Question 1

What are Quills?

Accepted Answer

Quills are Scribbla's usage credits. AI work — drafting, editing, research, advisor reports — costs Quills. The cost is shown before you spend them.

You start with a free balance. You can buy more from the **Wallet** page, and authors earn Quills back in royalties when readers unlock their published books in the Library.

Question 2

Account, profile, and deletion

Accepted Answer

Your **Account** page lets you change your display name, avatar, and notification preferences.

Deleting your account permanently removes your projects, chapters, and unlocks. The email address goes into a 30-day cooldown before it can be used to sign up again.

Question 3

What is Scribbla?

Accepted Answer

Scribbla is a writing room that interviews you, builds an outline, and drafts your book chapter by chapter — with you in the loop.

You bring the story or idea. Scribbla brings the structure, the questions, and a small team of AI personas (a Drafter, an Editor, a Researcher, and an Advisor) who keep the work coherent across chapters.

To start, type a sentence about the book you want to write on the home page — or pick one of the six starting points (a novel, a memoir, someone's story, a book from your expertise, family history, or something else). Scribbla asks a few questions and sketches an outline. It's free, no signup, and your draft is saved for 24 hours. Sign up when you want to keep iterating or unlock the full chapter list.

Question 4

How the opening interview works

Accepted Answer

The opening interview on the home page is meant to be quick — three to six exchanges. The goal isn't to plan the whole book; it's to get enough about your *intent*, *audience*, and *stakes* that Scribbla can sketch a useful first outline.

How it works:
- Start by typing what your book is about. A single sentence is enough — "Start my book →" sends it to Scribbla.
- If you'd rather, pick one of the six starting points below the input: a novel, a memoir, someone's story, a book from your expertise, family history, or something else. Each one tunes the questions Scribbla asks.
- Answer in your own voice. Long, vivid answers beat short polished ones.
- It's fine to say "I don't know yet" — Scribbla will redirect.

You'll see your outline straight away — free, no signup, and saved on this device for 24 hours. Sign up when you want to regenerate, unlock the full chapter list, and start drafting.

Question 5

Publishing to the Library

Accepted Answer

When a book is ready, open it and choose **Publish**. You set a price in Quills (free is allowed) and a synopsis. Readers who unlock your book pay Quills; you receive 70% as a royalty.

You can unlist a book at any time. Existing readers keep access.

Question 6

Sharing a draft privately

Accepted Answer

Use **Share** on any chapter or whole book to create a private link. Options:
- Set an expiry date.
- Require the viewer to enter their email.
- Cap the number of views.

Sharing doesn't publish the book — it stays out of the Library.

Question 7

Outline and chapters

Accepted Answer

Your outline is a living list of chapters. Each chapter has a title, a short summary, and (once drafted) full content.

The first version of your outline appears on the home page right after the opening interview — the first three chapters are shown free, and signing up unlocks the rest.

In the writing room you can:
- Reorder chapters by dragging them.
- Edit titles and summaries inline.
- Add or delete chapters at any time — the AI team adapts.

Changing the outline never loses work. Older drafts are kept in chapter snapshots.

Question 8

Deep mode vs Simple mode

Accepted Answer

Two interview modes used to be documented separately. They're now described together in **Simple vs Deep mode** — open that article for the current explanation.

Question 9

Sources and citations

Accepted Answer

When the Drafter or Researcher uses a source in your chapter, it leaves a small `[n]` marker inline — `[1]`, `[2]`, and so on. The full list of sources lives in the **Sources panel** beside the editor, not at the end of the chapter.

How the numbers work:
- Numbered entries (`[1]`, `[2]`…) are sources that were used while the chapter was drafted. The number in the panel matches the marker in the prose.
- Entries with a `[+]` badge are sources the Researcher added *after* the chapter was drafted. They aren't cited inline yet — they're there for you to read and, if useful, weave in.

The Sources panel is the authoritative list. You won't see a `## References` heading at the bottom of your chapter anymore — citations stay clean inline, and the panel keeps the bibliography in one place.

Question 10

Drafting a chapter

Accepted Answer

Open any chapter and use **Draft chapter** to have the Drafter write a full pass. It works in segments so long chapters don't time out.

Before you draft you can:
- Add notes or a chapter-level interview to steer it.
- Attach research pieces so the Drafter quotes real material.
- Pick narrators if your book uses multiple POVs.

After drafting, the Editor will mark up the prose with notes you can accept, dismiss, or apply.

**Citations.** When the Drafter cites a source it places a small `[n]` marker inline. The full list lives in the Sources panel beside the editor — chapters no longer print a References section at the end. See *Sources and citations* for how the numbering works.

Question 11

The Editor and style memory

Accepted Answer

The Editor reads each chapter and leaves notes — line-level suggestions, structural concerns, and creative checks.

When you accept or dismiss a note, Scribbla remembers the *signal* (e.g. "writer prefers shorter sentences", "no em-dashes"). Future chapters are drafted with those preferences baked in. This is how the book starts to sound like you.

Question 12

Keyboard shortcuts

Accepted Answer

- **?** — Open the help drawer
- **Cmd/Ctrl + S** — Save the current chapter
- **Cmd/Ctrl + Enter** — Send a chat message to the team
- **Esc** — Close the active dialog or drawer

Question 13

Troubleshooting AI errors

Accepted Answer

If a draft, edit, or research run fails:
- Try once more — most failures are transient provider hiccups.
- Check your Quill balance.
- Shorten the chapter or break it into segments.
- If it keeps failing, send the chapter id from the URL to support and we'll investigate.

Question 14

Simple vs Deep mode

Accepted Answer

Scribbla offers three interview modes when you set up a book.

**Standard** — A guided interview, then you write with the team. Best for most books.

**Deep** — A focused interview per chapter before drafting. Best for memoir, complex non-fiction, anything where detail and accuracy matter more than speed.

**Simple** — Answer a few questions, then Scribbla auto-drafts the whole book in the background. Two great uses:

- A first draft of a novel or short book when you want momentum.
- **Sitting down with an elderly relative to record their life story.** Record or transcribe what they say into the answers, and Scribbla shapes it into a book — without making them work through a long interview chapter by chapter.

You can switch mode at any time from the book's Properties.

Help & Tutorials

Still stuck?