The new year bring us – hot foot from Miami, Florida – Reader Depot, a new online bookstore which has opened with a bold promise, they tell us, that challenges the foundations of the publishing economy: for the first time, authors will retain 100 percent of the revenue from books sold on the platform. Yes, really.
The launch comes at a moment when Reader Depot have found that writers are increasingly vocal about the imbalance between the value they create and the modest share they receive. Also they hear that in traditional publishing and on large digital marketplaces, authors often walk away with only a small fraction of each sale. Reader Depot reverses that equation by putting full earnings directly in the hands of the authors who write the books. The store is designed as a fair and transparent alternative to the dominant marketplaces that take the lion’s share of royalties.
Most authors today earn only a fraction of the value of their work. In traditional publishing, Reader Depot say that writers typically receive between 7.5 and 15 percent of the sale price for print books and up to about 25 percent for ebooks, and even that often arrives only after an advance is fully earned out. Self publishing platforms improve the split, but royalties still range widely from roughly 35 to 65 percent depending on format and price. It appears that authors rarely take home anything close to the full value of each sale.
Reader Depot is the brain child of Spines, a tech driven publishing platform which integrates cutting-edge technology into every step of the publishing process: Authors simply upload their self-written manuscripts and Spines’ technology streamlines proofreading, formatting, cover design, audiobook creation, distribution, and marketing. Only books published through the Spines platform will be available in Reader Depot.
“Authors create the value in publishing, yet they rarely see the rewards. We built Reader Depot to change that,” said Yehuda Niv, CEO and Co-Founder of Spines. “Giving writers 100 percent of their revenue in the first year is our way of resetting the balance and proving that a fairer model is possible. When authors succeed, the entire industry moves forward.”
To further support authors, Reader Depot will offer a full 100 percent revenue share during its first twelve months. After that period, authors will receive 70 percent of royalties which remains higher than any other major book platform.
Let Frost Magazine tell you a little more about Spines, which is the only comprehensive tech-powered publishing platform simplifying the authorship journey so writers can focus on telling great stories.
The Spines platform revolutionizes every aspect of the publishing process, from proofreading, and formatting to cover design, distribution, and marketing. Authors simply need to upload their manuscripts, and within less than three weeks, they will be able to see their books published, optimized, and available to readers globally. Spines was founded in 2021 by Yehuda Niv, CEO, Lev David, CMO, Niv Ovdat, COO, Nir Kenner, CTO. The company’s total funding stands at $22.5M. For more information: Reader Depot. and Spines