A team of 10 relatively young entrepreneurs in Italy have teamed up to create something quite disruptive in the collaborative writing space. The four founders and six collaborators are all between the ages of 24 and 26. Their startup called 20lin.es is set to debut on May 10th during the International Book Fair in Turin.
So how does it work? Writers collaborate with each other in what co-founder Alessandro Biggi calls a 20×6 format. The writers collaborate on what 20lin.es calls a “pill”. A pill is a short story made up of 6 sections with 20 lines each, hence the name 20lin.es.
Biggi took some time to explain to Nibletz how this new innovative collaboration works:
“At any moment, 20lin.es selected users can start a new story by writing a (max) 20lines input that will stay active for 20 days. If other users like such input, they can decide to contribute to the story by writing a second section of max 20lines. More users can then decide to either continue the story by adding a new section or to re-write the previous one. In such a way, every input can be developed in a large/endless number of possibilities. Every story can have max 6 sections while each section can be voted, commented and shared by any user. At the end of the 20 days of activity of the input, there will be a 6-sections story with the highest approval. It has finally became a Pill and it will be digitally published. 20lin.es publications will collect 20 different Pills originated from 20 different inputs or the 20 most liked stories started from the same input. 20lin.es publications will be sold on: iTunes, Amazon and directly on 20lin.es
More after the break
Biggi tells us that 20lin.es isn’t just about writers though. The platform could be implemented by businesses for an new way of contesting, imagine something like creating the best 20lin.es story for a brand like Coca Cola or Red Bull.
Writers using the 20lin.es format can collaborate on any kind of story whether it be a traditional short story, a script, a story board for an ad whatever. Also within the community of writers there could be a group that does mystery, another that does long form poetry and another that uses the format for comedic purposes.
Socially any writer who joins can follow or be followed by any other writer. They can also tag single inputs or entire stories.
The young startup has already recruited some well known writers in their native Italy, and come on people we know how those Italians can write, think romance and great mysteries! They are also partnering with colleges to attract the best young Italian writers.
Biggi tells us “20lin.es aims at creating high quality written content to enhance the relationship between the human culture and the digital world.”
The 20lin.es beta will be available starting May 10th.
Linkage:
For more information on 20lin.es and to sign up for their beta click here
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