Welcome to Inkshares. While we’ve published books by established writers like Big Fish author Daniel Wallace and Star Wars: Rogue One scribe Gary Whitta, our aim remains surfacing and developing the new author voices of tomorrow.
Previously unknown authors have received starred reviews and been featured on the front page of The New York Times. Their books are on the front tables of Barnes & Noble and hundreds of independents. They’ve been licensed by publishers in other major markets alongside six-figure advances. And they’re being adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriters at the biggest studios and networks.
So again, welcome to Inkshares. You’ve arrived at a very exciting time.
Books are selected for publication on Inkshares in three different ways.
Most commonly, books that sell a certain number of pre-orders are greenlit for publication.
Second, we periodically run contests, and a book may be selected as part of a contest.
Third, we track organic indicators of reader interest like numbers of reads and select titles for publishing on the basis of those indicators.
Many of our most successful books have been published this way. This includes established writers like Dracula v. Hitler’s Patrick Sheane Duncan (screenwriter of Mr. Holland’s Opus). It also includes books by previous unknowns like The Astronaut Instruction Manual’s Mike Mongo and Katie McKenna’s How to Get Run Over by a Truck.
At 750 pre-orders, Inkshares edits, designs, prints, markets, and distributes your book—both directly to consumer and into bookstores and libraries across America.
Inkshares also runs publishing contests. Contests are exciting and help build our author community. Previous contest winners include Christopher Leone’s Champions of the Third Planet (writer of the Netflix original series Parallels) and Tal Klein’s The Punch Escrow.
Books are selected for publishing on the basis of pre-orders and also independently selected by contest partners. Contest winners are invited to join those partner’s specific publishing imprints on Inkshares.
Past and upcoming contest partners include Legendary Entertainment, Scott-Free Entertainment, Crypt TV, and many more soon to be announced.
The platform also monitors indicators of organic reader interest other than pre-orders. This includes things like follows, shares, and reads, as well as interest from producers and other publishers. Titles selected on this basis are included in our Blink imprint. A notable recent selection for Blink includes Jamie Dorn’s Devil’s Call.
All projects on Inkshares begin as a draft. While in “draft mode,” readers can read and engage with your project.
When you’re ready, you can start selling pre-orders or enter a contest.