Four months after Amazon launched a crowdsourced publishing platform that allows Kindle readers to kind-of, sort-of have a say in what unpublished books and hopeful authors reach their devices, the company is set to release the first 10 Kindle Scout titles next month.

TechCrunch reports that the first 10 books, which cover a range of genres including romance, thriller and science fiction, are set to be published on March 3. Pre-orders of the titles can be made starting today.

In all, Amazon has approved 21 titles from previously unknown authors through the platform. The remaining 11 books will be published at a later date.

The process isn’t that different from the way Amazon selects which original shows to produce for its Prime streaming service. In that instance, viewers are given access to pilot episodes for a slate of contenders and then asked to vote on the ones they would like to see continue as full-fledged shows.

Kindle Scout, which launched in October, provides readers with excerpts of several unpublished pieces of work. After reading the selections users vote for up to three books to be published. With new work being added each day, users can continually reevaluate their votes.

Although the program gives readers the feeling that they are making the choice in who gets published and who doesn’t, Amazon ultimately holds all the decision-making power.

At the end of the 30-day reader voting period, the Kindle Scout team reviews the books with the most votes and determines which three will be published.

Still, readers who voted for the approved titles are rewarded for their efforts in the form of a free, full-length Kindle edition of the book one week before the piece is officially released.

Authors who are selected to be published through Kindle Scout receive a $1,500 advance, a five-year renewable term, easy rights reversions and Amazon marketing. Published authors also have to split the royalties 50-50 with Amazon.

TechCrunch reports that authors published through the platform receive a guarantee of sorts from Amazon. If their book doesn’t earn at least $25,000 over a five-year period, the author can request their digital publishing rights revert so they can take their business to another publisher.

The First Books From Amazon’s Crowdsourced Publishing Platform Arrive March 3 [TechCrunch]

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