Macmillan to Close Its Self-Publishing Unit, Pronoun

Macmillan to Close Its Self-Publishing Unit, Pronoun

Calvin Reid / publishersweekly.com

In a move that surprised many in the self-publishing community, Macmillan has announced that it will cease all operations at Pronoun, a self-publishing platform that it acquired in May 2016.

Fuente original: vía Macmillan to Close Its Self-Publishing Unit, Pronoun.

Jeff Seroy, senior v-p of publicity and marketing at Macmillan’s Farrar Straus and Giroux unit, confirmed the shutdown but offered no detail about the closure, and said that more information will be be forthcoming.

According to a statement posted on the Pronoun website on November 6, the site will not create new accounts or allow the publishing of any new titles. Distribution of Pronoun e-books will cease on January 15, 2018.

The post from Macmillan, entitled «Epilogue,» read: “Unfortunately, Pronoun’s story ends here. While many challenges in indie publishing remain unsolved, Macmillan is unable to continue Pronoun’s operation in its current form. Every option was considered before making the very difficult decision to end the business.”

At press time neither Macmillan nor Pronoun CEO Josh Brody responded to PW attempts to question why the site was closed. Brody said, in a January interview, that Pronoun had set new royalty rates and had spent the months since the acquisition integrating into Macmillan.

Originally launched in 2009 as Vook, an early e-book and interactive content production platform, the company pivoted in 2015 and relaunched itself as a self-publishing platform called Pronoununder the direction of Brody.

In May 2016 Pronoun was acquired by Macmillan, and Brody was kept on board as president. Ben Zhuk, Pronoun chief product officer, was named v-p of product for Macmillan. Pronoun had about 20 employees at the time of its acquisition by Macmillan, and all were retained in the deal. The Pronoun staffers were relocated to Macmillan’s office in the Flatiron Building.

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