Unbound provides authors and readers with a way to make ideas into actual books. The author can create a page to pitch their book idea. Unbound users can browse book pitches to find those that they might be interested in reading. When a user discovers a pitch they like, they can choose to support it. By providing a small donation to financially back the idea, the user can contribute to the books creation. If enough users contribute to an author’s pitch, then the other commences writing the book. Those who donate are given rewards based on how much they donated. These could be anything from a digital copy of the finished book to a real signed copy, their name in the book or lunch with the author. The user can also monitor progress in the writer’s shed. The shed is an area where the writer adds progress updates, blog posts and other information related to the project. User can also interact with other supporters as well as the author. Additional features include contests, quizzes and sharing features that enable users to recommend the pitches they support to others. User also earn Unbound credits each time they refer someone to the website.

Visit www.unbound.co.uk

Unbound.co.uk appeared in 2011 as a way to help new authors expand their readership and fund new projects. The site is relatively new and currently does not have an open submission policy. Authors can submit their ideas via their agents. Today, Unbound shows a great deal of promise as a way to promote and encourage new talent in the publishing industry.

There are a handful of websites out there that give users a way to promote and receive donations for projects. These can be effective, but most are tailored to a general audience. As long as the user’s project is accepted, it is listed. Unbound narrows down the project options to focus on books. The site hopes to help promote new talent by giving budding authors a place to showcase their work and receive support.

The Unbound website uses a very quaint, hand drawn style that works exceptionally well for the site. The color scheme is very low key, with neutral browns and gentle blue-greens that highlight the stylized stick figures found throughout the website. Visitors can find four links in the yellow header bar to help them learn more about Unbound and discover current book ideas that are asking for support.

New users can join the Unbound community by clicking the black “Create Account” link in the upper, right hand corner of the page. The link directs the user to the registration form. The form requires a first name, surname, email address and password as well as an optional promotion code. Authors can also join the Unbound community, however they must have their agent contact the site to discuss a pitch.

Users can create an Unbound account for free. There is no subscription fee or other charge for maintaining a membership. However the site is focused on obtaining donations for budding new authors. The user can choose from various donation levels, which start at around $17 and go up to as much as around $410. The user is given the opportunity to receive various rewards based on their donation level.

Unbound is a great resource for new authors and readers who might enjoy their work. The site gives the reader community a place to support new projects by lesser known authors. By donating, a user could possible contribute to the creation of the next best seller, or to their next favorite book.

• Browse through existing book pitches
• Visit the author’s shed for project updates and other resources
• Meet the author and other users who chose to support them
• Financially support a book idea you like
• Receive a reward based on how much you donated

Visit www.unbound.co.uk

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