[Announcement] STREETLIB LAUNCHES STREETLIB MARKET
The marketplace for publishing professionals
February 27, 2018 — Loreto, Italy — StreetLib is proud to announce the launch of its latest service: StreetLib Market. StreetLib Market is an online marketplace that connects authors and publishers with international publishing professionals in a secure and trustworthy environment. The global platform makes it easy to commission editors, graphic designers, and many more from around the world, with minimum hassle regarding billing and international tax issues.
Since its creation in 2006, StreetLib has been on a campaign to let books flow, and StreetLib Market is another step towards democratizing access to the level of professional services usually reserved for major publishers and those in the industry. By launching this latest service, the company will provide a secure environment for users to search for, and offer, publishing services to anyone anywhere in the world. Users can post a request or a service, clearly detailing their needs and expertise. A built-in chat system will allow them to further discuss their collaboration, and ratings/feedback will ensure everyone can make an informed choice. Payment is held until the work is completed, at which point billing is handled by the platform, removing any tax stress attendant to international trade. All professions relating to the publishing industry will be available, from editors and proofreaders to translators, marketing gurus, and graphic designers.
As Megan Hustad, our new StreetLib Publishing Advocate who will lead and support this professional community, explains:
“We have three big goals for StreetLib Market: One is that you think of the talent we hope to attract as soon as you’re even considering publishing a book. Two, to create a trusted home for independent book professionals that also removes some of the guesswork for authors who might feel overwhelmed by the prospect of assembling their own creative and publicity teams. Third is that our growth will inspire some publishing conglomerates to adapt their workflows in ways that benefit authors and readers.”
“StreetLib Market is the result of a long journey that started in 2013 with the “Footwings” marketplace by “Simplicissimus” (the original name of the company). I was lucky enough to follow both projects, at different times of my life and in contrasting market conditions. Without the evolution of StreetLib into a Swiss Army Knife of services for the publishing industry, it would not have been possible to develop StreetLib Market. Its integration with the ecosystem of StreetLib’s applications and users will prove to be of great value for professionals, and will set this new project on a new level with respect to our previous marketplace efforts.”
— Stefano Tombolini, StreetLib Market project manager
StreetLib Market joins a whole host of tools and services grouped together within the StreetLib Dashboard, guiding users along the publishing process from A to Z. They start with StreetLib Write, a free editor for creating and formatting books in ePub or PDF format. Next, StreetLib Publish allows users to distribute their book across over 200 worldwide bookstores, including Google Play, Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble. StreetLib Print enables paperbacks to also be sold without the stress of stock management thanks to print-on-demand. And finally, StreetLib Sell turns authors into booksellers with their own unique bookstore, either connected to their website or to StreetLib’s platform.
“StreetLib Market is the concretisation of the idea that professional publishing services can flow thanks to the internet too. Just like StreetLib Stores is an itinerant marketplace for books, StreetLib Market is an itinerant marketplace for publishing services. Book editors, translators, graphic designers or proofreaders… any professional can be connected to an author or publisher anywhere in the world, and join their book project.”
— Antonio Tombolini, founder and CEO of StreetLib
A forward-thinking company, StreetLib opened its first international subsidiary, StreetLib USA, in 2016. Its purpose was to provide a better and more efficient service to its North American users, as well those in other anglophone countries such as UK, Australia and New Zealand. By December 2017, StreetLib USA accounted for 20% of StreetLib’s business, and saw growth of almost 35% in the final month of the year. Spurred on by this success, StreetLib announced a partnership with PubGen to form StreetLib India in early 2018, combining StreetLib’s services with PubGen’s local expertise in up to 12 languages. This was soon followed by the announcement of another partnership, this time with CNPIEC in China, allowing StreetLib’s users to tap into a whole new market.
And it doesn’t plan on stopping there. With the recent hiring of country-specific managers for Spain and LatAm, and others on the horizon, it aims to break down barriers and borders to make professional book publishing accessible to everyone. StreetLib Market is a clear demonstration of this ambition.
For more information, please contact:
Megan Hustad (US) : megan.hustad@streetlib.com
Or
AC de Fombelle: acdefombelle@streetlib.com
