It's hard for a new book to find readers. It's even harder for a new author. The Story Elements system flips discovery on its head and gathers them for you.

The main approaches conventional ebook stores use to help sell your book are word-of-mouth and "similar titles" tables. GoodReads is among the best of these. These work great… if your book already has an audience. They do nothing to get you over the first and biggest hurdle of initial reader discovery.

When it comes to initial discovery, conventional ebook stores still act as though they're made of bricks and mortar-as though readers can just wander through the stacks in a particular genre and find a book through serendipity.

We have news for these stores: there aren't any stacks on the Web! And a particular genre can contain thousands, even tens of thousands of books. If there were stacks, they'd be higher than the Empire State Building. Good luck finding any book.

Now, Even More Than Fifty Shades!

The usual genres just don't work hard enough. Most books don't really fit in one particular category. Imagine if Douglas Adams were an unknown self-publishing author. On what shelf would a bookseller put his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Science Fiction. Now, what if you were browsing the gigantic, Empire State Building-high Science Fiction stacks in hopes of finding a funny science fiction novel? Remember, you've never heard of Douglas Adams. Your chance of finding his book would be like finding a particular star without a star chart.

Scribl greatly increases the odds of finding the next unknown Hitchhiker's Guide. We created 20 specific Story Elements to let readers find exactly the right book. Instead of aimlessly wandering through the Romance, Horror, or Fantasy categories, the reader can zero in on a romantic book that contains magic and has a creepy feel. Or she can hunt for a book with a sports theme and a main character who's Roman Catholic. Or a violent action story set in Europe. If none of these elements appeals, there are several billion other combinations to try.

We Make It Easy for You

It's simple to set Story Elements for your books. Just select the best matches through our guided submission process, and your future fans will discover you.

But there's more. Besides the Story Elements, you can set up to five specific keywords for your book. That way readers can find your romantic, magic-themed sports book about the Seattle Seahawks; or your science fiction detective novel about an epidemic based on a genetically modified form of Ebola.

Your book will never get lost in the shelves.