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Got story to tell? Looking to build an audience? What this startup can offer might intrigue you

Story-sharing platform Storial is what you get when you put four published authors —who also happened to have strong background in tech business— in one place and ask them to solve the challenge faced by many aspiring authors.

“We’ve been in the book industry for quite some time, and we see that the world is getting more digital these days. So we came up with the plan to combine digital and reading or writing experience,” wrote Steve Wirawan, CEO of Storial, in an e-mail to e27.

As described in the startup’s introductory video, young writers need a forum where they can share their works and receive feedbacks from fellow writers that will help them develop their skills as a writer. At the other hand, there is also a strong demand from readers for fresh, new works that they can access through their mobile devices.

So founders Wirawan, Sofia, Aulia ‘Ollie’ Halimatussadiah (Girls & Tech being a famous book of hers), and Brilliant Yotenega created a platform where authors can upload stories by chapters, then have them read and reviewed by fellow users. The platform also enables users to co-write a story, and it even allow writers to monetise from their works.

“Writers will have a chance to receive royalty by having their book published … also from the making of clip or movie based on their stories, through us as the arranger,” explained Wirawan.

The startup recently launched a mobile app that enables users to upload and read stories more easily, targeting 10,000 users for the next six months. First available in Android, the app will be available for iOS devices soon.

Storial was founded in November 2015, and it is currently run by a team of four managers, two staffs, and 20 volunteers from its South Jakarta HQ.

The company is affiliated with the self-publishing company NulisBuku, which was founded by Yotenega.

Also Read: Ollie to women in tech: Growth starts with the decision to try

In reaching out to its targeted audience, Storial combines both online and offline activities.

The startup hosted writing workshops such as a digital content-making workshop at the recent Social Media Week Jakarta event. The event brought top Indonesian non-fiction writer Moammar Emka and Ollie herself, who had written and published more than 20 books on fiction and tech business.

“This has been the most effective method to attract users. We also engage popular writers who already joined Storial, so that they will help us with the promotions through social media, and their blog as well,” explained Wirawan.

By far, Storial has managed to secure 2,654 registered users with 1,808 books and 6,805 chapters published in its platform.

Also Read: Indonesian bookworms can check out these sites for their reading fix

When asked about the company’s big plan for 2016, Wirawan’s reply is firm.

“Our plan for 2016 is to secure funding with investors,” he said, adding that the team also targeted 15,000 registered users by end of 2016 with one million page views per month.

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