In late-summer 2015, the crowdfunding self-publishing platform Pubslush announced it would be closing down. But then Canadian publisher and editor Greg Ioannou said he hoped to keep Pubslush operating as the core of a new author-services business. That arrangement didn’t work out, but Ioannou moved ahead to create PubLaunch, a platform intended to allow authors to raise the funds for author services via crowdfunding.
What Ioannou thought might be a four-month programming project has been two years in the making, and PubLaunch is slated to open later this month. Ioannou is not only looking for authors who want to publish their work using crowdfunding, he is also seeking service providers, including developmental editors, copy editors, proofreaders, indexers, designers, illustrators, marketers, and publishers.
As with Reedsy—another, similar freelance marketplace—authors choose providers they’d like to work with, but PubLaunch engages providers on behalf of the author, who can then crowdfund the money needed to pay those providers. The PubLaunch model is set to take 5 percent of crowdfunding monies (unless a writer opts to pay without crowdfunding) and a 10 percent commission from service vendors selected by an author. For some arrangements, PubLaunch promises to cut down on bidding and sample-showing for service providers by calculating estimates for them every time an author adds them to their team.
Bottom line: As we pointed out in November, it is exceedingly difficult to launch a new self-publishing service company that stands out from the crowd and earns the trust and respect of authors. As we wrote then, Macmillan’s Pronoun and the UK edition of Bonnier’s Type & Tell both closed. And last month, Denmark’s Palatium pivoted away from its original mission to place indie authors with subscription services. The PubLaunch program looks like a heavy lift. It’s a brokerage, standing between authors and suppliers, with both groups as PubLaunch’s clients—and there’s a crowdfunding operation under the hood, too. Nevertheless, Ioannou has a 40-year track record and is also owner of the independent press Iguana Books. He’s hung in for two years to get to this stage. We’ll see how things develop.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
