Authonomy
Encyclopedia
authonomy is a website
owned and operated by HarperCollins
, designed with a commercial aim in mind: to unearth new talent. HarperCollins places the name in italics and spells it with an initial lower-case letter. authonomy solicits submissions from unpublished and self published authors to, in their words, "[..] post their manuscripts for visitors to read online. Authors create their own personal page on the site to host their project - and must make at least 10,000 words available for the public to read." The site went live in September 2009 after a beta launch in October 2007, growing to over 24,000 registered members by its live date.
While a number of published writers have emerged from their work having been marketed on the site, there is suspicion both within and outside the community that the agenda for HarperCollins in establishing authonomy is actually to service print on demand
. Conversely, it could be argued that many think that the future of publishing lies exactly in this area.
Titles which have emerged from authonomy include Miranda Dickinson's Fairytale of New York, which reached number 9 in the Sunday Times bestseller lists, Steve Dunne's The Reaper and Never Say Die, co-authored by Melanie Davis and Lynne Barrett-Lee. A number of agents and publishers have been circling authonomy and HarperCollins claim that 20 more books have been picked up by other publishers and agents. On the other hand, another title that appeared on the site (David Kessler
's Mercy) did not progress through the site's reader ratings but was subsequently picked up by the Avon division of HarperCollins UK after it was sent to them by an agent with no connection to authonomy.
Critics of authonomy have labelled it as a “do-it-yourself slush pile
” and argue that the recommendation mechanisms for a book making it to the top of this pile for editorial appraisal are problematic.
The site does represent a significant break with the way in which manuscripts are traditionally sourced by publishers.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
owned and operated by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, designed with a commercial aim in mind: to unearth new talent. HarperCollins places the name in italics and spells it with an initial lower-case letter. authonomy solicits submissions from unpublished and self published authors to, in their words, "[..] post their manuscripts for visitors to read online. Authors create their own personal page on the site to host their project - and must make at least 10,000 words available for the public to read." The site went live in September 2009 after a beta launch in October 2007, growing to over 24,000 registered members by its live date.
While a number of published writers have emerged from their work having been marketed on the site, there is suspicion both within and outside the community that the agenda for HarperCollins in establishing authonomy is actually to service print on demand
Print on demand
Print on demand , sometimes called, in error, publish on demand, is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received...
. Conversely, it could be argued that many think that the future of publishing lies exactly in this area.
Titles which have emerged from authonomy include Miranda Dickinson's Fairytale of New York, which reached number 9 in the Sunday Times bestseller lists, Steve Dunne's The Reaper and Never Say Die, co-authored by Melanie Davis and Lynne Barrett-Lee. A number of agents and publishers have been circling authonomy and HarperCollins claim that 20 more books have been picked up by other publishers and agents. On the other hand, another title that appeared on the site (David Kessler
David Kessler (author)
David Kessler is a British author of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve people falsely accused of crimes, legal battles, DNA, computer hacking and police investigations and are characterised by multiple plot twists and last-minute surprises...
's Mercy) did not progress through the site's reader ratings but was subsequently picked up by the Avon division of HarperCollins UK after it was sent to them by an agent with no connection to authonomy.
Critics of authonomy have labelled it as a “do-it-yourself slush pile
Slush pile
In publishing, the slush pile is the set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts sent either directly to the publisher or literary agent by authors, or to the publisher by an agent not known to the publisher....
” and argue that the recommendation mechanisms for a book making it to the top of this pile for editorial appraisal are problematic.
The site does represent a significant break with the way in which manuscripts are traditionally sourced by publishers.