Fairfax, VA 22033, US
Media
betabook.com
BetaBook provides authors and publishers a Next Generation toolset for pre-market product testing, virtual focus group reviews, and data analytics to help ensure a successful product release.
This start-up will develop a web-site portal and cross-platform mobile app product for mainstream publishers and self-published authors to “beta” test their book products prior to publication. The market-ready novel, movie script or non-fiction textbook is uploaded via the author’s web dashboard. A group of test readers is assembled and invited to read the work on their computer or mobile device as they would any other eBook. The publisher or author can then monitor the book’s popularity, see where readers get bogged-down or stop reading, edit or rework those sections, and then re-issue the revised book to the reader group. Additional tools include plot-analysis, graphical character development charting, and other analytic data to support the literary development process and help ensure a successful product release.
With 2,000,000 new books published every year (over half of those by self-published authors), the market for a subscription-based (recurring revenue) service model is good. 99% of published titles will never recoup the cost of publishing – so industry interest in pre-release evaluation tools is high.
Currently, there is no effective market testing of new works beyond traditional “friends and family” reviews (which are often skewed to avoid hurting the writer’s feelings), or focus groups which are expensive and inaccurate.
An anonymous virtual readership ensures honest reviews, and the ability to track the reader’s progress can give the writer (or publisher) valuable insight into where the work falls short – and an opportunity to revise and polish and re-test.
The proposed business model is monthly recurring subscription by the publisher or self-published author. Readers may download and use the mobile app for free and enjoy free “pre-release” product.
Development team is well-seasoned in application development, with many successful web site and mobile application releases.
Cost of operations is low.
Products include:
BetaBook Reader App
BetaBook Analytics Dashboard