Coming soon: The Verse app

What we’re building and how you can get involved

Aug 11, 2024

Thanks for showing your interest in Verse - it’s really exciting to have you here! Today we’re delving into what we’re working on, why, and how you can be part of it.

A bit of background: We are two friends who love reading and yet have so many gripes with the current experience - from rubbish search functionality and seeing the same 10 books everywhere to irrelevant recommendations and disorganised ‘to read’ lists. We thought hey, why don’t we make it better for all of us?

We’re being really purposeful about this to build a more fun, relaxed, sustainable and supportive reading experience. We are building a community - and we want you as part of that. It also means discussing books a lot, which makes it a really fun thing to work on.

What got us going on this?

The global book market is growing, and whilst audiobook entrants are converting non-readers, physical books still dominate and are preferred by younger audiences.
Recommendations for books are irrelevant and readers today don’t know, or remember, what to read next.
Existing solutions focus on ratings and reviews, but different tastes render these useless in determining whether you will like that book.
High quality digital experiences are expected, and no one is solving this for books. And no, this doesn’t mean digitising the entire experience.

Where do you fit in?

We want to solve your problems and co-create with you.

This brings us to here… diving into our thinking in more detail with you 👇.

Share Verse

If you know someone who would like what we’re doing, you can share it with them by hitting the button above! Thanks for your support.

What’s the problem we’re trying to solve?

We’ve spoken to over 150 readers (and counting!), and gained a wealth of insights which resonate with our own frustrations. Here are the top ones:

Existing solutions don’t solve the problem

75% of readers we spoke to read weekly but struggle to find trustworthy recommendations or discover something new. They report that existing solutions are glitchy and deliver a poor quality experience, and they revert back to keeping ‘to read’ lists via phone notes and whatsapp groups. Less than 10% were actively using existing book tracking apps.

Search and discovery doesn’t work

Not knowing whether you’re going to like a book is the biggest hurdle readers report in picking up a new one. And yet, search capability is poor and recommendations are generic. The algorithms recommending things have become homogenised resulting in everyone reading the same thing - just like every coffee shop and Airbnb look the same. We aren’t the same person, we have different, unique tastes and we deserve more nuanced curation.

Who is thinking about the reader?

Nothing connects the reader’s journey - from finding a book, to saving, buying, reading and then sharing it onwards. Readers use multiple platforms and services to discover and then purchase books, navigating on and offline experiences, with excess friction.

Couldn’t this be way more sustainable?

Books are expensive (heightening the pressure to select the perfect one and reducing natural exploration), and readers are looking for more convenient and affordable access to books. The physical books market is still dominant and is growing with Gen Z, who read more than any other generation. Readers are seeking to support authors and independent booksellers over online monopolies, and would prefer to buy sustainably.

How will Verse do things differently?

We put the needs of readers and writers first. We’re here to deliver the best of high quality digital experiences, in one curated platform, so you can feel passionate about books, be part of a community, and fall in love with reading again.

For readers

We want to elevate your reading experience through meticulously curated recommendations that align with your tastes:

Intuitive and beautiful features for tracking and managing your reading, making it effortless to stay organised.
Create and share lists of your recommendations, fostering a community of avid reader who enjoy sharing what they read and love with friends.
Stay ahead of the curve with updates on new releases and upcoming events form your favourite authors, ensuring you never miss anything again.
Ditch the reviews - eliminate the generic clutter and focus in on recommendations, tailored to your reading history and interests.
Buy, sell and donate your books, allowing you to support writers, booksellers and the planet.

For writers

Writers are central to our mission at Verse, and we are committed to building features that are a game-changer for their day to day experience.

A simple way to share what you're working on, recommend your favourite books and interact with readers who love your work. Remove the noise of social media - we’ll do everything else.
Empowering you with fair compensation. Verse ensures that writers receive a royalty on resales, creating a fairer and more sustainable literary ecosystem. Stop missing out on earnings from second-hand book sales.

Being here shows us you’re our kind of person - ready for something better! To help us contextualise your feedback, how would you best describe yourself?

The discoverer: I’m looking for great recommendations beyond the bestseller lists
The curator: I love sharing and recommending the books I love
The self improver: I read to learn and improve myself
The book clubber: I’m looking for books that suit a diverse range of interests and spark discussion

What’s next?

As we mentioned in our last post, we’ve spent the last 8 weeks refining our ideas in a start up accelerator. This means we are in build mode and are hosting our first community event next week to test out and get feedback on the design.

Fancy taking part in a future one? Drop us a comment or a DM! 👇

That’s all for now, and to make this fun in the meantime we share book lists every Sunday for your enjoyment.

Jen and Tom

weareverse.app