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Kobo Writing Life Delivers Best-in-Class Open, Collaborative Self-Publishing Portal
Easy-to-use, data driven portal provides authors with reader insights
never before seen in self-publishing
NEW YORK CITY, NY (Book Expo America), June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Kobo Inc., a global leader in eReading, today introduced its self-publishing
portal Kobo Writing Life for independent authors and publishers.
Designed to help writers become the best authors and publishers
possible, Kobo Writing Life offers key reader insights and marketing
tools to engage with fans on a global scale.
Another step in the company's focus and support of open standards, Kobo
Writing Life uses industry standard ePub files giving readers more
flexibility to choose on what computer, smartphone or eReading device
they want to read the self-published titles. At no cost to the author,
Kobo Writing Life titles are published easily using a revolutionary
self-service portal in minutes. The platform is designed to put the
power of all aspects of publishing - from price setting to advertising
to marketing - in the hands of the writers helping them to maximize
sales.
"When we started working on Kobo Writing Life, the first thing we did
was ask authors what they felt was most important in a self-publishing
platform," said Michael Tamblyn, EVP Content & Merchandising, Kobo.
"They were incredibly clear: openness, control, great royalties,
incredible reporting and global reach. It should be powerful but
drop-dead simple. And there should be people running it who care about
writers -- not like dropping your treasured manuscript into a machine.
We can't wait to see what authors will do with this."
Unlike competitive self-publishing tools, Kobo allows authors to set
their book price to "FREE" at any time without restrictive exclusive
agreements, in addition Kobo pays 10% higher royalties on sales in many
growing international markets and allows authors much more freedom on
pricing. The company's focus on Social Reading will also give authors
the opportunity to connect with readers through its Kobo Author Notes program enabling writers to provide commentary within the book for
readers to enjoy as well as through Kobo's free apps, integrated with
Facebook Timeline.
"Kobo has designed an intuitive dashboard that is easy to use and loaded
with features important to me as an author," said Bella Andre,
best-selling author of the Sullivan series. "The ability to see the
performance of my books across different markets helps me to understand
how my advertising and promotions are influencing sales so that I can
engage with more readers around the world."
"Self-publishing is an important way for even established authors to
strengthen a personal relationship with fans by offering them new or
backlist titles that might not be suitable for large-scale print
publishing," said Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author.
"The technology behind platforms like Kobo Writing Life is offering
ways for writers to reach specific audiences easily. Some books are
suitable for release by a major publisher, while others are better
suited to a targeted approach."
Kobo Writing Life, currently being tested by 50 authors in its beta
program, will be available in English at the end of June for the more
than 1,600 authors already signed up. Additional languages and
country-specific support will be added in the coming year. To sign up
for Kobo Writing Life, please visit http://www.kobo.com/writinglife and check out the tutorial videos and FAQ.
About Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc. is one of the world's fastest-growing eReading services
offering millions of eBooks, magazines and newspapers- and counting.
Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on
any device, Kobo has built an open-standards platform to provide
consumers with a choice when reading. Inspired by a "Read Freely"
philosophy and a passion for innovation, Kobo has expanded to nearly
200 countries, where millions of consumers have access to localized
eBook catalogues and award-winning eReaders, like the Kobo Touch. With
top-ranked eReading applications for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, and
Windows products, Kobo allows consumers to make eReading social through
Facebook Timeline and Reading Life, an industry-first social experience
that lets users to earn awards for time spent reading and encouraging
others to join in. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based
Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains across the
globe.
For more information, visit www.kobo.com.
SOURCE Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc.
CONTACT: Rene Samulewitsch - 416-644-2287
High Road Communications, on behalf of Kobo Inc.,
Rene.Samulewitsch@highroad.com
Kobo Writing Life Delivers Best-in-Class Open, Collaborative Self-Publishing Portal
Easy-to-use, data driven portal provides authors with reader insights
never before seen in self-publishing
NEW YORK CITY, NY (Book Expo America), June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Kobo Inc., a global leader in eReading, today introduced its self-publishing
portal Kobo Writing Life for independent authors and publishers.
Designed to help writers become the best authors and publishers
possible, Kobo Writing Life offers key reader insights and marketing
tools to engage with fans on a global scale.
Another step in the company's focus and support of open standards, Kobo
Writing Life uses industry standard ePub files giving readers more
flexibility to choose on what computer, smartphone or eReading device
they want to read the self-published titles. At no cost to the author,
Kobo Writing Life titles are published easily using a revolutionary
self-service portal in minutes. The platform is designed to put the
power of all aspects of publishing - from price setting to advertising
to marketing - in the hands of the writers helping them to maximize
sales.
"When we started working on Kobo Writing Life, the first thing we did
was ask authors what they felt was most important in a self-publishing
platform," said Michael Tamblyn, EVP Content & Merchandising, Kobo.
"They were incredibly clear: openness, control, great royalties,
incredible reporting and global reach. It should be powerful but
drop-dead simple. And there should be people running it who care about
writers -- not like dropping your treasured manuscript into a machine.
We can't wait to see what authors will do with this."
Unlike competitive self-publishing tools, Kobo allows authors to set
their book price to "FREE" at any time without restrictive exclusive
agreements, in addition Kobo pays 10% higher royalties on sales in many
growing international markets and allows authors much more freedom on
pricing. The company's focus on Social Reading will also give authors
the opportunity to connect with readers through its Kobo Author Notes program enabling writers to provide commentary within the book for
readers to enjoy as well as through Kobo's free apps, integrated with
Facebook Timeline.
"Kobo has designed an intuitive dashboard that is easy to use and loaded
with features important to me as an author," said Bella Andre,
best-selling author of the Sullivan series. "The ability to see the
performance of my books across different markets helps me to understand
how my advertising and promotions are influencing sales so that I can
engage with more readers around the world."
"Self-publishing is an important way for even established authors to
strengthen a personal relationship with fans by offering them new or
backlist titles that might not be suitable for large-scale print
publishing," said Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author.
"The technology behind platforms like Kobo Writing Life is offering
ways for writers to reach specific audiences easily. Some books are
suitable for release by a major publisher, while others are better
suited to a targeted approach."
Kobo Writing Life, currently being tested by 50 authors in its beta
program, will be available in English at the end of June for the more
than 1,600 authors already signed up. Additional languages and
country-specific support will be added in the coming year. To sign up
for Kobo Writing Life, please visit http://www.kobo.com/writinglife and check out the tutorial videos and FAQ.
About Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc. is one of the world's fastest-growing eReading services
offering millions of eBooks, magazines and newspapers- and counting.
Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on
any device, Kobo has built an open-standards platform to provide
consumers with a choice when reading. Inspired by a "Read Freely"
philosophy and a passion for innovation, Kobo has expanded to nearly
200 countries, where millions of consumers have access to localized
eBook catalogues and award-winning eReaders, like the Kobo Touch. With
top-ranked eReading applications for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, and
Windows products, Kobo allows consumers to make eReading social through
Facebook Timeline and Reading Life, an industry-first social experience
that lets users to earn awards for time spent reading and encouraging
others to join in. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based
Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains across the
globe.
For more information, visit www.kobo.com.
SOURCE Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc.
CONTACT: Rene Samulewitsch - 416-644-2287
High Road Communications, on behalf of Kobo Inc.,
Rene.Samulewitsch@highroad.com