By Krysta Maravilla, Co-Founder of Bookcicle

Bookcicle wasn't created because we wanted to build software.

It wasn't created because AI became popular.

And it certainly wasn't created because we looked at publishing and thought, "You know what this industry needs? Another app."

Bookcicle was born because my brother, Andy, and I were experiencing the same frustrations many authors experience, in our own ways. 

Around 2017, Andy was deep into writing his novel, Back Bay Murders, when something every author dreads happened. An entire chapter disappeared. Gone.

No recovery. No built-in protection. No safety net.

As both a writer and a software engineer, Andy was frustrated—because in this day and age, there is no excuse for that to occur, especially with his background. And thus, Bookcicle, our legacy writing app, was born.

In 2018, I began my own writing journey while working on Spark, the first book in my Of Fire and Shadows series. I drafted in Bookcicle, making suggestions to improve Bookcicle’s writing environment and testing every aspect of it. Once I finished my first draft, however, I stepped into an entirely different world where I discovered that writing "The End" wasn't actually the end.

It was the beginning of a completely new phase.

I learned how expensive the editing process was. And, of course, I needed multiple rounds of editing, with one edit alone costing over $7,200.

I learned that timelines don't go according to plan. In one instance, I waited eight months to receive my manuscript back from an editor, and only after I repeatedly requested it. Or another time, I received the edit 4 days before I was scheduled to publish. 

I learned how many moving pieces exist between a draft and a published book. Covers. Formatting. Revisions. Reviewer feedback. Publication requirements. Marketing assets. 

And with every stage came new files, new versions, new people, and new processes to learn, a new tool or professional that cost more money. 

None of this was anyone's fault. It’s just how the writing industry is. 

As Andy and I compared notes, we realized something important. His challenge had been protecting the manuscript while it was being written. Mine was everything that happened after the manuscript was written.

Both experiences pointed to the same opportunity: authors needed a workflow built around the life of a manuscript. So, we built a place where protection, editing, collaboration, translation, adaptation, and publishing preparation are connected rather than fragmented. A place built to help keep momentum and support the writer's journey, whether they use AI support or not. A place built around the reality of how authors work.

Bookcicle continues to evolve, but the reason we built it remains the same.

Because authoring is hard.

Finishing is harder.

Keep going,

Krysta Maravilla

Co-Founder, Bookcicle

One of the decisions we have been working through at Bookcicle is how much third-party tracking we should allow into our marketing and product surfaces.

The easy answer would be to do what many companies do by default: install every advertising pixel, open up the site to every major ad platform, and let those systems collect as much behavioral data as possible as early as possible. Privacy = 0.

We have been working through a rebrand for Bookcicle, an effort to polish our image, user experience, colors and feel in preparation of the upcoming launch of our new services, workflow capabilities, and website portal.

That can sound simple from the outside. New palette. New icons. New logo. New brand images. A cleaner visual system. A homepage that feels more like the company we are trying to build.

AI can help you draft faster, but speed is not the same as publication readiness. A publishable book still needs judgment, structure, revision, and taste.

The strongest AI-assisted manuscripts usually do not come from one perfect prompt. They come from a process: draft, read, respond, revise, and keep going until the work feels intentional.

Most creative disputes do not start with theft. They start with uncertainty.

A collaborator remembers the timeline differently. An editor forwards a draft and it leaks. A producer says the “real” version came later. A publisher wants documentation. A platform asks you to substantiate ownership. Suddenly, your process becomes evidence.

That is what provenance is for: a verifiable trail of what existed, when it existed, and how it changed.

In baseball, you do not expect a disputed play—but you still keep the scorecard and you still have replay. Provenance is that kind of protection for creators: a verifiable record of what happened, and when.

You can feel 2026 creeping closer, and your content plan still sits in scattered notes, half-built calendars, and “someday” ideas. You’re writing, but the work doesn’t always support the goals you care about most. You want a system that helps you reach readers and supports book sales without burning you out. Let’s build that system.

The porch light clicks on just as the cicadas lift their chorus. Warm gold spreads across the steps, and moths tap the glass like tiny, hopeful hands. You set a mug down, breathe in the clean, green smell after heat, and think about the chapter you’ll send to your reader group—soon, not yet.

The year’s final weeks reveal which books kept moving and which ones stalled. After shipping, promoting, and adjusting, the retail page becomes the moment of truth. A clean, current product page can lift conversion without writing a new book or planning a new promo. This is the quiet tune-up that carries you into the next quarter.

The paper map in the glove box is soft from use, corners curled, coffee ring like a moon in the ocean. You slide it out during a rest stop, tracing the blue highway with your finger, then start marking the side roads with pencil. The air smells like gasoline and rain. Somewhere past the state line, you decide you’re going to make your own route anyway.

Some readers finish book two and don’t go on to book three. Others stall when they’re one click away away from the next installment. You’ve done the hard work—world-building, characters, continuity—and you’re leaving money on the table. Bundling gives those same readers an easy “yes.”