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Mission Statement
SOOP is uniting authors, readers, and service providers through a revolutionary publishing platform.
Author Driven Publishing
SOOP’s Author-Driven Book publishing model is revolutionary. It combines the best elements of both traditional and self publishing while taking advantage of social media and crowd sourcing. As an author, you not only have control over the process of landing a publishing contract, you earn much higher royalties than with traditional publishing. We call this brave new model author driven publishing, and it’s all about educating and empowering authors to gradually master what we call the “3 P’s” of publishing: Product, Platform, and Promotion.
Unlike vanity or subsidy publishing, SOOP authors avoid spending their own money or giving away rights in ways that they will regret. Unlike traditional commercial publishing, SOOP authors are in full control of the process and decisions at each step of the journey, in ways that ensure the fair distribution of risk and reward to all parties. Authors who submit their ideas to SOOP can walk away at any time prior to signing a contract, and they will take the benefits and publicity they’ve earned with them.
The SOOP Team
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Mark Heinz Director of Publications Mark Heinz has extensive experience with print publications, dating back to the late 1980s. After graduating from the College of Journalism at the University of Montana (Missoula), he landed his first job as a reporter in Dillon, Montana and went on to work for several newspapers and magazines across the Mountain West. He also edited or helped re-write several non-fiction books and coached writers, novice and seasoned. Likening the pace, pressure and exacting standards of newsrooms to “the Marine Corps for writers,” Mark believes in combining the no-nonsense approach of the editors he came up under with constructive guidance, toward the goal of improving and refining the author’s voice. |
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Dannelle Gay Director of Anthologies As a published author and public speaker, Dannelle likes to live the champagne life on a beer budget, while encouraging others to become their best selves. She is delighted to be a part of Something Or Other Publishing, LLC and their revolutionary program model. You can learn more about her at DannelleFraserGay.com |
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Christian Parish Marketing Manager Christian Parish has been managing the paid digital marketing efforts for SOOP since February of 2020. Christian has worked on digital campaigns for a variety of organizations with a background in performance marketing and analytics. Christian helps authors promote their works, connects readers to relevant story ideas, and offers digital strategy for SOOP’s goals. |
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Diana Vidal Executive Assistant & Author Support Coordinator Diana is an International Business professional with experience in the world of Digital Marketing. Diana previously worked in a public relations agency for Samsung Electronics and has a high knowledge of CRM, Social Media Management, and web design.
She is passionate about art and learning new things.
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Ray Ciafardini, Jr. Leadership / Success Coach Ray Ciafardini, Jr. is an NLP Coach and is certified by the Association for Integrative Psychology (AIP) as a Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Since starting his coaching practice, My Coach Ray LLC, in 2016, he has helped facilitate breakthroughs in areas of life such as career, relationships, health, and personal development. He also coaches small business owners, real estate agents, and sales professionals and conducts trainings to help them create breakthroughs in their professional lives. SOOP Makes Ray’s services available to ensure the success of Authors in our “Author Driven Publishing” model |
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Dave Rank Contest Coordinator An author, editor, and recovering journalist, David J. Rank has published more than 30 short stories and flash fiction pieces in regional literary publications, online ezines, and the print anthologies Call of the Wyld, published by Wyldwood Press, The Grays, published by JWK Fiction, Wisconsin Review II, published by the WWA Press, and Shallow Waters 4, an online anthology series published by Crystal Lake Publishing. He is the founder and director of the annual nonprofit Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Retreat residential writing programs now in their eighth year. His unpublished Science Fiction-Mystery novel Alien Ways was selected as a semifinalist in the 2019 Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition, finishing in the top 10 percent of entries, both published and unpublished. He is now working on a horror novel, a Gothic romance novel, the plots for two Alien Ways sequels, and several short stories. |
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Helen Cook Publicist PrimeStar Publicity and Public Relations is owned by Helen Cook, with principle offices just outside of Houston, TX. PrimeStar Publicity provides publicity, marketing and public relations services for publishers, authors, and artists. Cook, who was a Vice President at The B & B Media Group, for many years, started PrimeStar Publicity and Public Relations in 2011 after relocating to an area just south of Houston, TX. Helen is a familiar, trusted, face within the industry and has valuable, professional, relationships with the faith-based and mainstream media. Cook has more than 32 years of publicity, public relations, advertising, and marketing experience to her credit. |
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Catherine Bordeau Copy Editor – Anthologies Catherine Bordeau has worked as an editor for multiple publishing houses both in the United States and abroad. Catherine holds degrees in history, writing, ethics, and education. She has worked on numerous book projects, with a healthy balance between fiction and education curriculum. Her favorite aspect of being an editor is the endless learning that accompanies the dive into a new text—how each author sees and explains the world differently. After more than a decade in New York City, she is currently freelancing and is based between Austin and Mexico City. |
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Rebecca Nutting Lead Proofreader Rebecca Nutting has roots working as an in-house editor and social media manager, and now provides editorial services as a freelancer to a wide variety of clients and publishers. She loves the excitement and variety of working as a freelancer, where no one day is like another. She has a BA in English from Boise State University, with an emphasis on Literature. She has attended, and/or worked, myriad events such as the AWP Conference, the LA Times Festival of Books, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and is a published writer in various literary publications across the country. When she isn’t reading for work or pleasure, you can usually find her somewhere in the mountains: trail running, mountain biking, snowboarding, or paddle boarding with her pup. |
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Michael Grossman Book Interior Designer Michael has over 20 years experience in print design, multilingual typesetting and prepress with a main focus on books, magazines and brochures. He works on a whole range of programs such as Adobe CC and Microsoft Office. While studying graphic design, his first design job was with a small print shop where he learned as much about design and the overall print process through hands on work that he did in the classroom. From there, he’s worked in a variety of design jobs, both full-time and freelance. Since moving to Prague, Czech Republic, he also began including multilingual typesetting into his wheelhouse of skills in which he learned the individual nuances and rules of typesetting in nearly all European and East Asian languages. Highlight book projects include working with publishers like The Times Books and HarperCollins, with the first being sponsored by UNESCO and another being the Atlas of Canada sponsored by Canadian Geographic. He has also worked with a whole host of independent authors covering a wide range of subjects and formats such as coffee table photo books, novels, textbooks, Bibles, study guides and travel guides. And he has also worked with a number of smaller publishers (including Something or Other Publishing) on equally diverse range of books. |
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Dragan Bilic Book Cover Designer Dragan Bilic is a Bachelor of Arts graduate with seven years of graphic design experience. Dragan specializes in book cover and internal layout design. He is a top rated designer of the Upwork community with over 450 references, and a multiple award winner at 99designs and Designcrowd web platforms. Dragan has a rich experience working with individual authors as well as with publishing companies among which are: Gefen Publishing from Jerusalem, Secant Publishing USA, Electric Reads UK etc. |
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Jessica Robinson Operations Manager / CRM & Email Marketing Jessica has an extensive background in business operations and data management. She brings this expertise to bear at SOOP in her oversight of a variety of back office processes, not the least of which is her responsibility to leverage SOOP’s extensive database of engaged participants, as she works to support SOOP’s vision of building a valuable online platform that unites Authors, Readers and Service Providers |
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Lamuye Adewale Lead Operations Assistant Lamuye Adewale is Lead Operations Assistant with a focus on social media and email marketing as well as routine operations. Lamuye holds a Project management, Social Media Strategy for Small Businesses and International Field Experience Certificate awarded to him in The Gambia. Lamuye has been with SOOP since July 2019.
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Kuljeet Kaur Blog Manager Kuljeet believes in creating relevant and interesting content for SOOP. She is a tremendous writer and has years of experience as a blogger and social media expert. Kuljeet is also well versed with SEO skills and knows exactly how to lead the operations for SOOP. |
Careers
Please send your resume to [email protected], and we will respond as we are able. We’d love to offer you a position with SOOP and or a role that benefits our community of 1,000+ authors.
Giving Back
Here at SOOP, we want to help authors publish terrific, successful books — whether they ultimately publish with us or not. But that’s not our only goal. We also want to focus on the human element of publishing — the heart of the matter.
For starters, our approach to publishing is decidedly different. Our democratized selection process seeks to shift power toward the author and his or her readers and fans, and away from a small group of editorial decision makers. It’s not a complete shift, as we must continue to ensure that our books meet certain standards of quality and professionalism. But it is a major shift nonetheless. It opens up all kinds of new possibilities for enterprising, aspiring authors to be published and marketed. Our hope is that our model will provide a platform for a new generation of authors and a rich diversity of voices.
In addition to our revolutionary publishing model, we also aim for our company and our authors to keep engaged in our local communities. Here are a few programs we sponsor or support:
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Student and Senior Discounts SOOP offers discounts to Students and Seniors. If you would like to obtain the discount code please send an email to [email protected] to explain your qualification and we’ll provide the discount code. |
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Local Library Program
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Local Bookstore Program Local bookstores are nearly always a key component of a successful author’s platform. Here at SOOP, we know this and want to acknowledge some of these exceptional businesses for the important role they play, both for authors and their local communities. We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our new Local Bookstore Program, but in the meantime, we encourage you to visit these terrific bookstores, personally recommended by our SOOP authors. New York Area (recommended by Eric Mondschein) Northshire Bookstore Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY Continue stopping back as we add more bookstores and details. |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get started with SOOP?
- What is a SOOP Book Idea?
- What if you don’t like my Book Idea?
- Can you help me publish my raw manuscript?
- How do I publish my book idea?
- Why vote for a Book Idea before the book is published?
- Can I post a Book Idea on SOOP for a book I’ve already published?
- Can I remove my book idea later?
- Why can’t I edit my book idea?
- What does it cost to use your services?
- What does a SOOP Publishing Contract get me?
- What marketing and sales support does SOOP provide its authors?
- Do you charge to publish in paperback?
- How can I have my book reviewed?
- How do I get my book voted on using your website?
- Why did my vote count go down?
- Why is nobody voting for my book?
- The Book Idea I’m voting for is no longer available
- Anthology Program FAQ
Did we answer your question? If not please contact us at [email protected]
How do I get started with SOOP?
- Read about our publishing model and our other FAQ answers.
- Submit a book idea
- Learn how to get votes – start at Part I.
A SOOP Book Idea lies somewhere in between a synopsis of, and the promotional blurbs for, a completed book. It may describe a book you would like to write, one you’ve already self-published, or anything in between. The Book Idea is the landing page within SOOP’s platform from which you can create interest and collect votes. As the votes increase so does the attention of other readers and potential publishers. As Seth Godin says in his Try before you buy (or buy, then try) blog, books “are almost always purchased before they are consumed.” A Book Idea lets readers explore (try) before they replenish (buy) and helps the writer gather those future buyers in advance. The best SOOP Book Ideas combine elements from the best blurbs and synopses, promotional in nature, true to the story, without trying to cover all aspects. They are NOT a sample/excerpt of your writing and there is a character limit. So put on your writing hat create an original book idea, and let the world know about it!
What if you don’t like my Book Idea?
The good thing is that it does not matter whether we like your book idea; we will publish your book idea, regardless (as long as it’s one of the genre categories listed in the Submission Guidelines). What DOES matter is whether your social network likes your book idea and votes for it. The more votes you get, the more benefits you earn towards a publishing contract. So, go ahead, publish that book idea and start getting votes!
Can you help me publish my raw manuscript?
We sure can! If you need help getting your manuscripts proofread, edited, reviewed and published, we can offer those services for hire through our Services Marketplace. Or, you can earn them for free by reaching 1000 valid votes through our author-driven model. Regardless of which route you choose, submit your book idea here, build an audience and anticipate orders from those who vote for your book idea(s).
How do I publish my book idea?
First, visit the publish with SOOP page and read the submission guidelines. There,you’ll find the link to submit (publish) your book idea. Once your book idea is online, start getting votes!
Why vote for a Book Idea before the book is published?
Voting for a Book Idea does several things: (1) your vote simply expresses your interest in the story; (2) your vote lets you explore the book as an idea without a commitment to buy the book; (3) your vote helps motivate the writer to further develop the book idea; (4) your vote fuels this unique author-driven publishing model that exists to support ALL writers on their journey to becoming published authors.
Can I post a Book Idea on SOOP for a book I’ve already published?
Yes, you can. And there are numerous reasons why you might want to post a Book Idea for an already published book.
- You are self-published and you now want to interest a publisher.
- You want to use the SOOP Platform to draw interest and generate book sales.
- You want to publish your book in a new version, geography or language.
Whatever your reason, SOOP welcomes those who wish to use our free Author Driven platform with the understanding that it is your responsibility not to violate any contractual responsibilities or the rights to your book you may have transferred to other third parties, and SOOP bears no responsibility whatsoever for any such violations you may be responsible for. (By the way, you do NOT have to remove your book from other sites to publish your idea with SOOP.)
Can I remove my book idea later?
We recommend leaving your book idea as a historical record, regardless of where your book ends up. We believe it helps both the Author and SOOP to show the legacy of where you started. It encourages fans who voted for the book, who enjoy pointing out that “they knew you when” :)…
Having said that, we’ll be happy to remove your book idea at any time. Simply send your request to [email protected] and we’ll take care of it for you.
Why can’t I edit my book idea?
We’re happy to do that for you. As SOOP matures, our technology and workflow management will catch up to allow authors to edit their own book synopsis and cover art. For now, our Support teamtakes care of that for you. Please submit complete (edited) content and appropriate artwork for quick updates. Thanks!
What does it cost to use your services?
That depends on which services are being discussed. To understand our core Author Driven Publishing program start by reading https://soopllc.com/publish-soop/#.VQNYT9LF-6M. It discusses SOOP’s no-obligation model and should address many of your questions about getting started and progressing towards publication.
SOOP currently has two pathways, a free, as well as a premium subscription version. Our subscription service will give you access to professional feedback as you unlock benefits at your voting milestones. In our free version, you will receive the homework assignments, but will work the assignments in a different manner while pursuing the same 2,000 voting milestone.
If you’re also considering other aspects of specific support needed along the publishing journey, we have some great service providers to meet your needs in a variety of ways. Visit our Services Marketplace and check out the experts there. Each service is available individually to any author (for hire as needed), or as part of a larger package for authors who are publishing with SOOP.
What does a SOOP Publishing Contract get me?
- A great education in growing your book idea into a published work
- More money in your pocket for all your hard work: we charge no agent fees or percentages
- Significantly higher royalties for you than other full-service publishing house will give you, paid quarterly
- Typical professional services provided by full-service publishers, all costs covered by SOOP, including:
- Proofreading
- Cover design
- Editing (developmental, line edit, copy edit, etc)
- Book design
- Distribution and sales management on six continents
- The opportunity to join SOOP’s other titles, the last four of which have all been rated “#1 Hot New Release” on Amazon.com. (While past performance is no guarantee of future success, SOOP’s momentum is increasing.)
What marketing and sales support does SOOP provide its authors?
As an author-driven publishing model, SOOP supports its authors’ efforts in many areas. We’ll match and outpace the author’s efforts while providing the guidance about what to do, when and where. To see what that means, look at the book ideas that have over 1,000 votes (search for the latest Top 20 blog) to see the benefits those authors are enjoying en route to publication at 2,000 votes (and see what they get for a publishing contract). In addition, we provide the following:
- SOOP will match Author-provided marketing funds
- SOOP will provide an Author website
- SOOP will support your Blogging / Social Media Strategy
- SOOP will support your efforts to build a presence in your local community through our Local Bookstore Program: http://tinyurl.com/localbookstoreprogram
- And anything else SOOP sees fit to provide within the scope of our author-driven model.
Do you charge to publish in paperback?
How can generate reviews for my book?
Please review the principles for having a book reviewed ( https://soopllc.com/book-review/#.VRQFAfnF8uc) and feel feel free to reach out to reviewers listed in our Services Marketplace to generate reviews for your book.
How do I get my book voted on using your website?
By submitting your book idea, you have created the means to gather votes. Just share the book idea page with your social network and start getting votes.
Why did my vote count go down?
A vote count can go down when a previously submitted vote is removed. We send a confirmation of every vote, and some people reply with a request to have their vote removed (perhaps they didn’t fully understand the voting parameters). As explained on the Vote page, each vote equals a willingness to receive an offer to purchase; one vote per person. If someone changes their mind about that, the vote count goes down. I hope that helps.
Why is nobody voting for my book?
After you submit your book idea and SOOP posts it on a voting page, your next step is to share the link for that voting page with your social network to earn votes. SOOP’s model is Author Driven so you get to generate the votes by sharing the link to your voting page as widely as possible. We’ll support your efforts in various ways (as described elsewhere). We find that vote-getters have a perfect title, a great synopsis (well-written, creating curiosity), and an eye-catching book cover. Those book ideas that get into our Top 20 get even more exposure to the growing SOOP community and beyond. To get votes, do what vote-getters do, start by sharing your link!
The Book Idea I’m voting for is no longer available
From time to time, for a variety of reasons, Authors request to have their Book Ideas withdrawn from our site, and we accommodate their request. Please check our Blog to see the latest crop of Hot Book Ideas – we’re sure you’ll find one of interest to you to place your vote.
Unique to Short Stories / Anthologies
- Does SOOP compensate authors who have their work included in its anthologies?
- SOOP pays the authors featured in its anthologies up to a 1% royalty on the book’s gross profit, – essentially the list price less the retailer’s cut and the cost of printing the book.
- How many short stories are included in each anthology?
- Our second anthology, 25 Servings of SOOP Volume II, will have 25 short stories and pieces of flash fiction. The composition of future books may vary at our discretion.
- Are multiple Short Story Ideas from the same author allowed?
- Yes, but we will only be publishing one piece per author per book.
- Will multiple short stories from the same author appear in one book?
- No, see above.
- What rights am I giving SOOP?
- Submissions to our anthologies via a Short Story Idea are more formal than a book submission via a Book Idea. In submitting, you are giving us the right to publish your complete short story or flash fiction piece and agreeing that you will not publish it elsewhere prior to asking for and receiving our permission to withdraw your submission. Once we have a publishing contract in place with you, you may not publish your short story or piece of flash fiction for the duration of the contract’s term, and SOOP will retain the right, in perpetuity, to publish it in all existing publications at the time the contract ends. We have this stipulation because we want our authors fully committed to working together as a team to promote the book and achieve success, and to protect all contributor rights to future royalties on these collections.
- If you submit to us via a Short Story Idea and ultimately do not sign a publishing contract with us, you may formally give us notice that you intend to not sign with us, and we will relinquish our provisional rights.
- What will SOOP do to promote its anthologies?
- SOOP uses a variety of promotional methods with a focus on social media. SOOP has well over a million followers / readers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in addition to a growing reader mailing list. We are also developing a subscription program to ensure a growing readership.
- SOOP also expects all contributing authors to promote the anthology as well, and SOOP will coordinate efforts to ensure that it reaches as many people as possible.
- How do I get help if these FAQs don’t apply to my question?
- Does getting 25 votes guarantee my publication in an anthology?
- 25 Votes and completing the homework assignments guarantees you a contract offer. Fulfilling your mutually agreed upon contractual responsibilities is required to be published in an anthology.
- Can I post a Short Story Idea for a short story I’ve already published?
- Because of the rights that are granted to us when a Short Story Idea is submitted to us, no.
- What are the Additional Benefits?
- These change from time to time. If you have questions, please ask us via email.
