Britain's Next Bestseller

There's something fairly exciting Launching today-Britain's Next Bestseller is a new publishing revolution that puts the readers & the authors at the helm of the publishing process. I was fairly intrigued when I heard about this new phenomenon so I decided to do this post to let you guys know all about it & also to ask some questions about the ideas behind it...

What was the inspiration behind creating BNBS?

About 2 years ago when I was on holiday in Corsica, I was reflecting on the
injustice of the publishing world. The fact that there are some fantastic
authors out there but many don’t get a look in because they are not already
published or they're not a celebrity with a vast following. They say over
95% of manuscripts sent to literary agents and publishers end up in the
slush pile. There will be a lot of books hitting the slushpiles that could
be the great reads of the future but were never given half a chance. I
wondered what our world would have been like without Harry Potter or the Da
Vinci Code. These may not be literary masterpieces but they have captured
the imagination and quickened the pulse of millions. Surely a great book is
one that is loved by readers not necessarily one that is written the most
eloquently. I began to imagine what it would be like if there was a fairer
way for authors to get published and it struck me that 'fairness' comes by
taking the decision out of the publishers' hands and instead allowing
readers to decide the books that get published. 

Why is BNBS different to other publishing opportunities out there?

We are different because we trust the public to make the publishing
decisions for us. If an Author can prove the demand for their book, by
securing a minimum number of pre-orders, then we publish it, market it and
distribute it. Not only that, we offer our Authors industry beating
royalties and the more pre-orders a book receives the more we invest in the
marketing and promotion of that book. Authors also benefit from being part
of a community with great support from our Publishing Mentors - every single
one of our Launch Authors has stated that even if they don’t land the
publishing deal they have loved working with the team and learnt so much
that will help them in their future writing/publishing endeavours. For
readers it’s a great proposition too:

- They get access to books that otherwise may have never seen daylight
- They get advance copies of the book with their name printed inside as a
'thank you'
- If know that their money is safe because it is going to the publisher and
not the author. 
- And if the pre-order target is not achieved, the reader gets a 100% refund

We just want to offer Authors and Readers something new, that is innovative
and can create the next generation of books that become our bedside
favourites.

What would be your dessert island books?

Can I have a Kindle with Wi-Fi access? I rarely read the same book twice so
have ended up with quite an extensive book collection - majoring on the
non-fiction. I'm also quite practical so if I was limited to 1 book I might
choose an intensive language course book - something complex like Mandarin -
to keep my mind engaged all those lonely months. I can just imagine myself
walking round an island muttering gibberish to myself in another language.

What author do you wish you'd published?

There is no author I wish we had published. My wish is that we discover new
talent that otherwise would have gone un-noticed and that in the future,
someone answers this question, choosing our book titles as ones they wish
they had published! 

Thanks so much to Murielle for answering my questions. I also received info with a link to the website & this exciting information about the launch today...

"We have already received a lots of manuscripts – many of which have the makings of Britain’s Next Bestseller. Our websitewww.britainsnextbestseller.co.ukgoes live on 28th March 2014 with a group of talented authors that we have cherry picked for our launch – books covering a vast range of genres – chick lit, children’s picture books, paranormal romances, inspirational life stories, self-help, thrillers, historical novels, science fiction and fantasy… something for every taste. Once the website is live, all UK authors will be able to register and ‘pitch’ their manuscript to the public. Britain’s Next Bestseller will be the place where readers decide the books that get published and where authors can land a publishing deal.

Here is a link to a 1 min film that explains how it workshttps://vimeo.com/88330897 feel free to share with them. You’ll also find us on Facebook!"

I think it all sounds quite exciting and will definitely be checking out their website now that it is live-best of luck to all involved!

Happy Reading!