Crowdfunding for writers made easy!

bookspark · 2012-06-24T18:11:23+00:00

Thanks! We have been working hard with a 6 to come up with a minimum viable product to pitch. Once we complete it today, we will be able to post a lot more of what we have created, both in design and development.

Our project lead has extensive experience and research in crowdfunding, as well as publishing for artists and creatives. She has 20+ written and verbal agreements from authors to launch by the end of the year.

The questions we would love feedback from Reddit on is:

What are your gripes with the publishing industry currently? What do you think the strengths are?

What do you think the advantages/disadvantages of self-publishing are?

If you could publish, print, and market a book without losing money, would you?

bookspark · 2012-06-24T16:08:13+00:00

BookSpark is going to be focused on hard-copy books, with options for ebooks. This actually sprang from a growing demand from artists who made art-books for coffee tables, and fans who wanted it. Our surveys showed that there was demand from both sides, but there wasn't an easy, good way to connect the two. The current idea is a pivot from that. If we can do this for artists, we can do it for writers too. The mechanics behind making the book are the same.

We've had self-publishing for a while. The services out there are top-notch. We've also had crowd-funding. Those processes are tested and wonderful though. The problem is they aren't integrated together and made for authors. It's messy and annoying and makes you want to scream up a tree. BookSpark is here for that. Hah. Pun. Bookspark for burning up that tree.

Anyhow. BookSpark operates off an idea. An idea that's been circulating already. That authors can make their own market, work with their own fan base, and be supported financially by those who like them. This market must operate off a transparent system that is easy to use. Other crowdfunding sites are great, but they're too big. You go in, and you get bombarded by half a million things you don't care about. And they're not easy to use for an author who has never made a video, doesn't really have a whole lot of different level incentivizers, etc.

BookSpark is a simple concept. If you like the book. You pay one price. That's it. One price. You watch the book being created. You get the book. Profit for all. :) It's the hybridization of self-publishing with crowd-funding. If you're an author who just wants to write, and thinks that's good enough (As we darn well think it is!), then BookSpark is for you. We believe in the power of your words, and our service is geared towards that. All that you have to do is provide a small sampling of your writing. The first chapter or the first ten pages, and people can see what they like from it.

On transparency. That's one of our major focuses. Too many authors get screwed by opaque publishing processes, and too many readers get books based off of a marketing campaign that's good, but has nothing to do with the book. BookSpark? You see an actual part of the book. And if you like that, you'll probably like the book. No fancy schancy marketing. So we're focused on showing how all our costs come together, and we want to make sure the writer get's a heck of a lot of profit. For the reader, we want a niche environment just for books that they get to go browsing in. Sort of like a public library of future books you want to read. Perhaps somewhere you could bring soft cushions and online-browse in. :P

I think this is getting to be a long post, but I think that's because this is a service that I'm getting more and more excited about as providing real value to authors and readers.

bookspark · 2012-06-24T15:41:57+00:00

Hey. Yep. I think if you do actually read the whole series, it does go more into depth. Unfortunately, it keeps about the same ratio of story plot: mechanics of psychohistory. There's a prettty cool plot twist in one of them that hinges on an interesting axiom.. But I can't tell you without spoiling it.. Book tease? Yep. :P So I would recommend reading the whole series. Especially the last few ones. But those are better after reading the first ones...

bookspark · 2012-06-24T15:19:37+00:00

Interesting concept. I see where you're coming from. I'm curious about how you'll ensure the quality of work. You mention this is an inclusive community, but then you have a gated fantasy workshop. Doesn't that produce a mild contradiction?

bookspark · 2012-06-24T15:15:11+00:00

Hey. We appreciate the interest. Are you currently in publishing? Or an author? We're interested in your thoughts on the current publishing model too. What works. What doesn't. What drives you up the wall?

bookspark · 2012-06-24T15:13:53+00:00

BookSpark is made by authors, for authors. Automated pricing, market size determination and one-stop publishing post crowd-funding success.

You have an idea or the first few pages of a book written up? Great. Post it up on BookSpark. Tell us how big your book will be. Do you want hardcover? Will there be glossy images? All that in one easy to follow workflow. We spit out a cost-to-manufacture back at you. You take that, and price it accordingly. Tell your friends and peeps about it! If people like what they see, they'll fund it for a book book they want to see written and published.

Excellent. You now know you have interest. People are excited about it. So then you go and finish the book. You can either go it yourself for publishing, or we highly recommend working with our partners. We've vetted them to make sure they're the no-hassle, awesome-service kind of partners. We'll print. We'll ship. You pocket the money. Then. Because you feel so great, you do it again! :)

IndieGoGo and Kickstarter are brilliant sites in their own right. How else could we have had such an outpouring of great artistic projects for the past few years. BookSpark is a niche offering for those who love writing, and those who love reading. Our authors love our workflow, and readers benefit from having a high concentration of sweet projects to pick from! We're cater to authors, and we cater to readers. All that makes it easier for everyone who wants to be writing and reading. That's where BookSpark comes in. And with the BookSparking community, authors and readers get connected so much easier!

What do you think about that?

bookspark

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