Pubslush has undergone a bit of an evolution. The site is still a platform for authors to crowdfund the publication of their works — make no mistake. But Pubslush used to have a slightly different format. Users would post their book excerpt and summary onto Pubslush, and if they received enough donations from readers, Pubslush would pick up their works and publish them. Don’t forget, Pubslush isn’t just the platform, the company is a publisher, too.
Today, however, the site is taking a slightly different approach. Rather than lock writers into a deal with Pubslush, the platform will work more like Kickstarter, letting authors gauge the viability of their work with no exclusivity to Pubslush. Of course, Pubslush can still cherry pick authors from the platform that have garnered a lot of interest, but authors still have the right to publish elsewhere.
I sat down with founder Jesse Potash to talk about the re-launch, and pre-interview, he mentioned that most people were already mistaking Pubslush for a Kickstarter, not realizing the legal contract the author entered into by putting the work on the site. After seeing this feedback, the company thought it only right to supply what users were demanding, and thus the new model.
When an author is selected by Pubslush, they then get access to everything a traditional publisher would offer, such as editorial services, distribution, and marketing.
Even better, Pubslush has a cause. Knowing that over 100 million kids in the world don’t have access to books, Pubslush will donate one book to a child in need for every book sold through the Pubslush platform.