IndieReader

While looking around the internet (my GOD it is HUGE, have you seen it?!) I came across a new site: IndieReader: “For Self-Published and Print-on-Demand Books and the Readers Who Love Them. The site, run by author Amy Holman Edelman, aims to be a combination promotion and reader community site devoted to PoD and Self-published books:

We recognize that self-publishing has become a viable and financially desirable option for many authors, first-time and established alike…. People are naturally drawn to what’s unique and genuine, be it Indie movies, Indie music…or Indie books. They are tired of hearing about the next John Grisham, of taking their cues from traditional publishers who are afraid of what’s new, niche and different. They are hungry for something like IR—and with a team that has a combined 40 + years of public relations and marketing experience—we plan to give it to them. In short, what Sundance has done for Indie films—making what’s outside the mainstream “cool”—IR will do for Indie books and authors.

For $149 (or $99 if you sign up, like, now), you can join the crew. Authors set the retail price and keep 75% of the transaction, according to the site. And hello:

However, good books must be in good company, and so we reserve the right to exclude books that don’t meet certain standards of quality, both in terms of basic spelling and grammatical errors and content…. The vetting process is for internal use only; accepting money from an author for a review would be a conflict of interest, as we will potentially be receiving a percentage of sales from those books accepted onto the IndieReader site.

Calvin Reid from Publishers Weekly has already given IndieReader some coverage , revealing that Edelman says that she:

and her partner, publicist Claire McKinney of SallyAnne McCartin & Associates, will promote the site to consumers. IndieReader also has a partnership with [self-pub site] Blurb.com, which will promote itself to IndieReader authors and IndieReader will promote Blurb.com to its authors. While Edelman said the site will attract “consumers looking for something different,” she also expects IndieReader.com to “attract publishers and editors looking for books they missed.”

There’s that, “hey! New York! Look over here!” thing. I have to wonder: is it a platform for additional attention that might yield more lucrative contracts with established publishers, or is it an independent publicity and marketing option for Indie Authors (and wow, does that sound better than “self-published”)?

After ruminating about the future of self-publishing last week, I have to say, I’m very curious about this site. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the author and book pages once it launches. IndieReader seems to be making an impression already – they’ve advertised for an intern to help with the book vetting process.

 

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