Why Writing Is Web3’s Most Promising New Niche

As a full-time independent writer, I’m often asked why I chose web3 vs. traditional publishing, or simply selling my books on Amazon. The answer is relatively simple: I believe that web3 platforms have the ability to radically transform how readers are incentivized and how writers/creators are compensated.

I finished writing my debut novel(s) in summer 2021; since then, I’ve spent countless hours researching potential publishing models, trying to understand what I call “the business of books.” I created my first Twitter thread about web3 publishing and NFT books in December 2021 in order to share some of my early findings.

Toward the end, I wrote: “It’s time for NFT books because it’s time for good incentives, greater transparency and value accrual to a real community of readers + writers.”

All these months later, that line still rings true to me—I'm now fully convinced that web3 is the best way for a new author to release a new piece of writing. Let’s dive in, shall we?

When it comes to the creator share of book sales in traditional and web2 markets, the numbers aren't great. Traditional publishers take upwards of eighty-five percent of revenues, and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service takes thirty percent—after printing costs. In addition, fewer than fifty percent of traditionally published titles ever break even, let alone generate a profit, and most authors never “earn out” their advances. That’s a pretty good definition of a bad deal for writers.

In contrast, web3 facilitates a peer-to-peer commerce model, which in turn means that creators get to keep more of the value of their own work. Thanks to Amazon, Audible and Spotify, we already accept that stories—including full-length fiction—can be digital assets. And selling a digital asset—the text of a book, an audio file, a book’s cover art—as an NFT is interesting and possibly revolutionary because it represents a new form of global, secure, peer-to-peer commerce.

I’ve frequently seen literary NFTs described as “a receipt for a digital book.” This is actually a terrible definition, because it fails to capture the fact that the book, the receipt and the payment method are all owned by the author and the reader throughout the transaction. And by enabling authors to transact directly with their readers, web3 publishing can accomplish three important things:

1) Web3 lowers the percentage of value drained away by intermediaries. In the web3 economy, creators typically keep upwards of eighty-five percent of their primary market sales. When writers keep more of their work’s value, that means they have more resources and time to build an audience—or even simply to write the next book.

2) Web3 safeguards and supports ownership of intellectual property. Establishing clear provenance and ownership of digital assets is what blockchain technology does best. And the peer-to-peer nature of blockchain transactions makes it easier to identify, communicate with, and reward readers and early supporters of a writing project.

3) Web3 enables functional secondary markets for digital goods. The smart contracts that power NFTs ensure that pre-set secondary market royalties are paid to creators instantly and securely at each point of sale—no waiting for quarterly checks or reports. I think readers are more likely to take a risk on a new book by an emerging author if they know they can recoup part of the list price by reselling the title after they finish reading it. (And they’re far more likely to take the risk if there’s a chance that they can sell the edition for more than they paid on primary.)

In the very near future, web3 publishing could offer new ways for authors to directly incentivize and attract readers, from literal ownership of a page, chapter or illustration, to financial rewards like royalty sharing for early supporters.

In addition, web3 provides creatives, especially writers, with an exceptional level of creative control over their work. I write across a number of genres, and I’ve discovered that working in web3 gives me a unique ability to design a reading experience for my collectors. With web3, I’m able to choose the platform and format that pairs best with any particular piece of my written work.

Last year, I decided to release my debut novel Death-Bringer as a limited-edition NFT series—a web3 native launch. My goal was to design the web3 reading experience that I’ve been looking for—an offering specifically for readers and collectors of full-length fiction. That goal led me to work with an independent developer to build shadowsbook.xyz, my own custom mint site, and a set of smart contracts powered by custom minting dApps.

I also decided to launch my novel as an NFT + physical project with multiple tiers, including original 1/1 artworks, physical books, a professional audiobook and portable eBooks designed for Kindle / Apple / Android. This certainly wasn’t the cheapest or easiest path, but I believe it will serve my readers, collectors and collaborators far better in the long run.

In fact, choosing web3 gave me the somewhat terrifying ability to guide every aspect of my publishing project. For better or worse, my fingerprints can be found on every detail, from cover design and font choice to pricing and supply. But I’m proud to say that Death-Bringer is the story I wanted to tell, not a book an NYC publisher focus-grouped to sell.

One piece of advice I often share with fellow writers is to take as much responsibility for their own creative work as they can. Taking more responsibility has forced me to level up my craft in myriad ways, to think about my writing from numerous perspectives—as an editor, reader, collector, marketer, CFO. Working in web3 hasn’t just made my creative work better, it’s also pushed me to become a more persistent, flexible, balanced creative.

My prediction from December 2021 remains true: there still isn’t one single roadmap or path to success for web3 writing and publishing. The future is all about refining and pressure-testing our ideas and premises, and being early means getting to try and fail first. But, as T.S. Eliot writes in Four Quartets: “For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.” And I, for one, consider myself pretty lucky to be living and writing in this version of the timeline.