Assignment 2: The Writing Competition Directory

For this assignment, the task was to create a case report suitable to present to industry professionals. I decided to create an online database for writing competitions; I named it The Writing Competition Directory. There are so many writing competitions, however, it is hard to find out about them as the information is scattered across the web. Therefore, I decided to create a site which would be the go-to place for writers who wanted to enter competitions therefore filling the void in the market. At first, I had big ambitions to make the directory global, such as IMDB, however, after presenting my thoughts to the class, I realised that realistically, I would have to begin by compiling only UK sources and if the company could be sustainable then think about the international market. The Writing Competition Directory will not only hold the information about the competitions, but also provide hints and tips to writers and for an extra fee actually submit to the competitions, as a reliable source. Again, if the company proved to be sustainable, I would then think about employing editors as a further service to customers. The company is an online business and there will also be an app and will offer different levels of service dependent on how much the customer invests in the company. I believe that this business could be a success as there is nothing like it on the market at the moment, there are more and more people deciding to become authors, and also I believe that both the competition company's and publishers would be supportive of it.

Business Plan - Femme Fatale

On Monday we all gave short presentations about our business plans to the class. This was a very useful lesson as we all got individual feedback on our ideas and had the opportunity to change anything that was needed before the final deadline. It was very interesting to see what everyone had come up with and listening to all the other ideas sparked ways to improve my own plan.

My idea is a magazine targeted at female film students. It would be a monthly publication featuring reviews and case studies, but also in depth looks at potential university courses within film around the world. There are no magazine currently catering to female film fans, nor is there one targeting the film industry in this way. I have decided to propose this as there is a distinct lack of powerful women in the film industry; In 2012, women made up just 9% of the directors of the top 250 domestic grossing films of the same year. In behind-the-camera roles women are most likely to be producers, however, as the prestige of the producing post has increased, the percentage of women fulfilling the role has decreased. At the 2013 Oscars, only 35 women were nominated for awards compared to the 140 men across the 19 categories. My magazine aims to highlight this injustice and set out to create equality within the industry.

The feedback I received was incredibly useful and pushed me to alter several aspects of my business plan, such as the target reader and most notably, the name. Originally called Pretty Little Things, it was clear that this caused some confusion as it wasn't initially clear what the magazine was about. So I have renamed the magazine Femme Fatale, a clearer name that is directly linked with both the film industry and women.

Business Idea Presentations

In Monday's lesson we presented our business ideas to the class. I found it very interesting to see what everyone had come up with because, after studying business and innovation for five months, I know that they have a unique perspective on what might be happening next in the evolving book industry. I enjoyed listening to their ideas and found it very useful to hear their feedback on my own.

My business idea is for an online book club, 'Bookfeed'; a monthly subscription service which would offer a free eBook each month and forums to discuss it, as well as other benefits such as frequent articles on books and the book industry, discounted eBooks and the latest reviews. I decided to do this because my research has shown that the traditional book club is dying out, perhaps due to the declining popularity of the physical book and the inconvenience of traveling to meet and discuss it. An online book club would solve these problems, because it would sell the increasingly popular eBook and could be 'attended' from the comfort of each member's own home.

The feedback I got suggested that I need to make my reasons for choosing my demographic more clear, to look more closely at the finance behind the business and to improve my pitching method; I need to draw the audience in and convince them that my business will be a success. This is meaningful feedback that I can use to improve any future business pitch I encounter.

Business Proposal - Write Up Magazine

With the rise of self-publishing and the continued growth of the internet, the traditional barriers of entry into the publishing world are all but removed.  As a result of this, creative writing is becoming increasingly popular, both as a pastime and as a career.  This rise in interest is not just limited to adults however, with young people becoming increasingly involved in writing pursuits. There are now over 700 creative writing degrees on offer at UK universities as well as a new creative writing A-Level course from September 2013 onwards.

However, despite the growing interest among young adults in creative writing, there is no printed resource aimed at younger people with an interest in this field.  My business idea, a creative writing magazine aimed at young adults who love to write, aims to plug this gaping hole in the UK market.  The magazine will primarily consist of fiction content submitted by young adults. This allows young adults to not only read what their peers are writing, but also submit their own work with the realistic chance of having it published in printed form. It will allow young writers to gain experience and confidence, and give them the chance to have their work displayed to a wide-audience of like-minded people. In doing this, I believe that there is a huge opportunity to create not only a profitable magazine, but one that is appealing, engaging, enjoyable and rich in content.  

Assignment 2 Business Proposal Boston Books

For my business proposal I have created the outline for a digital company which develops e-books in a new multi-path format. Utilising the multi-path features of the choose your own adventure series, Boston books will be at the forefront of developing customisable e-books, hosting them online and providing customers with a format to read them on via App based services. The basis for the business stems from a want to step away from the traditional conventions of literature, instead allowing customers to choose their own path along the story. By making the company customer orientated the hope is that customers will be able to modify and change the e-books to their own tastes
In addition to this customisation, the business is unique with its approach to pricing, customer will be charged for e-book downloads however additional feature such as chapter selection and artwork is available as downloadable content at an additional cost. these initial costs are set at a low threshold meaning customers will purchase on impulse due to the perceived cheapness, this has been done to allow a steady flow of extra income for the business as its writers without scaring customers away with large upfront costs to purchase the book

Overall I feel the business has great potential and would be an area of interest for me to look into and develop at a later date.

Assignment 2 - Business Proposal

Recently in our class we've been working on devising an idea for a business and presenting it as a proposal. Mine is a community-based writing website, where writers can review and help one another with their work. The key incentive to set it apart from its many competitors is that the highest rated stories will be published in my company's ezine and annual, on a quarterly and yearly basis respectively.
The site is designed to grow organically - therefore the ezine and annual aspect will not be implemented until a sizeable userbase is reached. This will help foster an honest community too - rather than one where people fish for ratings for their work.
As a business, it will be dependent on investors. However, its community-based format allows it to develop as a brand, and become integral to lifestyles and perspectives in the writing community. From such a brand, a variety of avenues can become available for further investment.

Applied Project Proposal Presentation

In today's session (13/05/13), we presented our business plans to receive feedback and listen to each other's ideas. My business idea is a community forum, which would be run by a traditional publisher. The site would be utilised by publishers for market research; by authors to communicate with readers; and by readers who will have the opportunity to both communicate with authors and the web editor, and to suggest titles to the publisher that they would like to be published. Uniquely within the publishing industry, the site will request users to contribute a small amount towards the production of the book the user votes for. Crowdfunding is a useful tool for new ventures as the entrepreneur has the ability to engage with a community to gain feedback and ideas. I believe this site would be of most benefit to niche publishers. Osprey, for example, have sold £35,000 books based on user generated suggestions.

 

My Time at the London Book Fair

This year was the first time I had been to the London Book Fair and I enjoyed it immensely. However I noticed that one sector of publishing was more dominant at the fair, this was digital publishing. The digital zone was full of innovative businesses who were warring with each other to show the best technologies  and seminars about their new and exciting ventures. What I found interesting was that businesses which are not traditionally linked to the publishing world, such as Samsung, had large and bustling stands. It proved to me that the publishing world is not archaic and it, like lots of other sectors want to explore other digital options. I found that many of the stands were focused on the creation of apps and were exploring how to fully integrate this technology into the digital development of publishing companies. 

My favorite part of LBF was the marketing and publicity seminars. One particular marketing seminar turned how we as publishers research target audiences, on its head. Instead of discussing how to hit young target audiences with new and modern technologies, it discussed how to target the over 45's in campaigns and motivate them to maybe start using modern technologies. There was also a lot of discussion about digital marketing and publicity and I found it interesting how companies are using completely different strategies than the traditional model. 

However, what I did notice, that I found to be rather idiotic was that the digital zone was completely separate from the trade. Surely there shouldn't be a divide as it is imperative for trade publishers to be in the digital fold and using new publishing technologies to keep up with competition.  Maybe next year the organizers would have realised this also and it won't feel like two separate entities like this year.