Posted on February 7, 2024.
This is a story of why sticking to your values is the most important thing as authors and people. And this is how Ream plans to stick to our values as we grow to our vision: to be the biggest and best publishing platform in the world for fiction authors.
#68 Episode Transcript:
I think this is episode three of the Storytellers of the World Diaries. Uh, welcome back. This is Operation Storytellers Rule the World. And yes, it’s me sharing a little bit behind the scenes of how we’re building Reem, of where we’re going, and some lessons for you all as subscription authors. And today my takeaway is about your values.
I’m not sticking to your values. What I’m gonna share is a story of the last two weeks at re and. They’ve been probably the most challenging weeks in Ream’s history, and not because of anything in particular. Like, Ream’s going great, uh, we’re actually growing faster than ever, and there’s more people using the platform.
There’s, the team’s doing great, we’re able to grow the team. So, all that’s good. Like, on paper, Ream looks great. But, I am not one to live in the present. That is not my strong suit. That’s not even what I’m meant to do. I’m the CEO of Reem. I’m supposed to be looking at the future and seeing where are we going, how can we get there, and most importantly, how can we stay true to our values throughout it all.
And for those who don’t know the five core values of Reem, I’m going to share them with you. And I think in your author business, just in your life, it’s important to have core values. Things that you don’t violate. Things that you stick to. Things that you not only believe in, but live by. And the five things for us, in order.
Although, we always kind of want to stick to them all, but we do have an order for them. Is one, storytellers rule the world. To elaborate on this value, it’s simple. It’s giving authors the power to rule over your business, your content, and to be able to create amazing careers. But more than that, it’s a simple belief that regardless of whether Ream says storytellers rule or not, It’s actually true.
Storytellers do rule the world. You’re the ones who have the power in this industry. You’re the ones that make this actual world go round. We’re here to serve you. We’re here to empower you. The next one is Readers First. This is a big one. We want to help you, as storytellers, put your readers first. But, at the end of the day, like, stories would mean nothing without readers.
And, stories themselves, even, all start with us being readers first. The next one is Community is King. Literally, I mean this literally, and you’re gonna see in the future, and I’ll allude to this more later, how we’re gonna take this so freaking literally, unlike any other company in the planet. Community is King.
You are our community. You are our kings. We believe that, and we also want to empower you all to be able to grow your communities, and ultimately to Kind of change how publishing works to be centered around cuties. That’s more where we’re going with Operation Storytellers of the World. But with our fourth value, it’s first drafts are better than no drafts.
And look, this one is just important with any company that wants to move fast, that wants to be able to create things that help better the life of authors and readers. We want to get first drafts out. We want to experiment. We want to try new cool things. We want to make them better over time. And we encourage you all to do that too, right?
Having a first draft is better than having no draft. And the last value that we hold, to be true, and that really forms the foundation of all the decisions we make at REAM. It’s character over plot. And this one is, it’s not just about where you’re going, but actually how you get there. The actual process that matters.
And this is why, you know, it’s one thing to grow the authorship of Ream, but this is another thing. It’s why we don’t want to actually violate our character in doing so. Which is really like, you know, you don’t want to cut deals just to grow the platform. You know, every author, you want to treat the same and really Every time we make a decision, we always want to be sticking, you know, to our character.
And most importantly, having fun, right? Because that’s what all this is about, even as storytellers. We want to grow our membership. We want to grow our readership. But at the end of the day, like, if we’re not having fun, if we’re not loving it, if we can’t feel the passion as we’re doing it, like, that’s sad.
And we always want to keep that true to what we’re doing. So, okay, I just kind of gave you the five, like, core values of REAM. Why did I do that? Fundamentally, we always underscore the importance of values in our businesses, in our life, even. And I think it’s one of the biggest mistakes we can make, even as authors, because But, you know, at Ream, right, we have a team, we have a growing platform, of course we’ve got to have some values to be able to share with folks.
Of course we’ve got to have some things that can help bring us together. But you need the same thing as an author for your readership. If you don’t have some core values, you know you don’t have to have like five values laid out, you know, some corporate, boring PowerPoint that you share with readers, that’s overkill, to be frank.
But what you do need is some core values that underline the decision making processes in your business. And ultimately, how you interact with your readers. Why you’re doing it. Like, your values become your why. Because we’re basically trying to build a world where these values are true. Where these values are able to be lived out to their fullest.
And we’re not going to be able to create a future where story tells the world. Have a publishing industry where community is king. Be able to put our readers first. And be able to really have a place where it’s, you know, all about the character over plot. Rather than, you know, gaming the system, et cetera, all these other things.
If we can’t actually accomplish our mission, it’s so important. And when thinking about our future at Ream, we’ve had some big decisions to make in the last few weeks because we launched Discovery. And it was really exciting to see so many of you using it. But you know, we realized something when we did that.
You know, we realized something, which is that discovery, like, is the most important thing to authors, and rightfully so. Like, it is kind of the lifeblood of publishing. Like, if new readers aren’t discovering our books, even if we have the most loyal fan base in the world, eventually, that fan base might go away.
Might be in the story world forever. If we don’t have new readers inflowing into our story worlds, we’re gonna shrink. And it’s not going to be good for our author business. And it’s not going to be good for the continuation of our stories. So, we need Discovery. It’s the most important thing. Regardless of your stage, everyone wants Discovery.
And we’re so, so gung ho in subscriptions, on under promising and over delivering. It’s the most important thing to us. Yet, when we launched Discovery, I had to be honest with ourselves and realize something. That we didn’t over deliver here. We did not. We may have even under delivered, depending on which author we’re talking to.
And why we did is, is simple. Discovery on Ream’s great as it is. It’s a great platform, and it’s a great space to be able to have your books seen. But ultimately, Discovery, when you compare it to other subscription platforms on Ream, is far better. But you’re not comparing Discovery on Ream to other subscription platforms.
Rightfully so. You’re comparing Ream. To other serial fiction platforms, to other retailers, and thinking, Is Discovery on Ream really better than those platforms? In its early days? No, it’s probably not. It’s going to take us a while to get there. And we’re going to build to get there. But, for the first time, we had that moment.
Almost a crucible moment, where one of the core advice that we give you, that we try and stick to, you know, under promise and over deliver. We just didn’t do and to be honest, I think it was almost impossible for us to do with something as big as discovery Right discovery 1. 01 ream How could we knock that one out of the park when the expectations are so high and it’s gonna naturally take a long time To keep iterating and making that product better, but when this happened, it was a wake up call for me It was a moment.
I was like, what are we really doing here at ream and why? Why did we really do discovery because? If we did Discovery just to, you know, compete and, you know, build a slightly better version of another subscription platform, then, like, Clearly, like, we don’t need this. Like, Discovery is us competing with every platform in the world now.
Do we really want to do this? Like, like, honestly, like, I, I, I had to pull everyone together, like, do we really want to do this? And the answer was yes, obviously. Like, yes, sorry. Cats are the bag, I suppose. Like, Storytellers of the World. Cannot be true unless you have a platform that enables you to start, grow, and supercharge your career full stop.
We have to be a discovery platform. And with that, we’re taking a multi five plus year bet on that. But, very importantly here, we’re not giving up on the subscription platform. That’s the core of what we still do. So now we suddenly have to keep maintaining, keep building out discovery more, because it’s a core to the long term vision of Rean.
But, continue at the same pace, if not quicker, developing out the subscription platform and making it better. And Ream, although we’re doing great, we’re still a small team, which means we’ve got to start to think about growing. We’ve got to start to think about what does it take to achieve our true vision?
What we’ll call Operation Storytellers Rule the World. What does it take to do that? The answer is pretty simple.
Ream’s mission has always been to create a future of storytellers in the world. And to do that, we have to be the best publishing platform in the world. We’re working hard to get there, but, to be the best publishing platform in the world, we also have to be the biggest. And this is a really crazy realization, but it’s true.
It’s just true. Because discovery is the most important thing to authors. And rightfully so. It’s the biggest problem. And the best discovery platform isn’t the one with the best features or, you know, the best layout or tagging. It’s the biggest. It’s the biggest. All these things can help you become the biggest but that is the best discovery platform.
And essentially if we’re not serious about really going and doing that then we should just go and unpublish the code for discovery and go on and just keep building the subscription tools in the back end. But we’re not going to do that. We won’t ever do that. Because it’s time for Operation Storytellers of the World.
Our 2030 vision. You see, when we started Ream, I was always thinking ahead to, like, what my life would look like when I graduated college. And, you know, working full time on Ream, being able to have the subscription platform. But, to be honest, that was never what Ream was actually about. Why I got passionate about starting Ream was about one thing.
Changing book discovery. And why I’m so obsessed with that is because the old model of discovery nearly killed me, and no, that’s not hyperbole. It nearly killed me. Because I became an algorithm. And algorithms are just abstractions of our feelings. They’re not actually understanding what readers are really thinking and feeling.
And especially when you get to long form content, algorithms aren’t always the best at actually driving discovery of great content. And for me, I was creating YouTube videos at the time. This was after publishing 12 sci fi books. And I deeply, at my core, did not feel good enough. And the only way that I was going to feel good enough is if I achieved what is the most important thing to creators, which is discovery.
And to get that discovery, it felt like I had to create content that the algorithm wanted me to create. Clickable, retention heavy. Unbelievably, basically, gamified, risky content. And what that ended up me doing was risking my life over a series of YouTube videos. I was 18, going on 19 years old, willing to give up anything to make it.
Willing to risk my life. One day I’ll probably share a documentary about that. Share what that process was like, because I have footage of it all, and I keep it mostly locked, locked down. Because, well, I’ve been since then trying to figure out how to solve that problem. Which is, if it’s not for some algorithm, if it’s not for some system that we have to game, if it’s not for some publisher that we have to suck up to, if it’s not for some platform that we have to give all our control and royalties to, then what is it?
What is it, my friends? That is what we’re trying to do. And if you’ve read my essays, No More Devils, Bargains, No More This, you, you know that. But the scope of what we’re trying to do is, is as big as it can get. And that is what we’re going for. Because the existing discovery system is broken. It’s poor for a lot of people’s mental health.
It almost killed me. And I don’t want to have that happen to anyone else. It’s a better system for discovery and not just a better algorithm or better tagging, but fundamentally at an atomic level, a different and better way to discover books that changes ultimately the business model. We have not released that yet.
That is what we’re working towards. And once we do release that, that vision is we want to scale and grow and literally own together. Foreshadowing there. It will be the biggest day in publishing’s history. And now I’m working backwards to that date. And on that date, we’ll be able to scale and grow and release that vision,
and how we can get there. And, God, it’s hard. Not gonna lie. In a fun way, it’s like a big challenge. It’s like, how do we do this? How do we change an industry that feels almost insurmountably dominated by the big river? And, look, I think we have the strategy. I think we’re more obsessed with this than anyone, period.
But how do we go to war here? And how do we ultimately move faster? And do everything we’re doing now even better? So that we can continue being under promising and over delivering in everything we do. And then that’s when you sit back and you go, Wow. What do we do? How do we grow? How do we scale? But how do we stick to our values?
We’re storytellers of the world. We’re a Cuneus King. We’re a character of a plot. We put readers first. How do we climb the tallest mountain? How do we arm ourselves for this war of attrition but stick to our values? But stick to why and what we did this for? Because so many companies lose that. So many companies never have it.
Most don’t have it, let’s be frank. But the few that do usually end up losing it. We can’t. We can’t. Because all of it would be lost if we’d lose that. And everything for me over the last few weeks has been about figuring out this problem. How do we, how do we ultimately win for you all? Go for gold. And how do we do it in a way?
In which we retain our character and our values.
We have that plan. I know I can’t reveal it. I’m sorry. I know, I know, I can’t reveal it. But what I can say is this, Indies will be Indies. Indies will be bootstrapped to the end of the day, and that is still where we’re at and where we will be. And with Cuneus King, There can’t be any outsiders. It’s got to be us.
We’ve got to do this together, which is where we’re at. So we’re excited to be growing the team. We’re excited to be behind the scenes working on rolling out a lot of new things to build the foundation for what is this new future for publishing. This vision for storytellers of the world. And that foundation will involve a lot of cool things like Lots of in house newsletter features.
Huge investments in the community section. We have huge investments to make it full stack. Like, you don’t even need to use Facebook groups anymore. That’s where we’re headed to. Not in a far future, but in this calendar year. Audio, being able to do that. Print, we need print books. We need it. Bundles for your subscription, basically.
Uh, taking cross promos on steroids. I love the cross promos I’m seeing, y’all, but like, we can do so much better, just give us some time. And all of this being the foundation to what we’re really building towards. Which is not Discovery 1. 0, but Discovery 2. 0. And Discovery 2. 0 isn’t a slightly better algorithm.
It will change the business model of publishing forever. Discovery 2. 0. That is what all of this is building towards. And we can’t wait. We’re gonna work and work and work until we can do this. I mean I literally think we can get Discovery 2. 0, that big tentpole vision out, hopefully in about a year and a half.
And in between now, we’re going to be doing all these other things building towards it that are going to make your life better as an author. And we can do it. With our team. With our team. With everything we’ve got. We’ve got the plan. We’re going to make it happen. And for those who don’t know, I graduate school in like three months.
I basically spent all my time in this, like, hyper obsessing, but I can do even more of that, so, like, it’s gonna be great for everyone. I can’t wait. And, I am so excited that I see it. I see the light. I see how we can do this. I see how we can win this war. The Storyteller War. And create this future. I know it.
I believe in us. And not only just us as a team, but us as a community. If there’s any community in the world that can do this, then that could change this industry. It is us. And I share this with you today to let you know that we’re doing exactly what we said we were going to do. We’re doubling down this year on subscriptions, on our community, on our platform, on our values because it’s all worked so well that I can’t even imagine what will happen when we double down this year and where we can go because we’re really just building the foundation for something much bigger here.
For something that is truly monumental and for something that I’ve dreamed about creating for years and years and years. That’s the real reason we got 3, which isn’t about subscriptions, which isn’t about some brand new algorithm, but changing how Discovery works from the ground up. Discovery 2. 0. In the meantime, these decisions are hard and you get to these sections where there can be an easy way out.
There can be an easy way out where it’s like, Oh, you know, it would be so much easier if we just took that shortcut here or, you know. Let this outsider in here in that capacity or x y z whatever it is And you can start to justify and be like, oh, okay, you know At the end of the day like we still want to create this feature with storytellers in the world so It’s okay, right?
Right. No It’s not And whenever you think there’s an easy way to do what you’re doing Or hack or a way to get around it a way to game the system. There isn’t There’s only one way which is sticking to your values I’m playing the long game. And that’s what we’re doing. Playing the long game, sticking to our values.
And I share this with you because being an author, you have to do the same thing. In a way, you’re trying to do the impossible. It’s not easy to make a living as an author. Most folks don’t, as we know. I don’t say that to be harsh, I just say that because it’s true. You, in a way, have to go to war. Not with other authors.
We’re all in this shit together. But the platforms and the people who are trying to hold you back. The publishers, the, the, the retailers. All these things that are just trying to hold you down. To try and take more money from you. To try and make it harder for you to get along. Look, we’re going to war with you.
We want to take it all down. All of it. But, this is part of the journey. You’re going to have that darkest night where you go, What do we do? How do we get through this? Are we even able to do it? And I can tell you this Never for a day have I doubted us RQD And what you’re capable of and I know you can do it.
So if you ever had that moment where you question yourself Don’t if you’re at that moment where you decide is there an easy way out here To go work with xyz to go and you know, do that little marketing hack. Whatever it is that goes against your values don’t Don’t Because life’s too short And the world and history will be written by people who actually change the game.
Who write their own rules. Rather than sticking to what they think society needs them to do. And sticking to that next trend and that next thing that everyone’s hopping on. Screw that. There’s only one thing that matters. Which is living the life that you want to live. And putting everything into what that dream is.
Everything that you can, of course. We’re lucky that we can put a lot into this now. Supported by all of you who have helped us build this platform, helped us build this community. I just want to say thank you. I just want to say that there’s big things ahead, and that we’ve been quiet, watched Discovery, sitting back, except we’re not.
We’re plotting. Planning. And, there’s going to be something really special coming. Something that I’m not sure quite anyone expects, but it will be the coolest thing that’s happened. And not just because it’s a feature, but because we’re sticking so true to our values and taking it so literally, that it’s going to give everyone an amazing opportunity to create this future with us.
And in the meantime, I want to help create your future in your career. So let me know how we can help. Let the team know. We’re putting a lot of effort into growing our systems behind the scenes to be able to make a better experience for all of you. I’m grateful for your patience with us. I’m grateful for your support.
And for anyone that you share Reem with, just know that you’re inviting them into something that is the beginning. Chapter one, that we’re now closing that book and moving on to chapter two of something really, really special. And for those who have questions about Reem, for those who have questions about subscriptions in general, we have the Facebook group, we’ve got the community forum at Reem, all linked in the description down below.
But, my one last takeaway for you all, and the one last thing that I want you all to remember, no matter what, no matter what, is that at the end of the day, no matter what anyone else tells you, no matter how it feels, no matter how challenging the day is, no matter how hard it is to get those words out, You are doing something beautiful just by putting yourself out there and creating the stories you love.
You are making the world a better place. You are making your life better. And if you can return to that passion, if you can try and stoke that flame and never leave that, that is what keeps you alive. It’s not gonna be some stupid number of sales. It’s not gonna be some review count or some award. That makes you feel fulfilled.
It’s going to be knowing that in your heart You told the story that you needed to tell And you shared it with the readers that needed to hear it We want to empower you to do that and we have a story of our own to tell A story that changes the industry for the better a story That gives you the ability To connect directly with your fans to build sustainable income To literally change the foundation Of what it not only means to be an author, but what the business of publishing looks like.
That future is one where Storytellers Rule the World. We’re gonna create it together. And this is the announcement of Operation Storytellers Rule the World. I wish I could share more. But this is all I have for now. But there’ll be more to come. There’ll be some sprinkles, some breadcrumbs here and there.
And eventually, it’s all gonna become clear.
I’m ready for it. But for now, I’m going to step out of the future, I’m going to move into the present, and I can’t wait for all the fun things to come shortly on the platform. Big scheduling update, big community updates, big new format update, hint audiobooks coming soon. But in the meantime, just know how grateful we are for our view, and know that this is a new generation of publishing, and this is a new generation of not only what is possible as an author, But of how to build a publishing platform.
And that’s why I’m sharing this all with you. Because we have a different approach. And one of those values is Cuny is King. So I report to you. I’ll be back soon. And in the meantime, don’t forget, as always, storytellers rule the world.