Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

We have liftoff indeed! 

Wordclay is declaring its beta phase a success and has officially launched version 1.0 this morning. Now we’re all pretty excited here at mission control: I’m deep in a space-blog; Angie’s batting her fists; Jenn’s jumping in her seat; and Kelli’s dancing something that resembles a jig. We’re walking on our own personal moon, and we’re slightly lightheaded with the feeling of accomplishment if you haven’t noticed.  

Fortunately, today’s operation has run with relative smoothness. Between the mayhem of last minute fixes and the sheer amount of new users we’re working diligently to support, we’ve remained relatively calm and steady. Of course we’ve endured our fair share of snafus in the past few weeks, but we’ve managed to avert the most disastrous of the crises thus far – knock on wood. But it’s only morning, the day is still young after all, and we haven’t run out of coffee yet. 

The official launch has been a long time coming. Our staff has burned a significant amount midnight oil, and although I wouldn’t exactly say we’ve bled, the months spent sweating over the publishing wizard and the Wordclay Web site have definitely paid off.  

Free, easy, online DIY publishing: Mission Accomplished! 

Think of the possibilities: writers can publish their manuscripts; crafters can publish their scrapbooks and how-to guides; literary journal editors can easily bypass slow designers and costly printers; screenwriters and playwrights can order perfect bound copies of their scripts; teachers and professors can generate workbooks; and whatever else you can imagine for a book. Here’s a place where writers can visit whenever they want to design and publish their books, free of charge – it’s like magic! 

Don’t just take my word for it. Knowing me, I’m just thrilled that there now exists yet another DIY mode of expression, as in more than just crafts and cassettes these days. Five minutes surfing our Web site, and I guarantee you’ll agree that Wordclay is not only an amazing concept, but user-friendly as well. But, hey – you be the judge.  

Keep an eye open for our future blogs and our mention of some awesome online writing communities, too. Think of them as our allies in the cyberspace race for this new wave of publishing. Wordclay is an ever-evolving work-in-progress, and us techies and writers will continue to bring our author-nauts home safely. 

So come one, come all. Do some quality browsing on the new and improved Wordclay site. And then, post your thoughts, your suggestions and your reservations about our unique take on publishing and maybe we can get to the bottom of this ongoing dialogue. At the very least we’ll have an interesting conversation and perhaps share a laugh. Let’s get this Wordclay launch rocking and rolling. 

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.  

View the official Press Release of the launch: 

Wordclay, the Do-It-Yourself Book Publishing Web Site, Launches General Availability

Innovative online publishing tool allows users to make a book in minutes 

(Jan. 15, 2008 – BLOOMINGTON, Ind.)  Wordclay, the easiest, fastest and most dynamic DIY publishing Web site, initiated its general availability launch Tuesday. During its highly successful beta period, users started nearly 5,000 book projects with the free publishing tool.

“Wordclay’s book knowledge is ‘baked in,’ which means users don’t need to be concerned about the details of publishing, such as calculating spine width and gutter size, and can instead focus on writing a great book and then marketing it,” said Dave McCauley, Wordclay president. “Equipped with a computer and Internet connection, Wordclay authors can make a book in mere minutes.

”Wordclay makes it simple for writers of all experience levels to self-publish their books. Authors create a free password-protected online account that lets them control each step of the publishing process, from uploading the manuscript to designing the front cover to selecting the price of the book and their royalty. The book doesn’t need to be published in one sitting; the authors’ work is saved at every step.

“With Wordclay, I am free to have any motive I desire for my decision to publish,” said beta user Gregory Culver. “It could be for International fame, fortune, hobby, distribute family genealogy, specialty book not appealing to the masses, subject book for my students, cookbook for a fundraiser, or any book for my own enjoyment.

”Books created on the Wordclay Web site are printed on-demand, which ensures that authors will not have to pay for the cost to print a single copy before it is sold.For more information on publishing your book today, or to enter Wordclay’s poetry contest, please visit http://www.wordclay.com.

###

Wordclay, an Author Solutions brand, is a DIY self-publisher focused on providing a simple and independent Internet publishing experience for authors. Authors who publish their work via the Wordclay publishing wizard have their books available for purchase in Wordclay’s online Bookstore. Authors who select Channel Book Distribution have their books available for sale at more than 25,000 retailers worldwide, including Amazon.com.