Calling All Creative Writers - Submissions Wanted!

ireadiwrite · 05-28-2009, 06:31 PM

Hi - and thanks for taking a moment to read this introduction to our new eBookstore.

ireadiwrite.com was designed for the aspiring Writer and the avid Reader to connect and grow. Our vision is to make writing a fair, income-earning art form and to connect new, unpublished Writers to their audience through eBooks.

Self publishing, print on demand, document sharing and eBook sites abound. Many document sharing sites can't catch the publication of copyrighted material as it happens. Self publishing often means that the Writer must ensure proper formatting and/or pay fees to do so. Many eBookstores can be difficult to browse - as Readers try to wade through the multitude of private label "how-to" books that litter the shelves.

ireadiwrite is different for four reasons:

Selective: Only books in the creative writing genre are published and are handpicked and reviewed before publishing.
Supportive: Writers get our help getting started and still get 75% of total sales.
Reliable: Readers will be able to rely on the store as a source for great creative writing.
Flexible: Unlike other eBook sites, there is no dedicated hardware required - Readers can use the reading device they choose.

For Writers, there are no fees, special software to learn or formatting to do. We'll even design cover art for those Works without it. Writers only need to send in a text file and we'll do the rest.

So if you're an aspiring or an established Writer looking to publish, why not test out your market by publishing electronically? We're only a few weeks old and already our Writers are selling their Work with us and creating a well deserved income.

Thanks so much for taking the time to learn about us, and whether you're a Writer or Reader, we look forward to hearing from you!

Elfwreck · 05-28-2009, 06:55 PM

At the risk of having this reply deleted if the moderators decide ireadwrite is spam:

The website offers ebooks in three formats: PDF, ePub, and Mobi. Presumably, there's no DRM on any of them, which is good. Not all ebooks are available in all formats, and it's not instantly apparent which ebooks are available in which formats (each book has a dropdown menu for "select format.")

The "genres" include novel, short story, and classics. That's all. No fantasy, SF, romance, young-adult, humor, horror, mystery, or other genres that people normally use to decide what to read.

They want 50 cents for Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, a book in the public domain. If they've done something with it other than import it from Gutenberg, that's very reasonable. If they've take Gutenberg's text and put it in PDF and Mobi form (it's not available as ePub), it's not worth the money.

Price is per format; buying the PDF doesn't get you access to the Mobi file, and so on.

Quote:

Our books are handpicked and reviewed before publishing.

And yet the Writer's section implies that there's a minor review process only--submit works and they should be up on the site within 48 hours. There's no mention of any specific standards, other than that they'd like to avoid how-to works.

Right now, the site has very few works available, and is probably trying to pitch to writers more than draw readers. As a self-publishing ebook site, it's nowhere near as streamlined as Smashwords.com, and lacks the variety of filetypes available there.

ireadiwrite · 05-28-2009, 07:28 PM

Hi Elfwreck, thanks for taking the time to review the site. While your review is less than glowing, I do appreciate you taking the time to do so. The site is only a few weeks old and we`re still experimenting. And you`re right on many things, we only have a few Writers and Works, so organizing by genre seemed overkill at this point - but it is something we`re working towards.

And you`re correct on your last point too, since we are brand new - we`re still trying to attract Writers, but the ones we have are doing quite well for themselves and if promoting and supporting the art of writing is something this site can contribute toward, then mission accomplished.

Again, thanks for your comments, your suggested changes will be made - and hopefully we`ll see you again once we`ve grown a little more. Kind regards... Michelle

Elfwreck · 05-28-2009, 10:53 PM

Thank you for being polite. That's very gracious, and I appreciate it, especially when I was very aware that I posted a critique, not really a review.

If you're taking suggestions, I'd suggest being more careful & targeted in your pitch--Mobileread is a site dedicated to ebooks; the participants here are much more likely to be interested in purchasing from the ebook store than submitting entries to it. This means your initial post ("come be a writer!!") is oblique to the interests of many people here--and while the secondary part ("new ebook store!") is welcome, the store itself is not really ready for the kind of attention that Mobileread usually focuses on ebook enterprises.

If you're still mostly looking for writers, this is not the best place to advertise... because what we have here is hundreds of ebook *readers*, who are well-informed about ebooks and have very firm opinions about what they're looking for. (And hundreds more who are less well-informed, and have less firm opinions. You won't hear as much from them, but they'll be reading the reviews.)

Many of the regulars here are shoppers at several ebook stores--fictionwise, booksonboard, smashwords, Amazon, Baen, and some of the dozens of small, independent ebook stores--and the various free ebook sites. If you'd like honest opinions about the store, filetype choices, website layout, and marketing methods, you've only to ask (but not in the "introductions" folder; possibly in News and Commentary)--you'll be swamped with more comments than you know what to do with.

And many of them won't be complimentary, because we have high standards and are tired of businesses that want to sell ebooks without understanding them. And no site can please everyone, and for every decision that makes someone happy, you'll probably annoy someone else. You'd get lots of harsh & sometimes contradictory comments. But they'll be useful comments, because we are devoted ebook readers who want to see the ebook industry grow, and who pitch the sites we like to friends & family who would never look for websites that don't show up in the first 10 google hits.

If you're looking for advice & suggestions about the ebook-distribution side of the business, Mobileread is a great place for it. If you're mostly looking for new authors, and you've already got a structure & plan in place, you should probably avoid MR until you're ready for intense scrutiny of every aspect of your ebook business.

05-28-2009, 06:31 PM	#1
ireadiwrite Digital Small Press Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Canada Device: iPhone	Calling All Creative Writers - Submissions Wanted! Hi - and thanks for taking a moment to read this introduction to our new eBookstore. ireadiwrite.com was designed for the aspiring Writer and the avid Reader to connect and grow. Our vision is to make writing a fair, income-earning art form and to connect new, unpublished Writers to their audience through eBooks. Self publishing, print on demand, document sharing and eBook sites abound. Many document sharing sites can't catch the publication of copyrighted material as it happens. Self publishing often means that the Writer must ensure proper formatting and/or pay fees to do so. Many eBookstores can be difficult to browse - as Readers try to wade through the multitude of private label "how-to" books that litter the shelves. ireadiwrite is different for four reasons: Selective: Only books in the creative writing genre are published and are handpicked and reviewed before publishing. Supportive: Writers get our help getting started and still get 75% of total sales. Reliable: Readers will be able to rely on the store as a source for great creative writing. Flexible: Unlike other eBook sites, there is no dedicated hardware required - Readers can use the reading device they choose. For Writers, there are no fees, special software to learn or formatting to do. We'll even design cover art for those Works without it. Writers only need to send in a text file and we'll do the rest. So if you're an aspiring or an established Writer looking to publish, why not test out your market by publishing electronically? We're only a few weeks old and already our Writers are selling their Work with us and creating a well deserved income. Thanks so much for taking the time to learn about us, and whether you're a Writer or Reader, we look forward to hearing from you!

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05-28-2009, 07:28 PM	#3
ireadiwrite Digital Small Press Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Canada Device: iPhone	Hi Elfwreck, thanks for taking the time to review the site. While your review is less than glowing, I do appreciate you taking the time to do so. The site is only a few weeks old and we`re still experimenting. And you`re right on many things, we only have a few Writers and Works, so organizing by genre seemed overkill at this point - but it is something we`re working towards. And you`re correct on your last point too, since we are brand new - we`re still trying to attract Writers, but the ones we have are doing quite well for themselves and if promoting and supporting the art of writing is something this site can contribute toward, then mission accomplished. Again, thanks for your comments, your suggested changes will be made - and hopefully we`ll see you again once we`ve grown a little more. Kind regards... Michelle

05-28-2009, 10:53 PM	#4
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,185 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	Thank you for being polite. That's very gracious, and I appreciate it, especially when I was very aware that I posted a critique, not really a review. If you're taking suggestions, I'd suggest being more careful & targeted in your pitch--Mobileread is a site dedicated to ebooks; the participants here are much more likely to be interested in purchasing from the ebook store than submitting entries to it. This means your initial post ("come be a writer!!") is oblique to the interests of many people here--and while the secondary part ("new ebook store!") is welcome, the store itself is not really ready for the kind of attention that Mobileread usually focuses on ebook enterprises. If you're still mostly looking for writers, this is not the best place to advertise... because what we have here is hundreds of ebook readers, who are well-informed about ebooks and have very firm opinions about what they're looking for. (And hundreds more who are less well-informed, and have less firm opinions. You won't hear as much from them, but they'll be reading the reviews.) Many of the regulars here are shoppers at several ebook stores--fictionwise, booksonboard, smashwords, Amazon, Baen, and some of the dozens of small, independent ebook stores--and the various free ebook sites. If you'd like honest opinions about the store, filetype choices, website layout, and marketing methods, you've only to ask (but not in the "introductions" folder; possibly in News and Commentary)--you'll be swamped with more comments than you know what to do with. And many of them won't be complimentary, because we have high standards and are tired of businesses that want to sell ebooks without understanding them. And no site can please everyone, and for every decision that makes someone happy, you'll probably annoy someone else. You'd get lots of harsh & sometimes contradictory comments. But they'll be useful comments, because we are devoted ebook readers who want to see the ebook industry grow, and who pitch the sites we like to friends & family who would never look for websites that don't show up in the first 10 google hits. If you're looking for advice & suggestions about the ebook-distribution side of the business, Mobileread is a great place for it. If you're mostly looking for new authors, and you've already got a structure & plan in place, you should probably avoid MR until you're ready for intense scrutiny of every aspect of your ebook business.

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