Our mission is to break open new markets for deserving authors by empowering tastemakers and their reader communities. Our vision is to contribute to a more creative, independent, and equitable world of books.
An overwhelming number of options exist today for authors—self-publishing, crowdfunding, hybrid, and traditional publishing paths—all serving different needs for different kinds of authors. We’ve worked within all of these models, and our team and tastemakers include authors who have also run the gamut.
A real gap exists for the authors who aren’t well served by any of these models. There are so many great writers who don’t fit into a predefined shelf, those who are writing for a readership publishers don’t yet know how to reach. So many writers don’t have a large platform to directly reach existing reading communities—or the resources to self-publish successfully. Bindery is designed to create a new pathway for important voices the industry has overlooked and a viable way to reach their readers.
Bindery offers a $10K advance and 50% of net royalties. In dollars, as compared to a traditional deal, this equates to over 2x standard per-book earnings for authors. We believe that when a book sells well, the author should be the one to benefit most.
Bindery’s books will be created at Girl Friday Productions, an editorial and design firm that has made books for traditional publishers and indies alike since 2006. Our books will be printed beautifully on offset printers and available from booksellers nationwide. Our books will be distributed in retail channels in partnership with Two Rivers, an Ingram brand, and will have traditional sales representation for sell-in to retail. As subrights sales are an important part of author earnings, we represent these rights for authors who choose it.
From the moment a book deal is signed, Bindery authors have the opportunity to meet and build relationships with the tastemaker’s community of fans, who will be invested in their book’s launch. Partnering with tastemakers to bring a book out relieves authors of the pressure to build their own platform and puts the full strength of the tastemakers’ reach behind their book when it releases.
Bindery publishes adult and YA fiction across genres. We work with literary agents to ensure tastemakers receive manuscripts that suit their criteria.
We believe many talented writers do not have agents, so we open submissions to unagented authors periodically with a Bindery Pitchfest. Because reviewing submissions takes a lot of time, and Bindery’s tastemakers are personally responsible, we can only hold short open submission windows.
If you would like to be kept in the loop to be notified of future Pitchfest dates, drop your email here. We’ll give you plenty of advance notice to prepare your materials.