What’s new in Étincel

Line-editor guidelines in the Editor Pass — eight named categories the editor now flags: throat-clears, symmetrical arguments, mic-drop endings, relentless second person, too-clean examples, the compulsive three, 15% too long, and missing intellectual wrong turns

Word swaps replace Line Edits in the Editor Pass — the per-quote channel is now scoped strictly to banned-term cleanup, leaving paragraph-level critique to the challenges section

Editor method enforced across all toughness modes — name the problem and what it costs, hold a direct register, do not solve the writing for the author

Architect resists symmetric structure — section counts vary per chapter, word counts distribute asymmetrically across load-bearing and transitional chapters

Draft agent gained six new AI-tell rules — metaphors must snag, case-study figures must have flaws, every substantive section requires an intellectual wrong turn, second-person address must vary by passage

Ignite restart restores the chat input — clicking Restart Interview from the revisit view brings the input back; the URL flag is cleaned up after consumption so back-nav doesn't reset the new interview

Inline Citation Popover — text selection in the Draft editor now surfaces a panel to verify and insert source references without leaving the page

Cite Check tab in the Research Side Panel — automated citation audit for every claim in the active chapter

VibeWrite (public beta) — AI social content generator for LinkedIn articles, LinkedIn posts, and X threads from a single brief

MCP server endpoint at /api/mcp — native Model Context Protocol support for operator and third-party integrations

Research Side Panel rebuilt with three focused tabs: Synthesis, Gap Analysis, and Cite Check

Draft generation now streams tokens faster with reduced time-to-first-word on chapter starts

EPUB export — send your manuscript directly to any e-reader or publishing platform

Cover Template Designer — choose from curated visual styles with a live full-bleed preview

Studio plan — three team seats, unlimited words, and custom voiceprinting for organizations

Formatting stage live preview — see final typography, margins, and page layout before exporting

DOCX export now includes proper heading hierarchy, paragraph styles, and page metadata

Subscription pause and resume — temporarily suspend billing without losing your manuscript or settings

Custom Voiceprint analysis — 40+ style dimensions profiled from your own writing samples, including cadence, vocabulary range, sentence rhythm, and rhetorical stance

Voice Library — manage and switch between multiple author voice profiles across projects

Research Library — global source management with gap analysis and synthesis across all your books

Draft editor pass modes — choose between Encouraging, Balanced, or Ruthless editorial feedback intensity

Typewriter reveal animation during Draft chapter generation for a calmer writing experience

Architect inline editing — edit chapter titles, section labels, and word count targets directly in the skeleton view

References token budget meter now correctly accounts for PDF attachments and multi-page documents

Draft stage — chapter-by-chapter AI generation grounded in your uploaded references and voice profile

Research Side Panel — access source material while drafting with per-chapter synthesis and gap highlights

PDF export — generate a print-ready manuscript directly from the Formatting stage

Author Pro plan ($129/mo) — unlimited word generation and custom voiceprinting

Pipeline step indicator redesigned with stage labels, lock states, and live progress tracking

Ignite interview now supports follow-up questions and concept refinement within the same session

Core 6-stage pipeline: References → Ignite → Architect → Voiceprint → Draft → Formatting

References stage — upload documents, paste URLs and text snippets, live token budget meter

Ignite stage — Socratic AI interview that produces a structured Concept Brief

Architect stage — full chapter skeleton with narrative arc analysis, energy map, and section priorities

Voiceprint stage — basic author voice profiles with pre-built style options

Formatting stage — export manuscripts to TXT and Markdown

Spark (free) and Author ($49/mo) plans with plan-gated stage access

Clerk authentication with email invites and team collaboration support