Social network: a novel idea

February 5, 2009 by Shane Collins 

Promotion of music, photographs and movies prompt BookRix creators to advance writing

Susanna Zaraysky is just like any author, slaving away at the computer for months writing book after book, waiting for a publisher to call back, hoping for her big break.

She still packs her printed books in envelopes and sends them to media outlets and publishing companies, spending hundreds of dollars on shipping—the old fashioned way of self-promotion.

One thing sets Zaraysky apart from the rest: She also publishes her work on BookRix.com, a social network where authors worldwide can publish books, short stories and comics.  

“It’s much cheaper to just send a BookRix link to an editor and have them read the book online,” Zaraysky said.  “It’s timely and costly doing things the old-fashioned way.”

BookRix launched in the U.S. on Oct. 9, 2008. It is modeled after social networks like MySpace and Flickr.

BookRix co-founder Gunnar Siewert said the idea for BookRix came after his wife had little luck getting her books published. Siewert searched the Internet for a social networking site to provide peer review and feedback for his wife’s novels, but found none.  

“I previously worked in the music industry for many years and was familiar with the power of MySpace in helping new musicians/artists find an audience,” Siewert said. “Given how successful MySpace was in showcasing new and emerging musicians/artists, I wanted to create a similar platform for writers to showcase their work.”

Siewert said the German site has 4,000 users and it is quickly growing in the U.S.  

“We want to expand in the U.S. and we will launch in China later this year,” Siewert said.  “In the U.S., we are looking to create partnerships with print on-demand companies to get our writers’ works published and available for sale.”

UNLV student Kelsey Ogan has aspirations of becoming a writer and after hearing about BookRix from a friend and current user, she decided to jumpstart her career.

“I think it’s a novel idea, no pun intended,” she said. “Where else are writers given the chance to publish their work for free, get peer feedback and have people actually read their work?  That’s hard to find.”

“College students want to find an audience and get feedback to improve their work,” Siewert said. “They like Web 2.0 environments like YouTube because they can see other user’s comments and feel like they are working in a group atmosphere.”

UNLV sophomore Jimmy Keller said he would consider publishing some of his short stories on the Web site.

“There’s so much talk about Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, why not try something different,” Keller said. “This is exactly what student writers like me need.”

He added that the peer review aspect of the site is most appealing because student writers are always contemplating new ideas, and need feedback.

Users of the Web site are encouraged to create a profile using the site’s sophisticated user interface.  Profiles allow users to read thousands of novels by other users, make comments on other user’s books and write and publish their own books.  

“I like the idea of displaying my books in a community like format where people can send me comments and send the link to their friends,” Zaraysky said, adding that she chose BookRix over sending her books via PDF to avoid copyright infringement.

Furthermore, BookRix does not allow users to copy and paste material or print books off the site, so users’ books are protected from theft.

On the Web site, visitors may start their own book, read and rate other books and promote their book.

Using a state-of-the-art graphical flipbook format, the “Start your own Book” option gives users a detailed explanation of how to format a book.  Authors can add graphics where they see fit and design their own book covers.  

Authors who published their book on BookRix can make and receive feedback with the “Read and Rate Other Books” feature.  Here, a forum of discussion is set up for peer review, author insights and comments about the book.

“Writing is a solitary activity and writers need a place to brainstorm and get ideas from each other,” Siewert said.  “Not everyone lives near writing classes or writing groups. Some people would rather share their work in an Internet community rather than in a class or writing group.”

Promoting a book has never been easier with the “Promote your Book” section.  Authors are given the chance to further readership and share their book with the thousands of users from all over the world.

“So far, my wife’s book has been read over 3,000 times on BookRix’s German site,” Siewert said.

Zaraysky uses the site as a platform for her two books, “Language is Music” and “Travel Happy, Budget Low.”  She plans on starting a contest using the site as a portal for readers to enter their ideas for submission in the contest.

Zaraysky said given the “deplorable state of the publishing industry,” she would recommend BookRix to anyone who wants to have their work read.

ON THE WEB:

BookRix: bookrix.com