Crowd-funding is all the rage in 2012, so it was inevitable that authors would start getting in on the action. Pubslush, which initially launched in late 2011 as a closed beta, is now open for business, allowing authors to try to raise money by promoting their work before it’s been written.
Here, for example, is the page for Ali Berlinski’s A Beautiful Mess, which features an overview of the project, an excerpt, and spaces for supporters to leave comments. The campaign for A Beautiful Mess has so far reached $1,523 (at the time of writing) of its $10,000 goal, with 25 days still to go. Those who contribute to the campaign are given various rewards, depending on the amount of their contribution.
I’m not quite sure what I think about sites like Pubslush. I can see how crowd-funding works when the project requires a specific outlay (e.g. a film project, or a project to release a physical item), but I’m less clear about how the whole thing works when the project is a book. After all, most books only really require time in order to be written. Time is valuable, granted, but will people contribute to help the authors see whether it’s worth investing that time before embarking upon the whole project? It’ll be interesting to check back in a few months and see how Pubslush authors are getting along.
Pubslush is a site just for books. It’s like Kickstarter, except literary works are the only ones accepted. After looking through the site, I think it is a great opprotunity for authors. If this platform works for inventions or film projects, why wouldn’t it work for books? People who pledge money on Kickstarter don’t get to see the film or try an invention before they support it. Writing a book requires time, yes, but it also requires hard work, research, and creativity. Those of us who are thirsty for a great new novel can benefit from this site, discovering talented authors who don’t have the resources to publish their own book but still deserve to be heard. Pubslush is also a great opportunity for authors. They have absolutely nothing to lose. I think that Pubslush is an innovative website that may very well end up changing the publishing industry in the long run.
Posted by Cassandra | September 11, 2012, 9:27 pmI completely disagree with this article when they say “most books only really require time in order to be written”. Books are similar to films in that they require a significant amount of financing in order to create a high quality product. Authors have the option to self publish in todays world and many need to put a large sum of their own money into the project. Pubslush allows authors to raise these funds from readers who believe in their work. I also believe that a platform strictly for writers will do wonders to the literary world. Bravo!
Posted by Barbara | September 13, 2012, 2:33 pm