The company plans to use the new funding to expand its services, including the addition of audiobooks. Despite competition from other digital publishers and self-publishing houses, Spines differentiates itself by offering a guaranteed book deal for authors who pay for its services. The company also offers a more favorable royalty split, with authors receiving 70% of sales compared to the typical 10-20% offered by other publishers.
Key takeaways:
- Spines, a self-publishing platform powered by artificial intelligence, claims to perform all the tasks of a traditional publisher faster and cheaper, including editing, providing suggestions, cover design, layout, and distribution in e-book or print-on-demand formats.
- Since its launch in 2021, the startup has published over 1,700 books and is currently growing revenues at a rate of 1,000%. It has recently raised $16 million to expand its efforts, including adding audiobooks.
- The startup was founded by Yehuda Niv, who got the idea to move into publishing while he was an electrical engineering student. He founded his own publishing house, Niv Books, which was his first foray into bringing more technology to the process of making books.
- Spines' services cost between $1,200 and $5,000 depending on the services requested by the author. There is also a distribution membership billed monthly, which starts at $19/month and can go up to $49/month. Royalties on sales are split with authors getting 70% and Spines getting 30%.