Today we have a wonderful chance to have a little Q&A session with George Douglas, the founder of microcerpt, a unique platform to discover writings and to find new authors in your favorite genres. George is also a founder and publisher of Kype Fishing Magazine, author of eight fishing books and film producer of six fishing DVDs.
George will share with you about microcerpt; how it can help you discover great reads and authors, as well as get a peek into the “backstage” of your favorite writers. Without further adieu, here is the Q&A.
Noobpreneur.com (Q): I am interested in your unique platform: Can you tell me a bit about microcerpt? What’s the idea behind it?
George Douglas (A): The concept is micro-content based, providing readers a vehicle to read multiple authors in their favorite genre via small excerpts (micro-cerpts). We are the only excerpt network created in this fashion, where the excerpts themselves are categorized and is the means for choosing books and discovering new authors. We have video and audio capabilities for each microcerpt allowing writers to give the context of, or provide behind-the-scenes material of that particular work. Along with the network of writing samples, there’s a built-in community where both readers and writers connect by joining or creating their own groups, book clubs and friendships.
Just this week we unveiled our own eReader capability and offer the option for a digital bookshelf to be created on each author’s page, which can be unlocked with a subscription payment and opens the door to what microcerpt is all about: creativity and literary freedom for indie authors. What this means is that authors can now customize their own packages by offering their readers something far greater than just an eBook. They can now customize a package tailored for their fans. For example, along with their eBook sales, they could include newsletters, private book clubs, contact with the author, or any combination, addition, or subtraction to create a package. This platform puts the authors in control of marketing and price setting.
Q: Have you found an interesting story or two with regard to writers and readers conversations which happen in microcerpt?
A: We have seen some great communication within the microcerpt community. For example, there’s a group that connects authors and book reviewers, and it proved to be effective as it provided a tool to suit the needs of each party. One member actually started a Google Doc for all members of the group. This document assisted them in organizing and listing books that needed reviews and designated which members were to review them. This was critical for us to witness, as it prompted our techs to incorporate docs into our group platform. By watching how readers and writers interacted and worked together, it actually helped us strengthen our platform and provide another professional tool.
Q: What are the challenges you face in growing microcerpt?
A: Time seems to be our toughest adversary. Many authors are limited on time as they are busy writing, managing their networks, marketing, etc. We have received feedback from some writers that they loved our platform and what we are doing, but explained even though submitting excerpts only takes a few minutes, that they are simply overloaded.
We have had extensive meetings regarding this obstacle and have recently designed a package providing an affordable solution at $149 per year for microcerpt Pro. 1. We will provide the author with a year’s worth of advertising in three locations on our site, including an ad directly in a category / genre of their choice; 2. Our professional staff will format and submit a microcerpt every week, including custom artwork, ensuring maximum exposure; 3. Our microcerpt techs will build a digital bookshelf on their author page and will set-up their subscription package for them. The author will keep 100% of the profits; 4. To top off this package, microcerpt will feature the author in our Showcase on the site, and also feature them on our social networks, providing additional exposure throughout the year.
I believe this package is a great solution for writers who find themselves a time crunch.
Q: Any future plans you wish to share with Noobpreneur.com readers?
A: Our entire team at microcerpt.com are committed to excellence, and we continue to listen and understand the needs of authors and their readers. Considering our staff is made up of editors, proofreaders, writing coaches, and designers, I foresee offering full publishing services in the future–a service where we can work with the author on their manuscripts and assist them in every facet of post-production, including the marketing and sales of their new book. I hope to have this in place by the end of 2014.
Q: Can you lead me to George’s formal bio so I can mention it on the blog post?
A: http://www.linkedin.com/in/microcerpt
Many thanks for the Q&A opportunity, George, and success to your business ventures!