HarperCollins Harnesses Crowdsourcing to Find New Authors
Friday, October 10th, 2008
With the launch of a new website called Authonomy, HarperCollins UK is calling on the power of the crowd.
At Authonomy, authors can submit excerpts from their fiction or non-fiction manuscript. These excerpts are then reviewed and ranked by…well, by anyone who wants to take the time to read them. The idea is to get the public searching for and identifying the next great thing.
Once a month, the 5 books with the highest rankings are forwarded to an editorial review board at HarperColllins.
The concept works for everyone:
- HarperCollins gets free help going through its slush pile — a short list without the work
- Authors get a chance to submit their work without an agent and have a fair shot at being considered
- Armchair reviewers get a chance to offer their opinion and potential bragging rights if they help uncover the next bestseller
Authors, if you’re looking for a publishing deal, the site is worth a look.
