Pubslush is the Kickstarter of Publishing

Small business owners and other independent authors interested in publishing their own books have traditionally had a couple of options. They can find a more traditional publisher, then help promote the book on their website, through speaking engagements or in any other way and be paid an advance and eventually a royalty for their work.

They can create an ebook for download from Amazon and other sites and digitally distribute it making money from a percentage off each online sale. Or they could try a print-on-demand solution in which books are printed only as they are ordered and the printer takes a percentage out of each book sold, printed and shipped.

Now though, through the use of Pubslush, a fourth option has appeared.

Mother and daughter entrepreneurs, Hellen and Amanda Barbara, founded Pubslush to offer a service a bit different than other options in the market

The company can be described as a sort of Kickstarter for the book world. For small publishers and independent authors, Pubslush has created a way to alleviate the financial burden of traditional book publishing through its two campaign options: pre-orders and crowdfunding.

“Both [methods] provide an opportunity for an author or small publisher to conduct comprehensive pre-publication marketing campaigns, which is a vital step to success in the current book market,” says Development Director Justine Schofield told Small Business Trends in an email interview.

The crowdfunding option is the one Schofield primarily recommends to the independent author or small publisher.

This option allows the author to campaign for funding before the book is released and provides opportunities for the author to connect with his or her audience in advance of publication to continuously promote a book.

Pubslush also offers personalized service and campaign assistance in the form of a coordinator for their project and access to advice from the Pubslush team for all of their authors. Funding models are also provided so authors new to Pubslush can see the most successful techniques and apply them to their own campaigns, Schofield says.

Schofield explains that Pubslush’s services are based around the concept that for a book to be a success, preparation is key.

Once an author has decided to publish a book through the crowdfunding option he or she can use a number of different campaign methods to raise funds for a book. One popular method is to offer a book as a reward if a campaign goal is met.

According to Schofield, another  important part of the Pubslush approach is to gauge and utilize the established audience that most small business or other authors should already have if attempting to market a book.

For example, as a campaign moves forward, authors are given tools to gather reader data and market analytics and gauge the buzz surrounding their book release. Using this information also allows them to focus ongoing marketing in order to maximize fundraising.

But according to Scholfield, the crowdfunding approach also allows authors to gauge ahead of time how a book may be received by its audience.

“If you’re unable to conduct a successful crowdfunding campaign, odds are your book will experience similar struggles in the book market,”  Schofield explains. “If you’re unsuccessful crowdfunding, it’s a good indication you should build up your audience and platform before publishing and reevaluate your marketing plan for the future.”

Like other crowdfunding options, Pubslush takes a small percentage from the money is raised after a campaign is successful. But the company also provides unique options including the opportunity to sell a book from its website even after a campaign is complete.

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