So… we made a blog. Why?
We actually like to write. More than creating videos on Insta or TikTok. Maybe one day. But for now, we prefer to share updates like this.
Writing has changed a lot recently. Finding something authentic feels harder than ever when so much of what hits our feeds is churned out by algorithms.
We get why technology moves the way it does. Some people love AI, some hate it, and some are still on the fence. For what it’s worth, we think it’s an incredible tool - yes, even for writing. It comes down to how you use it, what you're trying to create, who you're creating for, and being transparent about how your stuff gets made.
Anyway, we're going to do our best to keep this blog entertaining, honest and useful. Quick heads-up: our team is a mix of native and non-native English speakers (I'm in the non-native camp myself), so you'll probably catch a few weird phrasings or different writing styles depending on who's typing that week. Consider it part of the flavor.
So... where do we actually begin?
What Is Quibble, Anyway?
We ask ourselves this over coffee at least twice a week.
Is Quibble a reading app? A digital publishing platform? A world-building engine for authors?
We aren’t entirely sure what neat little box or buzzword to shove it into yet. We just know what we’re building toward, and we’re pretty confident y’all are gonna love it, eventually.
It’s going to take time to bring everything we have scribbled on whiteboards into reality. We can’t spill all the beans just yet, mostly because half of those beans are still being coded.
Why Are We Even Building Quibble?
Simple: we have way too many ideas for how online publishing and serialized fiction could be teed up better. We’re looking down the road at a future that’s completely different from what’s out there today. That future excites us.
Does AI play a role in where we're heading? Of course it does. Do we think the future is AI-written stories? Not a chance. Nobody’s buying into that.
So… what does that future actually look like?
Well, like we said, we can’t lay all our cards on the table just yet. Honestly, we don’t want to. Can you live with that?
The State of the Union
Right now, Quibble is live. You can download the mobile app, jump on the web version, and read or publish stories.
Is it massive? Haha, no. Far from it.
Right now we’ve got maybe a couple dozen stories floating around on the platform. But seeing real writers hit “publish” and real readers swipe through chapters on their phones? Honestly... a pretty wild feeling for us.
That said, if you’re reading this on launch day, you might notice the publishing process is a little... guarded.
Whenever an author uploads a new story or chapter, it doesn’t just instantly hit the feed. It goes straight to our small editorial team for manual review and approval first.
Why did we do this?
Well... have you seen the internet lately? If you leave an open text box on the web, people will upload literally anything. Unformatted grocery lists, accidental copy-pastes of CSS code, bizarre bot-generated gibberish, test posts named “asdfjkl;”... you name it.
We wanted Quibble to feel cozy, curated, and safe for readers from day one, so yeah, our editorial crew is reading through uploads line by line to keep the really weird stuff out.
Oh, and we also kicked off our very first monetization experiment.
Basically, select stories sit behind a paywall, readers can subscribe to access them, and at the end of every month, we tally up total read time and distribute earnings algorithmically back to the authors. The onboarding is super manual right now while we fine-tune the numbers in early beta, but hey, authors are getting paid for their work, and that’s the whole point (note: we have yet to partner with a payment provider to actually process payments).
What We Don’t Have Yet (Please Don’t Yell at Us)
If you’re using Quibble today, you’ve probably noticed a few... glaring omissions. Let’s just air them out so we’re all on the same page:
➤ No paragraph or chapter comments: You can leave an overall review on a book, but inline commentary, author notes, polls, or other cool announcements? Not yet. You can’t drop reactions on that crazy plot twist in Chapter 4.
➤ No notification system: Did your favorite author drop a new chapter? You won’t get a push notification. You just have to pop back in and check like it’s 2005.
➤ Extremely barebones reading settings: Hope you like our default font and spacing! Custom line heights, background tints, margin tweaks? Coming soon...ish.
➤ Zero sharing features: Right now, you’re basically sending text messages.
We could go on and on and on.
We’re putting all this out there because... well, if you’re reading this in the future when the app has all these shiny features built out, hopefully this post serves as a fun little time capsule of how stripped-back we started.
Where You Can Find Us (Besides Here)
If you want to hang out, give feedback, or just watch us build this thing in real-time:
➤ Discord: We have a server! There are currently about twelve of us in there. Just kidding, we're move. Check it out, it's a lot of fun. We've got some great writers and artists.
➤ Subreddit: We claim ownership over r/Quibble. There are even fewer people there than on Discord, so if you post something, we will definitely see it.
➤ TikTok & Instagram: Right now, our follower count is basically our moms, friends (we have many), and a few early believers. We might post more videos when we get more comfy. Would be kinda nice if you followed us, you know?
What’s Next for This Blog?
Now that this blog exists, we’re going to use it. Write something while we code, review submissions, design new mock-ups, and eat cheese (we're based in Switzerland).
Expect regular product updates as we roll out new features, honest deep-dives into what we’re learning, writing advice from our editorial team’s desk... what else? Who knows, we’ll figure things out as we go.
Thanks for being here early. Poke around the app, sign up and let us know how we can improve.
