Digital comics company Graphicly is looking to change the publishing game.

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First came a great digital comic book experience. Then a self-contained comic book community was empowered with the ability to read and discuss together. Followed by the expansion of the app onto just about every platform imaginable.

All the time the Graphicly team has been close to the apps community of users, learning, testing and learning some more. Their business development should be applauded too. Some how hooking up with the major comic book publishers early on, at a time when these old school gate keepers still resisted any move towards digital publishing was undoubtedly crucial. Not only for Graphicly’s survival and potential success, but also playing a part in pushing the whole industry forward.Graphicly has worked closely with numerous indie publishers, experimenting with features, exclusive content and pricing (Did I mention this is a startup with paying customers!?!), in a bid to provide value for customers and at the same time provide opportunities for creators and publishers to reach as many fans as possible.

Every thing the team has learned during this time has led up to yesterdays announcement that they will be opening up a self-publishing platform.Micah Baldwin, Graphicly founder and CEO said “By opening up our proven digital distribution platform, we now provide these services, while giving authors and publishers full control of their content and revenue streams and a deep understanding of how readers are engaging with their content. We believe our customer’s books should be available in every marketplace imaginable, with the knowledge and support to properly market and promote them.” 

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Interestingly where as Apple’s iBook Author offering is free to publish with but only distributes on Apple’s own platform and gives up much of the creator’s rights to Apple, Graphicaly will launch with a flat fee model, offer distribution to iOS, Android, Web and Facebook. The creator sets the retail price, pays no commission and retains full rights to their creative work.

Throw in real-time analytics to help the self-publisher understand how readers are engaging with their content and Graphicly sounds pretty damn awesome, right?

Congrats to +Micah Baldwin and the awesome team at +Graphicly, I certainly look forward to making the most of this new service as a consumer of the creative works it will inspire.