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EdenReads

Connecting authors and readers.

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EdenReads

EdenReads

EdenReads

EdenReads

EdenReads

Connecting authors and readers.

Connecting authors and readers.

Connecting authors and readers.

Connecting authors and readers.

Neil Bullock
Neil Bullock
Neil Bullock
Neil Bullock
1 Campaign |
Didcot, United Kingdom
$0 USD $0 USD 0 backers
0% of $4,002 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

What's the plan?

Both independent and traditionally published authors must do a lot of their own promotion in order to find their audience. Meanwhile, traditional social media is making it harder and harder to reach readers without spending a lot of money. Staying ahead of the various algorithms can be a full time job in itself.

So what if there was another way?

EdenReads is a combination social network and publishing platform for authors and readers that is not intended to be reliant on advertising revenue, and so has no incentive to pick and choose what readers see. If a reader follows an author, that reader will see that author's updates.

So, it's just another social network?

Nope! Authors can also:

  • List their books, including everywhere it's possible to buy them, and refer to these books in any updates they post, which provides readers with a prominent link to purchase the book from whatever retailer they prefer
  • Run free giveaways
  • Manage their entire author newsletter process
  • Publish an author profile which can be organized however an author wishes
  • Manage their alpha and beta reader process
  • Find ARC reviewers
  • Publish related works

So it's a publishing platform?

Partly. I fully acknowledge that setting up a site of this nature which doesn't offer some sort of added value is doomed to fail, so this is what I'm offering. 

Authors will be able to publish short and/or serialized fiction which can be inserted into their existing book series. When somebody reads these stories, they will be directed to the next in the series automatically, whether that's another short story or a book available elsewhere.

Some stories can be designated as "reader magnets" which need a reader to agree to signing up to the author's newsletter before they can read. 

Authors can also access their newsletter subscribers, as long as they agree to comply with relevant privacy legislation. We won't hold their subscriber lists hostage.

There will be an app with an immersive Kindle-style reading experience, and access to a certain number of stories per month for free before a $20 a year subscription is required ($10 if you back this project, plus your first year is free).

Once the platform's running costs are covered, authors will receive proportional royalties for stories that are read.  

What else can be published?

As well as stories, we're going to offer the ability for authors to publish guides to the worlds they have created, including things like:

  • Locations
  • Character bios
  • Maps
  • Encyclopedia-style entries about anything found in the world

Is that everything?

Not quite.

  • There will be a news feed on which authors and readers alike can share things.
  • Readers will be able to track their reading lists and goals
  • Readers and authors can create groups devoted to particular books, worlds, authors, genres, or anything else.
  • Authors will be able to participate in regular advertising campaigns to have their books discovered by new readers.
  • We will promote authors on our own social media and newsletter.
  • We'll offer universal book landing pages
  • And we'll offer Linktree-style pages
  • We aim to publish regular anthologies of our most popular short stories, which we hope will be another way to earn money for authors.
  • We'll host short story competitions with guest judges
  • We'll also have a commission-free marketplace for author services.

How much will it cost?

We aim to keep as much as possible free to use, but we know not everything will be.

At the moment, we're looking at something like this:

  • Unlimited reader plan - $20/year
  • Basic author plan - $65/year
  • Pro author plan - $120/year

Backing this project will get you lifetime discounts on these prices.

Who am I?

I'm an independent author as well as a software developer with 25 years' experience, mainly focusing on websites just like this for the last decade. There are, however, areas where I'm going to need help, which is what this campaign is all about. I will need to hire experts to deal with certain aspects of the app development as well as various marketing plans in order to attract readers. I'll also need help with the setup and tax implications of paying royalties to authors.

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
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Choose your Perk

Reader

Currency Conversion $12 USD
£10 GBP
You get one year of unlimited reading (which will start only when there's enough content for you to be able to read a story or two per day for a year), plus a lifetime 50% discount on the reader plan.
Included Items
  • One year unlimited reading
  • 50% reader plan discount
Estimated Shipping
April 2023
0 claimed

Author

Currency Conversion $31 USD
£25 GBP
The author perk gets you a year of unlimited reading (once there's enough content for you to read one or two stories a day for a year), plus a lifetime 25% discount on any author plan, which also include unlimited reading.
Included Items
  • One year unlimited reading
  • 25% author plan discount
Estimated Shipping
April 2023
0 claimed

Pro Author

Currency Conversion $62 USD
£50 GBP
You'll get a year of unlimited reading (once there's enough content for you to read 1 or 2 stories a day for a year), plus a lifetime 40% discount on any author plan, which includes unlimited reading. You also get access to our Discord server to help shape the development of the site.
Included Items
  • One year unlimited reading
  • Access to our Discord server
  • 40% author plan discount
Estimated Shipping
April 2023
0 claimed

Elite Author

Currency Conversion $123 USD
£100 GBP
You'll get a year of unlimited reading (once there's enough content for you to read 1 or 2 stories a day for a year), plus a lifetime 50% discount on any author plan, which includes unlimited reading. You also get access to our Discord server to help shape the development of the site.
Included Items
  • One year unlimited reading
  • Access to our Discord server
  • 50% author plan discount
Estimated Shipping
April 2023
0 claimed
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