Frequently-Asked Questions

What is Bindery?

Bindery is a membership platform for tastemakers of the book world to cultivate community, champion the authors and stories that matter to them, and earn a sustainable income doing so from the most passionate members of their audience. Tastemakers with larger communities, upon invitation, may open a publishing imprint that surfaces new books by authors their communities will love. Bindery partners with the tastemaker to design their imprint brand, solicit submissions, and manage editorial, design, printing, publicity, and distribution to everywhere books are sold.

Why should tastemakers choose which books get published?

Tastemakers create tremendous value for the publishing industry, surfacing hits in a world flooded with books. Tastemakers have both a strong point of view and taste that resonates with readers, as well as a way to reach those readers directly. Bindery partners with tastemakers, leveraging their unique points of view and platform, to publish high quality books with trade distribution.

We believe, in order to achieve better representation and more diversity on our bookshelves, that the decisions around what stories get published should be decentralized. Bindery empowers the people closest to a variety of reading communities—the tastemakers—to help deserving writers become visible.

Why would an author want to be published by Bindery?

Publishing with Bindery offers several advantages for authors: a strong royalty structure; quality editorial, design, marketing, and trade distribution; a tastemakers' marketing muscle and promotional efforts on behalf of each book; and a built in community of readers. In an age where authors are expected to be both writers and marketers of their work, Bindery allows authors to focus on what they do best: creating the stories that move us all.

Read more about our deal terms below.

Who built Bindery?

Bindery was built by a team of experienced publishing professionals, product leaders, booksellers, and authors with a passion for seeing incredible books connect with readers who love them. Our advisors and investors include leaders from the publishing and tech worlds, all united by the same mission. You can find our full bios on the Teams page.

How do I join Bindery as a tastemaker?

If you are interested in launching a community, please join the waitlist, and we'll reach out when we have capacity. Opening a publishing imprint through Bindery will remain invite-only. The creation of an imprint will rely both on a tastemaker's ability to cultivate a strong community on our platform as well as our ability to support the kinds of books they're interested in publishing.

What do I get as a community member?

Bindery’s content-enhanced bookshelf weaves bookish content and books together in an explorable experience. While anyone can peruse the bookshelf, some content is accessible only when you join the tastemaker’s membership. Membership benefits vary by tastemaker, but all include exclusive content and community perks. Tastemakers who have publishing imprints invite their community’s participation in the publishing process, create opportunities to meet authors, and offer special perks like early copies for members and getting your name printed on the thank-you page. Publishing memberships are expected to publish one to two original books a year, with larger communities expected to publish several books per year. Refer to an individual tastemaker’s site for details on what they offer.

For further FAQs about subscriptions, please see the Subscriber Questions section of this FAQ.

How do tastemakers, authors, and Bindery make money?

Tastemakers earn 75% of subscription revenue if running a curation-only membership space and 100% of affiliate revenue. At a larger community size, tastemakers we invite can elect to divert a portion of their membership earnings to partially fund the publication of new books by authors they know their communities will love. If they choose to do this, they will reduce their membership earnings to 50% of subscription revenue, diverting 25% to partially subsidize the cost of publishing a new book, including an advance payment to the author. (Bindery’s 25% also goes towards the book’s production budget.) Crucially, this allows us to offer authors 2x industry-standard royalties along with a $10k advance. Tastemakers, in exchange for taking a risk on the book, earn a 25% stake in the royalties as well. Bindery either earns 25% from subscription revenue in curation-only memberships or 25% on book royalties, incentivizing us to partner effectively with tastemakers and authors to make sure the books sell well.

What are the deal terms for Bindery authors?

We offer a standard $10k advance.

Bindery’s net earnings on all formats are split between author (50%), tastemaker (25%) and Bindery (25%). In dollars, this amounts to 2x the average per-book earnings on a traditional list price royalty. The royalty structure allows the author to earn out their advance at very low sales figures, with strong upside potential if their book sells well.

Why does Bindery pay royalties on net vs list price?

Bindery’s royalty structure is not only meant to signify our partnership—its financial effect is to include the author in efficiencies that are normally enjoyed by the publisher only.

• Net royalty structure helps authors capture value from more lucrative sales channels. With a traditional royalty based on list price, the author makes the same amount no matter where the book is sold and doesn't get to participate in the additional margin when their books are sold through more lucrative channels. (For example, Bindery’s books, when sold directly through tastemakers' direct channels, earn nearly double royalties because there is no wholesale discount.)
• At larger print runs, the price to print each unit goes down, increasing the publisher’s margin. A net royalty model allows the author to participate in these economies of scale along with the publisher.

How does Bindery calculate net royalty?

Publishers calculate net in a variety of ways, which is why transparency on this point is important. For us, net means (as codified in our author agreements) the retail price, minus the wholesale discount (up to 52% to brick-and-mortar retailers, less in certain channels, none for direct-to-consumer sales), minus the distributor's cut (~25%), less the per unit cost to print the book.

Any marketing costs, editorial and design costs, and other overhead costs are not included in our calculation of net.

Note that author earnings come from a variety of formats and sales channels. We structured our royalties off net so that the author can participate in the margin offered by various sales channels and formats.

As a reader, know that by supporting independent bookstores or buying direct from our tastemakers, you will ensure the Bindery authors earn more on every copy sold.

Does Bindery manage foreign and audio rights?

We do, and have established partnerships with major agencies in foreign and film/tv to shop our rights aggressively in Hollywood and abroad. Check out our team page to view our industry partners.

Is the tastemaker responsible for the production and distribution of an author's books?

Tastemakers decide what to greenlight, weigh in on key select creative decisions like cover design, and primarily create content for their audience throughout the publishing journey. Bindery’s books are distributed through Two Rivers, an Ingram brand (the world’s largest book distributor), into traditional trade channels. Alongside a tastemaker’s promotional efforts, Bindery handles traditional marketing activities, like review mailings and pitches to pre-publication trade review outlets, book review editors, targeted media outlets, and other influencers, to fully support the launch of all of our books.

What creative control do authors have?

Authors have creative control over all things editorial, with the guidance and support of our expert editorial teams. Authors have process approval on initial cover-concept directions, with tastemakers having approval on final cover art, leveraging the input of their Bindery community to ensure it hits the mark for the book’s readership and the author’s vision.

Does Bindery’s contract include AI protections?

Yes. We believe strongly in the human arts of curation and creation and are here to support artists. We will never use AI-generated art, narration, or text in our books, nor will our materials be offered for machine learning. Our contracts reflect the Author’s Guild recommended protections in this area.

What kinds of books does Bindery publish, and how many?

Bindery publishes trade paperbacks and hardcovers, primarily fiction. The number of books each tastemaker can publish will depend on the size of their membership community, with most imprints releasing 1–2 books per year.

How do I submit a manuscript to a Bindery tastemaker?

We accept submissions from literary agents on a rolling basis. We also host seasonal "pitchfests" to review submissions directly from authors without agents, and are pleased to report that our pitchfests have have resulted in several acquisitions. We are looking forward to having an operationally feasible rolling submissions process for authors without agents soon. Stay tuned on our social channels for more updates.

How do I know what benefits I'm eligible for?

You can check your eligibility for certain benefits at “Manage My Membership” in the menu of your tastemaker’s site. Here, you can review your eligibility for benefits and change your subscription tier. Physical benefit eligibility is tied to 90-day continuous duration at a given tier. You must be an active subscriber at the time the benefit is sent out in order to receive it.

Can I subscribe from anywhere in the world?

Because we are still early stage, note that at this time, only residents of the US and Canada are eligible to receive physical benefits. We're working to expand our range to be able to fulfill physical benefits globally.

What happens when I update my subscription?

If you choose to upgrade your membership to a higher tier, Stripe prorates your charge based on the date of your upgrade.

How can I help a tastemaker I subscribe to or the authors they publish succeed?

Tastemakers and authors thrive through positive word of mouth. Sharing your enjoyment of a tastemaker’s content, book recommendations, and community with people of shared taste is a powerful way to help extend their reach and impact. Similarly, sharing honest reviews of Bindery books to your community, on social media, Goodreads, or at retailer sites can have a profound positive impact on the success of those authors.

Any kind of harassment or personal attacks of reviewers in defense of Bindery tastemakers and authors is in violation of our community guidelines and potentially grounds for removal from the platform. We welcome all kinds of dialogue and disagreement about books and celebrate the diversity of tastes in the literary world.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel your subscription at any time from the account settings in the menu when you are logged in. If you choose to cancel your membership, you will have access to exclusive content through the end of the thirty-day period starting with your last payment.

I'm having an issue with the product or billing. Who do I contact?

Support requests can be submitted here.