Reedsy is the first marketplace and set of collaborative tools and services for publishing professionals, says DC Thomson. It offers authors an industry expert search allowing for the creation of high-quality ebooks.
The platform, which will launch soon, is looking to disrupt the publishing industry. Reedsy co-founder Emmanuel Nataf explains, “This product eliminates the challenges typically experienced by authors when self-publishing. We want Reedsy to change the way authors engage with the full suite of professions that are required during the publishing process to create and sell high-quality ebooks. The business operates using a cloud-hosted real-time book editor, which has been specifically designed for ebook publishing.”
DC Thomson Ventures Executive, Nick Verkroost said, “Consumer reading habits are changing. In the UK alone, self-publishing accounts for 20% of all ebooks and as barriers to entry come down the market is only going to accelerate. This new approach to reading needs a new kind of publisher – we believe that Reedsy could define the next generation of publishing.”
“DC Thomson Ventures is continually looking for the next big investment opportunity and Reedsy has a great team with a clearly defined proposition. This is a sector where we have a lot of experience and where we can identify a clear opportunity for disruption.”
Seedcamp partner, Carlos Eduardo Espinal added, “Reedsy’s vision to transform the publishing industry by really going deep into the needs of the author is what inspired us to back the founders. The founders have embarked on a mission to truly understand how to better support the needs of self-publishing authors and have created a product that reflects that research.”
The Seedcamp investment follows Reedsy’s pitch, during Seedcamp Week Berlin, to join the investment fund and mentoring programme. Reedsy will also be supported by DC Thomson Ventures and will have access to IDEALondon, a tech innovation centre set up by Cisco, DC Thomson and UCL to champion startups.
Reedsy Co-founder Richard Fayet said, “In the long run, our objective is to transform the way the publishing industry works. With a bit of help, self-publishing shouldn't be the exception anymore, but the normal path to publishing a bestseller.”
