From The Publetariat BlogPublishing Acquisitions Pros
If there were some way to identify the best-selling, best-reviewed self-published books in any category at any given time, and learn how effective a platform each of those books’ authors have assembled to date, would you want access to that information?
Indie Authors
In an effort to attract publisher attention, you’ve got a fine-looking, well-reviewed, respectably-selling book in print, and you’ve put a lot of time, money and effort into your author platform as well. Unfortunately, publishers haven’t noticed.If there were a service designed to facilitate publisher searches of indie books, making it easy for them to find books that meet their specific needs, are well-reviewed and selling in respectable numbers, would you want your book to be listed with that service?
The Publetariat Vault is a searchable database of independent literary works for which the authors own all rights free and clear and are interested in selling those rights, with accompanying sales data and reader reviews to take the guesswork out of determining commercial potential in the mass market...
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Well, the Vault is open for business. I was not aware that this would a Fee based listing service, but it is -- fees being paid by the author. Enter the Publiteriat Vault: an Authonomy of sorts, without the American Idol voting system or the Publishing House backing. All in all, I think it's a terrific idea in theory. Only time and results will validate the effort, and so I caution all indie authors to assess their business model before investing in any type of listing or marketing service. Thankfully, The Publeteriat understands the indie business model and the oftentimes crimson and pragmatic patina it has to it, so they are offering a free 90-day trial for the first 300 published listings. See here for details.
Well, the Vault is open for business. I was not aware that this would a Fee based listing service, but it is -- fees being paid by the author. Enter the Publiteriat Vault: an Authonomy of sorts, without the American Idol voting system or the Publishing House backing. All in all, I think it's a terrific idea in theory. Only time and results will validate the effort, and so I caution all indie authors to assess their business model before investing in any type of listing or marketing service. Thankfully, The Publeteriat understands the indie business model and the oftentimes crimson and pragmatic patina it has to it, so they are offering a free 90-day trial for the first 300 published listings. See here for details.
Cheryl Anne Gardner
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this, Cheryl.
I knew any fee-based service would immediately draw fire from some authors, but that once the service was up and running and had a few success stories to share, authors would recognize the value. That's why I've done everything I can to make it completely risk- and cost-free for authors to try. You mentioned the grand opening promotion, but there's also 30 days' free listing time at the start of all new paid listings beyond the promotion, to provide a free trial to *all* authors.
I've taken a lot of heat from some for charging authors but allowing acquisitions people to search the Vault for free. The critics don't seem to realize, or accept, that acquisitions pros simply won't use a service like this unless it's making their lives easier *and* saving them money. The Vault has to be both easy *and* free to them, because it serves the authors who list to have as many acquisitions people searching as possible; the fewer searchers, the fewer success stories, the fewer listings...and so on, down the toilet goes the whole idea in a vicious circle.
Maybe at some point in the future, if the Vault becomes hugely successful and a real go-to resource for acquisitions pros, I can shift some or all of the cost burden to them. But for a brand new service, coming into a den of suspicions all around, all I can do is make it free to both sides for as long as I can bear the expenses of the site myself.
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