WEbook
Encyclopedia
WEbook is an online community geared towards discovering new writers and helping them on their path to publication. It brings together writers, readers, and almost 80 literary agents, for the purpose of finding new talent, and helping them get published.
The vision of Israeli entrepreneur, Itai Kohavi, WEbook launched in April 2008. With corporate offices based in New York City
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1) PageToFame is a new kind of writing competition which allows writers to submit the first page of their manuscript for $9.95. Readers rate the pages and those that receive public approval are invited to submit a larger portion of their manuscript. 2) AgentInbox is an electronic author-to-literary agent query service. Authors are matched with literary agents who are interested in their manuscript's genre. In late April 2010, WEbook made an announcement saying that AgentInbox would soon have a fee.
Authors
WEbook as honors that are put on a members page. One of these honors are "Top Writer". 100 of the best writers on the website are added. To become a "Top Writer" one must have high ratings(ratings 1-5 stars, 5 being the best), views on their posts and must tend to their stories a lot.
Some of the TOP WRITERS are:
Stiped10
Squishy
Wenniepoo
Meghan97
and 96 others.
. It is currently being sold through online booksellers, as well as its own site.
Also, under the heading of Jan 20 2009: True Stories, Real People, One Day, WEbook collected stories about Inauguration Day 2009. The book, which included entries from 58 authors, launched on President's Day 2009 through the WEbook website and online booksellers. All profits from sales benefited 826 National
, a nonprofit tutoring writing and publishing organization.
In October 2008, WEbook was profiled by E-Commerce Times as a "startup to watch"
In October 2008, WEbook was named one of the first publishers specializing in the online publishing genre by Forbes.com
In March 2009, WEbook was named among the best sites on the World Wide Web on BBC News
In August 2010, WEbook was named Finalist in Lead411's New York City
Hot 125
, Digg
and DoubleClick
-- in June 2007. One of the company's six angel investors included ICQ
co-founder Yair Goldfinger, who is now a WEbook board member. In September, 2008 WEbook raised $5 million in funding. The round was led by WEbook’s new investor, Vertex Venture Capital and its existing backer, Greylock Partners Israel. The round also included investments from eight unnamed angel investors.
The vision of Israeli entrepreneur, Itai Kohavi, WEbook launched in April 2008. With corporate offices based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Site description
WEbook helps writers through two primary services:1) PageToFame is a new kind of writing competition which allows writers to submit the first page of their manuscript for $9.95. Readers rate the pages and those that receive public approval are invited to submit a larger portion of their manuscript. 2) AgentInbox is an electronic author-to-literary agent query service. Authors are matched with literary agents who are interested in their manuscript's genre. In late April 2010, WEbook made an announcement saying that AgentInbox would soon have a fee.
Authors
WEbook as honors that are put on a members page. One of these honors are "Top Writer". 100 of the best writers on the website are added. To become a "Top Writer" one must have high ratings(ratings 1-5 stars, 5 being the best), views on their posts and must tend to their stories a lot.
Some of the TOP WRITERS are:
Stiped10
Squishy
Wenniepoo
Meghan97
and 96 others.
History
WEbook started as a collaborative book publisher. WEbook published, 101 Things Every Man Should Know How To Do. 101 Things was written by 28 different authors and greenlit for publication by the WEbook community. The how-to guide includes entries such as how to grow a beard, bribing the cable guy and looking good in a SpeedoSpeedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
. It is currently being sold through online booksellers, as well as its own site.
Also, under the heading of Jan 20 2009: True Stories, Real People, One Day, WEbook collected stories about Inauguration Day 2009. The book, which included entries from 58 authors, launched on President's Day 2009 through the WEbook website and online booksellers. All profits from sales benefited 826 National
826 National
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, with expository and creative writing at eight locations across the USA...
, a nonprofit tutoring writing and publishing organization.
Awards & Recognitions
In April 2008, WEbook was named one of the best online spots for writers to work together in Washington Business JournalIn October 2008, WEbook was profiled by E-Commerce Times as a "startup to watch"
In October 2008, WEbook was named one of the first publishers specializing in the online publishing genre by Forbes.com
In March 2009, WEbook was named among the best sites on the World Wide Web on BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
In August 2010, WEbook was named Finalist in Lead411's New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Hot 125
Funding
Founded in February 2007, WEbook received a Series A round of "between $1 million and $5 million" from Greylock Israel Partners -- an early investor of FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
and DoubleClick
DoubleClick
DoubleClick is a subsidiary of Google that develops and provides Internet ad serving services. Its clients include agencies, marketers and publishers who serve customers like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L'Oréal, Palm, Inc., Apple Inc., Visa USA, Nike, Carlsberg among others...
-- in June 2007. One of the company's six angel investors included ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
co-founder Yair Goldfinger, who is now a WEbook board member. In September, 2008 WEbook raised $5 million in funding. The round was led by WEbook’s new investor, Vertex Venture Capital and its existing backer, Greylock Partners Israel. The round also included investments from eight unnamed angel investors.