Kobo launched a self-publishing portal Kobo Writing Life independent authors and publishers, designed to help writers become the best authors and publishers possible, Kobo Writing Life offers key reader insights and marketing tools to engage with fans on a global scale.
There is no cost to the author, Kobo Writing Life titles are published within minutes, and helps authors with all their publishing needs from price setting to advertising to marketing.
“When we started working on Kobo Writing Life, the first thing we did was ask authors what they felt was most important in a self-publishing platform,” said Michael Tamblyn, EVP Content & Merchandising, Kobo. “They were incredibly clear: openness, control, great royalties, incredible reporting and global reach. It should be powerful but drop-dead simple. And there should be people running it who care about writers — not like dropping your treasured manuscript into a machine. We can’t wait to see what authors will do with this.”
Kobo is aiming to be different than other self-publishing platforms, they allow authors to set their book price to free at any time without restrictive exclusive agreements, also Kobo pays 10% higher royalties on sales in many growing international markets and allows authors much more flexibility on pricing.
Kobo Writing Life is currently in beta, and being tested with 50 authors, but will be made publicly available at the end of June.