Affiliate Spotlight: Inkpop.com

Posted by Saluki in Affiliate Spotlight | 0 comments

Today we want to introduce you to our newest affiliate, inkpop.com. Whether you are an aspiring author, or just an avid reader continually looking for new, up and coming authors to read, this site has something for you. MVF jumped on the chance to interview Becki Heller, who is part of the online marketing team at HarperCollins Children’s Books about this innovative site. Here is what she has to say about inkpop:

As the first interactive writing platform backed by a major U.S. publisher, Inkpop is a 21st century business venture. The goal of the site is to create a dialogue directly with our consumers. Social networks have given us the capability to hear directly from our readers and we want to take that relationship one step further. We want to provide a forum where readers can really tell us what they want from the books we publish and in return we can show them how their opinions are having a direct impact on the novels we produce.

We also wanted to develop new ways to discover and publish authors. We want to go beyond simply publishing all of our books in an electronic format. Through inkpop.com we are beginning to explore all the ways we can leverage technology to develop and enhance the reading experience. Whether it’s publishing serialized novels, creating more collaborative writing projects, or finding new ways to discover talented young authors, InkPop is really exploring all the ways that technology can impact our books.

Very cool, right? Of course, we had a few follow-up questions for Becki, which she was more than happy to answer for us.

When a writer signs up for the site, what should they expect?

First, inkpop is a site for young writers and readers. We realize not everyone has a full novel just waiting to go, but we also know that anyone who reads has an opinion about books and we want to hear it. Even if you just have an idea for a novel coming on to inkpop and posting that idea can help it get seen, and perhaps published. If you’re just interested in changing the trends in publishing, inkpop is also a great outlet for letting us know. Tired of reading vampire books? Do you really want to see more real to life fiction published? Let us know. This is the place where you can tell us and then see how your opinion then impacts what we’re doing.
For those who are dedicated writers, www.inkpop.com is a supportive community where you can upload your work and receive feedback on it. For some adults it has been a great platform to feedback from real teens on their work and for many teen writers, this is the first real writer’s group that they have ever encountered. Once a month editors from HarperCollins Publishers review five of the top projects in Fiction, Short Writing and Poetry. So you can get some real professional insight.
Finally www.inkpop.com is creating a community where young readers and writers can speak one on one with published authors. We’re attempting to provide a real insight into the publishing process from beginning to end.

For writers hoping to one day be published, how does posting their work on this site help that goal? Have any Inkpop authors gone on to be published?

We do have a number of published or soon to be published authors on inkpop. Leigh Fallon, author of Carrier of the Mark and Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil, were discovered directly on the site. Carrier of the Mark will be released by HarperCollins on October 4th and Sweet Evil will be coming out in the summer of 2012. In addition, we have authors who have been signed to other publishers as well. Jeyn Roberts YA series, Dark Inside, will be published by Simon and Schuster in September.

Could you tell us about some of the unique features of Inkpop?

Our most outstanding feature that really separates us from all the other writing sites is that your work has a real impact on the books that HarperCollins Children’s Books is publishing. As many people know it is tough to get your work seen or have your voice heard by a professional publishing house. Without an agent, many people find their submissions to major publishing houses relegated to the slush pile.

One of the primary goals of www.inkpop.com is to make sure that new writers are being read and that ideas from readers are being heard. We’re unique in that everything people do on the site can influence and impact the books we publish.  Sure you can post your work, get feedback from a community and even discuss books on other websites, but on www.inkpop.com you’re not just talking to other writers, you’re talking directly to a publishing house. So what you say and do can ultimately change the books you see in Barnes and Noble, Borders and on Amazon. I’ll venture to say that no other media company has ever allowed their audience to have this much control over what they create.

If our readers have questions about inkpop, who should they contact?

Anyone with questions can e-mail admin@inkpop.com.

Please let us know what you think of the site. And, if you decide to sign up and post your novel, please drop us a line!