INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The traditional world of publishing has been challenged hard by the digital revolution
Reading as a pastime has been in significant decline, in part because of the proliferation of screens and options for what to watch and do
and writers, have all seen margins squeezed in the e-reader universe.A Berlin-based startup called Inkitt has built a crowdsourced
publishing platform to buck those trends
best sellers on the platform, with $1 million in sales in the first six months of its release; 24-year-old author Sapir Englard is using her
improve readership and connecting audiences with the stories that are most engaging to them
participation also from HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, angel investor Itai Tsiddon, Xploration Capital, Redalpine Capital, Speedinvest, and
Inkitt is not disclosing its valuation, but it had raised $5 million before this (including this seed round led by Redalpine).Inkitt got its
start several years ago with a very basic idea: an app for people (usually unsigned authors) to upload excerpts of fictional works in
It would gather data that it collected from these readers to provide more insights into what people wanted to read, to feed its algorithm,
and to give feedback to the writers.It was a simple concept that competed with a plethora of other places where unpublished writers can get
their work out there (including Kindle).But then, six months ago, that concept of data-based, crowdsourced writing and reading took an
immersive.This includes features like sound, haptic effects like the phone vibrating with crashes and heartbeats, fire spreading across the
screen in a burning moment, and a requirement for users to swipe to proceed to the next section
created as a response to the generation of consumers whose attention is constantly being diverted through notifications, and who have become
without paying anything, but typically people buy credits to continue reading a bit more than that each day, and it works out on average to
about $12 per book in revenue
Inkitt is now adding multiple thousands of users (installs) each day across its two apps.In addition to making this about tailoring a
has very much been on original content that Inkitt has sourced itself
The basic model leaves a lot on the table, though
with readers, or classics, or popular works that might just be a little more interesting with the Galatea treatment?On the other hand, the
on themes that have already proven to be popular
What about the wider body of literature that might not be accessible page-turners but are definitely worthwhile reading, stories that might
one day become a part of the literary canon
his startup has already been approached by a number of publishers to work on ways of using its platform for their own works, and so that is
something you might imagine will get turned on down the line
And he acknowledged the blockbuster element of the work on the platform now, but said that as it grows and scales its audience, it will be
Inkitt has going for it is that it offers those who will take a chance on its platform a promise of making a good return.Albazaz claims that
flexible platform in another regard: if you want to publish elsewhere at the same time, you can
