PublishDrive’s 2023 Year in Review

Reflecting on a year of milestones, advancements, and growth, it's time to delve into PublishDrive's remarkable journey through the past twelve months. 

From innovative tools and exciting features to expanding our reach across new stores and welcoming a wave of enthusiastic authors and publishers, our year in review is a testament to an incredibly productive and transformative period. 

Join us as we look back at the events, webinars, and strides that shaped PublishDrive's impactful year, marking it as a pivotal chapter in our ongoing mission to empower authors and publishers worldwide.

Partnerships & Webinars

PublishDrive established collaborations through link exchanges, blog post exchanges, and insightful webinars with esteemed partners. These engagements were designed not only to foster mutual growth but also to empower and educate authors within the publishing realm. 

1. Webinar on Dictation with Nick Thacker, USA Today bestselling author

Authors possess various tools to craft their stories, and dictation has emerged as a rapid drafting method, boosting daily word counts for many. Nick Thacker, a bestselling author, shared invaluable insights on maximizing word output through dictation during a webinar in partnership with PublishDrive.

2.  Publishing Success with Marc Reklau

In this webinar, Marc Reklau shares his valuable insights and advice for aspiring authors looking to make their mark in the industry.

In this captivating conversation, Marc reveals his proven strategies and techniques that have helped countless authors skyrocket their careers.

3. Wide for the Win with Monica Leonelle and Danica Favorite

Our Community Manager, Danica Favorite, had an interesting talk with Monica Leonelle about PublishDrive and how the platform can help you as a distributor to publish wide and reach international readers.

4. On AI Writing with Sudowrite

Another great webinar was possible thanks to Sudowrite and a platform demo that showed us how authors can tap into the power of AI to craft beautiful stories faster.

Events

Participating in publishing-related events has been instrumental for PublishDrive. These engagements are invaluable platforms for us to forge impactful partnerships and continually enhance our understanding of the ever-evolving publishing industry.

By actively engaging in these events, we seize opportunities to connect with industry leaders, aspiring authors, and fellow innovators. These interactions provide invaluable insights, enabling us to stay at the forefront of industry trends, technological advancements, and user needs.

1. London Book Fair

PublishDrive was present at the London Book Fair, the place where global publishing comes together to exchange ideas and experiences from the industry. Our team had a great meeting with our friends at OverDrive.

2. Frankfurt Book Fair

Stephen Griffin, Growth Director, Robert Csizmar, CTO, and Dora Gebei, Head of Operations, attended the fair, where they met with publishers, literary agents, authors, librarians, booksellers, and other industry professionals.

3. NINC

Danica Favorite participated in NINC’s conference, which serves as a resource hub, providing networking opportunities, industry insights, and support to help authors navigate the publishing landscape.

4. ALLi Online Conference

Danica talked at the ALLi Online Conference about how a "scaling mindset" can boost your reach and book sales while improving quality. She offered practical tips for efficiency and ways to elevate your career as an author.

5. 20Books Vegas

She also attended the 20Books Vegas (yep, busy year for Danica!), where she met quite a few industry professionals, including Cat Coluccio, who uses PublishDrive. Danica showed her ways to use the platform she didn't know about.

6. SPS Live Conference

PublishDrive had a booth at the SPS Live Conference in London, where our team connected industry professionals, authors, publishers, and innovators. The SPS Live conference provides an excellent platform for networking, discovering the latest trends, and gaining valuable insights to elevate your publishing journey.

Co-Marketing Campaigns

We also partnered with Kirkus Reviews and Fictionary, two platforms meant to help authors in their publishing process.

New Stores

This year, we expanded to new markets, helping authors with every book format distribution:

1. Repro India

PublishDrive partnered with Repro India for print-on-demand distribution in India, thus expanding our reach in Asia even more.

2. Apple Digital Narration

The audiobook format is becoming increasingly popular, and authors need this format to tap into new audiences. As an Apple Books preferred partner, we integrated their digital narration feature. With Apple digital narration, authors can convert ebooks into audiobooks, easily accessing multi-format publishing. 

3. Spotify

Spotify is the world’s largest audio streaming platform, with more than 433 million monthly listeners. Users get access to a gigantic collection of music, podcasts, and audiobooks. 

PublishDrive helps authors reach listeners on this popular platform to expand their audience.

New Tools

1. Sales events

The publishing journey doesn’t stop after your books are published. You need to promote them continuously. That’s why we have built-in marketing tools, including the newest addition: sales events. They allow you to see the various in-house promotions available at many of our retailers.

2. Print order copy

PublishDrive customers can order physical copies of POD titles at the lowest possible costs. With this feature, you can order copies to be printed from your print-on-demand (POD) titles uploaded to PublishDrive. Printed copies are shipped to the address you provide. These copies may be used for commercial resells, signings, promotions, gifts, and more.

3. Print-on-demand converter

The new print-on-demand converter is a game-changer for authors and publishers. This feature simplifies converting book files into print-ready formats, making it efficient and cost-effective.

Authors can upload their content files in various formats like PDF, docx, or epub and then specify book manufacturing details such as trim size, binding type, and cover laminate type. The tool also facilitates the creation of book covers by allowing users to input book details, upload images, and select styles.

New Product Layout

We analyzed how PublishDrive authors navigate our site and use tools. We revamped the account menu based on these insights for a simpler experience. Those using Abacus for royalty splitting can now toggle between two clean menus. We improved the help menu's accessibility and developed a clear six-step tutorial available on both web and mobile platforms for your convenience.

New Features

1. Sales analytics

We changed the Sales Analytics dashboard to simplify data access for your business needs. Now, you can filter by date, sales type (free or paid), book, series, countries, stores, and formats. This update also includes data for sales and preorders.

2. Google account setup

We simplified the way you can publish your book to Google Play Books through PublishDrive. 

AI Chatbot

We integrated an AI chatbot to help as many users as possible with their inquiries. The bot answers promptly to all PublishDrive-related questions and offers answers from the self-publishing community. 

New Team Member: Benji Was Born 

This year, we also welcomed the newest addition to the PublishDrive family – our CEO's baby boy! This special moment marks a milestone not just in Kinga’s life but in the heart of our company's journey. As our CEO embraces this incredible chapter, we celebrate the joy and blessings this little one brings to our extended PublishDrive family.

Final Thoughts

As we wrap up the fantastic ride that was PublishDrive's 2023, it's been a year packed with big wins and incredible growth. We've hustled hard, adding new stores and great tools and features while teaming up with fantastic folks and sharing knowledge through webinars.

Looking back, we're grateful for the journey, the lessons, and the partnerships that made this year so special. 

Here's to an even brighter, more fantastic year ahead!