diff --git a/app/api/generate-comic/route.ts b/app/api/generate-comic/route.ts
index 1b1ce8c..df75fee 100644
--- a/app/api/generate-comic/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/generate-comic/route.ts
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
     // Determine which API key to use
     let finalApiKey = apiKey;
     const isUsingFreeTier = !apiKey;
+    const usesOwnApiKey = !!apiKey;
 
     if (isUsingFreeTier) {
       // Use default API key for free tier
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
         description: undefined,
         userId: userId,
         style,
+        usesOwnApiKey,
       });
 
       page = await createPage({
diff --git a/lib/db-actions.ts b/lib/db-actions.ts
index d21745e..4aa5f5f 100644
--- a/lib/db-actions.ts
+++ b/lib/db-actions.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { stories, pages, type Story, type Page } from './schema';
 import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm';
 import { generateComicSlug } from './slug-generator';
 
-export async function createStory(data: { title: string; description?: string; userId: string; style?: string }): Promise<Story> {
+export async function createStory(data: { title: string; description?: string; userId: string; style?: string; usesOwnApiKey?: boolean }): Promise<Story> {
   // Generate a unique slug
   let slug = generateComicSlug();
   let attempts = 0;
diff --git a/lib/schema.ts b/lib/schema.ts
index 6312876..0bafbc1 100644
--- a/lib/schema.ts
+++ b/lib/schema.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { pgTable, text, integer, timestamp, uuid, jsonb } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';
+import { pgTable, text, integer, timestamp, uuid, jsonb, boolean } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';
 import { relations } from 'drizzle-orm';
 
 // Stories table
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ export const stories = pgTable('stories', {
   description: text('description'),
   style: text('style').default('noir').notNull(),
   userId: text('user_id').notNull(),
+  usesOwnApiKey: boolean('uses_own_api_key').default(false),
   createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
   updatedAt: timestamp('updated_at').defaultNow().notNull(),
 });