. I asked why and the answer was: the delivery organisation had a problem................ What problem?
Beware of the SL300 lift and certainly check reviews about your dealer.
My daughter set this up for me and the first 6 months I would receive a new question by email every Monday. All was going well and then for some reason I stopped getting my weekly question Contact with your company has not resulted in any change and I’m now finding it a chore to remember to log in and find my question so it gets forgotten which is why I’m no longer enjoying the experience and I only have until May to catch up
Nothing to do with your service but this brings up memories that I just don’t want to go back to.
This was a gift, I really dreaded writing about myself. The idea is nice but I found it very hard to come up with what to write.
Pictures not include which were paid for. The one picture on the front is too dark. You can’t really make out who or whst is in the picture.
I was given a Storyworth subscription and I was so enamoured by it I immediately bought one for my sister. We finished at the end of the year and both had payments to make to finalise the book orders.we were both under the impression that the initial amount paid covered everything. We both paid different amounts and it wasn’t clear why .
We purchased a Storyworth subscription for my grandfather as a Christmas gift, and it was never delivered. He never received a single email—no instructions, no questions, nothing. I personally confirmed the email address, had him check spam and junk folders, and contacted Storyworth multiple times asking them to simply confirm whether anything was ever sent. They have not responded to a single email from customer support. This experience has been unbelievably frustrating and disappointing. I am now forced to dispute the charges with my bank, and on top of that, I feel awful that my grandfather effectively received nothing for Christmas. The complete lack of communication is unacceptable. TERRIBLE communication. TERRIBLE service. I would strongly caution anyone considering this company.
I don’t get what everyone is so excited about. I would rather folks just ask me questions and we talk about life’s experiences. I might get into it, but it takes time that I don’t feel like I have. It was “gifted” to me and I will do it because my wife and kids asked me to do it, but this is just another deadline to add to the mix and really isn’t a gift to me but to them. I’d recommend that you seriously consider who this is benefiting before you spend the money and “gift” it to someone. I would rather just journal on my own time and provide something in my own handwriting - which is what I will probably do…
NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING ONCE ENTRIES WERE COMPLETED
Storyworth is a great way to record memories of your life for yourself or your loved ones.
I think this venue would be pretty good for those who are writing without photos. 3 things: 1)I didn't care for the questions, which made me put off writing until I figured out how to just write my own stuff. 2) Although the website says you can add a photo or 2, I would just not recommend it at all. It is time-consuming to get the pages to look properly (if a photo is put in, it often is so large that it bumps onto the next page, leaving a big blank spot on the page ahead of it). BUT: photos were important for my content. 3)Important, though: when I asked a few questions, I got a helpful response within hours! One response was asked and answered even on New Year's Day.
I started out enjoying it but it became too laborious. Grant
While I think it is as great idea, having a new question [posted every week becomes overwhelming when you are busy and don’t have the time to do STORYWORTHevery week. Not sure when my stories i write expire. Would like some more time.
Advertised as a gift, but not actually giftable. I was forced to create the account with my own personal information and then give those credentials to the recipient. That’s unacceptable and feels misleading. Now I’m out $60 with an awkward, privacy-compromising mess instead of a gift. Would not recommend.
No double page spread view option when using iPhone and no warning that pictures attached to a story may not show next to that story, and may instead be next to an entirely unrelated story (think sad story next to a super happy photo). Due to the poor interface, my 3 books arrived unusable due to all the pictures being across from the wrong story. To make matters worse, the customer surface was awful and entirely unhelpful. I have spent at least twenty additional hours (so far) and $300 more recreating the books via homemade scrapbooks bc my Storyworth books could not be fixed and sent in time for Christmas (deadline was the day before I received the messed up books). If you care about customer service, go elsewhere.
I really liked the software package. It had all the features I wanted. I would rate that part a 5. Unfortunately Customer Service was so poor that it took days to resolve the issues. The first two books that I received were all damaged along the spine. These were two separate orders and the packaging appeared cheap and flimsy. During this whole process I would get someone new every day. I finally received a replacement that unfortunately also came damaged. I then asked for them to bubble wrap which they did. I asked for 50% off any future orders but this request was never acknowledged. I would rate Customer Service a 1. Thus, my overall experience was a 3.
Idea is cool, but the picture formatting is ancient and options are very narrow. At the time of purchase, the pictures, videos, advertising showed a full color book included, which is what lured me to this service. However, when I went to print the book a year later I was told the credit only covered a black and white version, and I would have to upgrade to get the color version. I think they should make this clear in their advertising.
Writing the reviews brought back many nice memories
The prompt questions are repetitive
I am still unable to get into my storyworth account. Could you please help reset the account so I can log in. Thank you
answering your questions bring up lots of bad memories.
I think its a good process but I would like to see some more "western world" generic questions. I am in Australia and a number of the questions are very USA centric
Checking into my account is ALWAYS A PROBLEM, WHICH YOU NEVER ADDRESS?????
Writing my stories on Storyworth was a great experience I ever had making me to reexamine my whole life, understand my achievements and mistakes and publish a nice book for my descendants. Embedded AI assistant was helpful editor to my writing. The only complaint I have was that not all who I included in mailing list as recipients of my stories actually received them. From 40 people included only about 30 received but others did not. I double checked their email addresses, then corresponded with the storyworth team. They assured me that they fixed the system. Unfortunately, that helped me little. Anyway, I am grateful to the creators for the very idea of making many senior people happy to share the important or funny episodes of their life.
It was fun to relive so many memories to share with my son and his girlfriend, but often writing the stories often seemed like unwanted homework, As I completed a story it was automatically shared with the two of them. Why would they need a book? They've read the stories. Why would I want the book? I lived the stories. And to buy a second book seems like an expensive choice.
I enjoyed the experience of writing the answers to the questions. The book turned out as a worthwhile personal project. I'm pleased with it HOWEVER $80 PER COPY IS ABSURD!! I realize you need to make money but this is greedy to me. I won't be recommending you to anyone for that reason alone.
In finishing the book….I feel it should provide spell check. And it would be helpful to receive a proof copy before publishing
It's like being back at school with homework. Not sure any of the kids will care. I do it so I don't hurt my daughter's feelings.
Insanely expensive
Quite expensive. Annoying that it completely ends at a year and if it’s not done by then then you’re out of luck
Totally disappointed in the final product layout. Cover was beautiful but the layout was embarrassing. I tried to keep it under 300 pages as to not incur extra charges. WHEN I RECEIVED THE FINAL COPY I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW MANY PAGES WERE NEARLY BLANK(only one sentence on 11 pages). Wallet -size photos that I submitted were enlarged to FULL page...what a waste! Those one sentence pages could have been fit in if many of the photos were kept to the size that I submitted. I have tried to contact company but nothing was acknowledged or resolved. My layout looked good on my end but... Good luck with their automated/ computerized layout.
I purchased Storyworth at $99 for my mom’s birthday last year. It was a bit difficult to navigate but I managed to complete most of the questions and add pictures. When I was ready to order, they wanted another $40 because the pictures were in color. This was never explained during the initial purchase. I paid the difference but am not pleased with the deception.
In July of 2022 I subscribed and paid for multiple books for my mother. I gifted her a subscription to Storyworth. She diligently answered her questions throughout the year. It is now Dec 30 of 2023 and we've received no books, no notifications, no emails or calls about the status of the order and the final books. When I try to log into my account it says it is no longer active. I would like to receive the books ordered since my mother put so much work into them -and if that is for some reason not possible - I would like a full refund. This is incredibly disappointing.