By Dennis Abrams

Digital Book World reports that Vook is “rebranding” as an “author-centric publishing platform” called Pronoun.

They write: “The strategy shift comes eight months after acquiring the short-form eBook publisher Bylines and more than a year after buying Booklr, a data and analytics start-up.”

“As Pronoun, Vook aimed to put those two properties to use alongside its own production and distribution system on behalf of authors who publish through the new platform, which will be free to use when it launches publicly.”

Authors who publish through Pronoun control their work and their rights, and earn 100% of the royalties from their work.

In a press release, Josh Brody, Chief Executive Officer, Pronoun, said:

“Pronoun is committed to changing the publishing model by making it open, and by making it free. The book publishing industry’s structure pre-dates electricity. Authors seek a viable alternative — both to legacy publishing, with its exclusivity and restrictions, and to self-publishing, with its complexity, limitations, and high costs. Pronoun starts with the author at its core, and builds from there.”

Ben Zhuk, Pronoun’s Chief Product Officer, added:

“Digital technologies have transformed every creative industry, from iTunes in music to YouTube in video. The same is now happening to the book industry, and publishers are unable and unwilling to keep pace with that change. Technology drastically changes the ways digital books can be produced, distributed, and marketed. The question is whether new technologies will be used to impoverish authors, or to empower them. Our mission at Pronouns is to put authors first — by building free digital tools that help them find and reach their audience for the lifetime of their books, not just at launch.”

Pronoun is currently available by invitation only.