"Vearsa" ebook distribution platform . . .

[Alyssa Miranda]

Has anyone used it, and if so, what was your experience?

[gmw]

I know nothing about it - and for all the glitz on their website, I could not find much real information there.

[Alyssa Miranda]

gmw,

Thanks for checking out the website. My impression was the same - not much detail as to how the site works. To find out more, I sent an email via the "Contact" page, which you have to do, as there is no way to set up an account directly from the website. Basically I asked if vearsa was similar to Kindle Direct Publishing, and if so, what are the procedures for setting up an account, file formatting and uploading, revenue sharing and the like. I'll report back once I hear from them.

[Alyssa Miranda]

No response despite telling you they "love to chat."

[gmw]

Can't say I'm overly surprised ... but there's still time yet. When they give away so little on their website, their email department may well be overloaded with people wanting to know more.

[darryl]

My impression is that their service focuses on publishers rather than individual authors. For example Book Baby seems to offer distribution via Vearsa.

[Alyssa Miranda]

darryl,

That was my impression as well, but it would have been nice to receive a reply to that effect. May take a look at a similar site, feiyr, based in Germany (vearsa is based in Ireland with an office in New York).

[darryl]

Originally Posted by Alyssa Miranda

darryl,

That was my impression as well, but it would have been nice to receive a reply to that effect. May take a look at a similar site, feiyr, based in Germany (vearsa is based in Ireland with an office in New York).

Agreed. The courtesy of a reply doesn't cost much but avoids leaving a very sour impression.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by darryl

My impression is that their service focuses on publishers rather than individual authors. For example Book Baby seems to offer distribution via Vearsa.

This distinction between author and publisher is no longer clear, and some companies are content to deal with micro-publishers (indies) as well as major players and everyone in between. (eg: Selling print editions through Lightning Source and Ingram. Come to that, Amazon etc. etc.) So it is as well for a company to be clear about the services they offer, and how to access them. ... Of course, it may be that they have no need or desire to attract new business via their website, which may, in itself, indicate the sort of business they are interested in (as in "not indies").

[darryl]

Originally Posted by gmw

This distinction between author and publisher is no longer clear, and some companies are content to deal with micro-publishers (indies) as well as major players and everyone in between. (eg: Selling print editions through Lightning Source and Ingram. Come to that, Amazon etc. etc.) So it is as well for a company to be clear about the services they offer, and how to access them. ... Of course, it may be that they have no need or desire to attract new business via their website, which may, in itself, indicate the sort of business they are interested in (as in "not indies").

Very true. I saw they claim 350 publishers worldwide, which probably means they are not interested in individual authors with a book or two. The point is of course that we can't know for sure if they don't tell us on their website and don't reply to emails. Unless, of course, that is telling us?

[gmw]

Yep, like those sites where some products are listed as "price on application". I always assume this to mean "too expensive for me".