Re-writing the rules of traditional book publishing acquisitions
Every year, millions of authors are turned away by traditional publishing. That might not necessarily be a bad thing for readers.
But after a decade of wrestling in book publishing, I’m convinced that thousands of great books go unpublished each year —and that our culture needs them. Getting a traditional publishing deal is a ridiculously complicated process. We have been silently sculpting a tool that helps acquiring editors at publishing houses identify books that readers want: a crowdfunding platform for book ideas.
In May 2015, Publishizer became a ‘real company’. We received an investment from 500 Startups, and incorporated the company in Mountain View, CA.
For the past 4 years, I’ve been trying to shine a light on modern myths, folklore, and fairytales. Publishizer believes in stories. We’ve published hundreds of authors, brought to life through crowdfunding. The publishing industry is every bit as frustrating and nebulous as most outsiders think. But given the choice, the vast majority of authors would still prefer working with a traditional publisher over self-publishing.
Today, we’re announcing our next chapter: Arches Capital is investing in Publishizer, lead by entrepreneur and serial investor Marc van der Heijden. Arches Capital joins 500 Startups and Rockstart as investors.
Publishizer is throwing its hat in the ring to become the world’s first crowdfunding literary agency. Our goal is to discover great books through our reader network and enable them through our publisher marketplace.
So far, we have launched 600 authors via 40,000 readers, and 300 publishers on the platform. Publishizer authors have landed deals with traditional publishers like HarperCollins, Hay House, and Berrett-Koehler; and with independent presses like Findhorn Press, Kogan Page, and BenBella Books.
In the past 6 months, we have expanded our team from four to twelve, consisting of editors, agents, coders, designers, and filmmakers. We hail from Australia, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, and the United States. As a remote-first company, we are gathering together for the first time next month!
As writers ourselves, we understand that publishing is a little weird and messed up.
It’s time to re-write the rules of traditional book publishing acquisitions. Publishizer validates book proposals with pre-orders, which reduces the risk of publishing them. Of course, there are many books with low pre-orders and high literary merit. Our literary agents earn pre-order commissions on these books, even before they get acquired. This allows us to work with a broader range of authors, looking beyond Instagram-famous celebrities with massive platforms.
After years of visa-imposed wandering — from California to Bali, and Peru to New York — Amsterdam has become our home. It is a stunningly beautiful, multicultural, and startup-friendly base to build a publishing rights company. New York is our second home, nestled amidst the fervent, deal-making swagger of traditional publishing.
Today, we are grateful to be given the opportunity to enable storytelling on a higher level. Publishizer is re-imagining the literary agency in the age of platforms. We are building our own reader network, where authors can grow their subscribers. We are writing algorithms that allow books with literary merit or commercial potential to be discovered by literary agents.
Raising money for books is important. Money breathes life into stories and ideas that enrich our lives. Connecting authors with readers and publishers is difficult, complicated, and unpredictable work. But that’s precisely what makes it so fun.
Are you working on a book idea? Let us know!
