To my fellow authors: the revolution starts now!
Technology changes at breathtaking speed these days, but the traditional publishing model hasn’t kept pace. I’ve been talking with publishers for years about changing the way they do business. So has my agent. But every time we suggested a faster way of working or a fairer way to slice the pie, they said the time wasn’t right. No matter how much the world around us changes, they always seem to have a reason to keep doing things the way they’ve always done things. So finally we got tired of waiting and decided to get it done ourselves.
At Fair Trade Digital Exchange, we share the responsibilities and the rewards. Authors are the subject-matter experts. We provide professional development, editing, proofreading, cover design, and translation into every popular digital format. Not to mention the tricky details of placing titles where readers can find them. And we’ve changed the financial arrangement to a straight partnership deal: a 50/50 split of revenue on an author’s work.
This arrangement allows Fair Trade DX to publish small titles that might never get considered by a traditional publisher. And it allows authors the chance to make a living without having to spend time mastering self-publishing tools. Instead, they can do what they do best—write. If you’re a technology expert and you’d like to talk to us about how Fair Trade DX works and how you can submit a book proposal, we’re ready to listen.
- Ed Bott
