Amazing how the universe seems to drop juicy nuggets of writerly and publishing gold into my lap so I can pass them on. Just today, I was attending a panel on entrepreneurship when lo and behold, one of the speakers turned out to be Amanda Barbara, the vice president and co-founder (with her mom, Hellen — love this mother-daughter duo!), of a powerful new crowdfunding resource for authors and publishers called Pubslush.
The site’s name is an ironic play on the “slush pile” and the site itself was inspired by the fact that J.K. Rowling, surely the most successful writer in modern history, was actually rejected by a dozen publishers. Amanda and Hellen set out to create an Internet tool specifically for books. The result: Pubslush, a global crowdfunding and analytics platform that focuses on books and related projects.
What’s it all about? In a nutshell, crowdfunding is a way for artists, entrepreneurs, authors, and other creative souls to raise funds from people who believe in their projects, from family and friends to enthusiastic fans. Writers who want to publish their projects may choose to use crowdfunding for a variety of reasons: to raise money to self-publish or fund independent publication, to raise money for marketing and promotion, and to build an audience.
Pubslush operates like many other crowdfunding sites: to set up a book page featuring your project, you need a summary, an excerpt, a video, and a rewards program. However, because Pubslush’s platform is geared to authors, it offers special features, such as flex funding (as long as the amount raised exceeds $500, you can keep the funds you raise, even it you don’t reach your goal) and analytics that help you identify and understand the audience you’ve connected with.
Pubslush is rated among the top 10 crowdfunding sources based on its customer support, funding strategy, and ease of use. The site welcomes a range of projects, from books and screenplays to philanthropic and educational ventures. One of the features that users seem to appreciate most is the range and quality of information about publishing and fundraising that Pubslush features on its site.
Crowdfunding can an effective route to publishing, but launching a campaign and sustaining it takes a lot of work. Most successes depend on attracting small donors beyond family and friends — and this generally requires social media savvy and a major time commitment. Pubslush explores the ins and outs of crowdfunding in a realistic, supportive way. For more information, visit: http://www.pubslush.com. And write on!
