Road to Publication - A New Gatekeeper

STATUS: sexy and I know it (lmao)

Music:  Mr. Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan

I think most serious amateur authors are quite aware of the publication options that currently exist, and what is required for each. I referring, of course, to: Traditional (agent/publisher), vanity (honest company with quality services), self (knowledge/time/printer/distribution hub). Both vanity and self-publishing have been altered greatly by the advent of the internet, as has traditional publishing primarily through the advent of the e-book. However, a new player has recently entered the game: crowdfunded publishers.

At this point many readers are saying crowdfunding's not new, kickstarter has been around for years and they are right. There have also been many notable success stories for writers on kickstarter. But kickstarter is not a publisher. They are a crowdfunding platform that allows authors to raise money for self-publishing, marketing and distribution. Now, however, one company has gone a step further.

Unbound.co.uk is a crowdfunding site specifically for authors. It's not completely open, like traditional crowdfunding sites, however (yes, I already dare use the phrase 'traditional crowdfunding'!). For example, authors don't just log-on and put up a project. They must pitch their book idea to the people at Unbound (electronically, but it's still pitching). If Unbound accepts the idea, they make a project for the author, complete with pre-set funder rewards.

Don't worry, crowdfunders will recognize some of these rewards as pretty standard for successful book funding: £10 gets an e-book, £30 gets a print hardback copy, £50 is a signed hardback copy. Higher rewards are interesting and require further commitment by the author: £150 invite to book's launch party (+book copies), £250 pub lunch with author (+book copies). The higher levels are also author-customized to some extent.

At first glance it looks just like an author-specific crowdfunding site. But once the realization comes that Unbound are the publishers and organize some of the other events, it quickly becomes apparent that they are, in fact, a new model of publisher. Essentially, they select a range of novels they are intersted in publishing then use public interest (voted for with £) to choose which books to actually produce.

I think this is a very interesting idea and is addressing the stagnant and celebrity-dominated nature of the current publishing industry and this can't be a bad thing. The only thing I would hope for at the moement would be more clarity for authors on their site. They give very little information regarding what happens after the book is written, i.e. how long are the print runs, how much royalty does the author make, who owns the rights, etc. If the print run is only for the number of funders, then the offer is not terribly good, unless there is some kind of after-publication deal or services.

I am in the process of trying to get more information from them and will post when some of the questions have been clarified. However, in general, I think this is a great, forward-thinking idea and I hope it works well.

Insight and longevity.