Our thanks to Yeung Shing, Founder and CEO of TowerBabel, for this guest post.

The right tools and the right community can be just as important for writers as a solid plot and a clear voice. In creating our self-publishing writing platform TowerBabel, we had two main goals in mind: to equip authors with the tools they need to get their work seen, and to foster an environment of collaboration and creativity. You provide the words, and we can give you everything else.

Whether you’re an indie author wanting to get your work out there or someone who just loves reading, we think you’ll find the experience of using TowerBabel a compelling one; and as everything works from the Web, you can access your account from any device at any time.

The TowerBabel Toolbox

Here’s what our writing platform gives you: first and foremost, an intuitive, straightforward digital writing pad for you to get your ideas down on virtual paper. Formatting text and adding images is a breeze, and because everything is stored on the cloud and accessed through your browser, there’s no danger of losing your work through a computer crash or power cut.

Need to import work that you already have saved in text files or Word documents? No problem. Want to add a video to your page to illustrate a point or provide inspiration? TowerBabel can do that too. Give our advanced editor a try (or check out the TowerBabel tour) and you’ll see that we’ve built our software to be as dynamic and feature-rich as possible.

Each of your books has sections for an outline, an overview, its contributors and the different editions that have been published. Whether you are just getting started or managing a self-publishing empire, the platform that we’ve built is designed to be slick and uncluttered. It gets out of the way so that your words can take center stage.

Working with Others

Our platform is designed for collaboration. You can work on stories with other people, swap ideas and leave feedback for fellow writers using the TowerBabel platform. Once your ebook is ready to find a wider audience, you don’t have to email attachments around — you can simply share the link through private messages or on your social media channels. If you’re an indie author looking to get into self-publishing, TowerBabel is a resource that’s both powerful and easy to use.

Today’s ebooks are simply traditional books reformatted for a screen, but we think digital publishing can go way beyond this. The Web technologies that we have around us now can enrich the writing experience, in terms of distribution, collaboration, self-publishing, editing, and more besides.

Commit your literary efforts to TowerBabel, and you can unlock ideas and inspiration that you just can’t get from tapping text into Word. If there’s an ebook inside of you, then we want to help get it out by providing a platform that’s fresh, interactive and versatile. And as you connect with more writers and readers on TowerBabel, the benefits grow.

A Fresh Take

This self-publishing platform has plenty to offer readers too. Even if you never write a word, you can still discover a wealth of content, follow other users you’re interested in and share your thoughts on particular works. We want to build a community that loves the written word, where users get back more than they put in.

The rise of ebook and the self-publishing movement have broken down all kinds of barriers and obstacles for authors. We want to build something that makes the most of these new opportunities and which is created from the ground up with today’s technologies in mind.

We’re focused on innovating and enriching the storytelling process, both in the way stories are written and in the way they are shared. What’s more, we’re eager to learn from and respond to our community, and we can’t do any of this without your help. Why not join us?

Yeung Shing founded TowerBabel in April, 2013. Its mission is to simplify the way the way writers can create, collaborate and share stories.