A conceptual digital platform that bridges the gap between indie authors and readers by offering every book at an affordable price of $6. It eliminates subscription entirely and ensures authors receive 50% royalitites per sale. This case study details how I tackled the design challenge from research and ideation through UX/UI design and prototyping.

CHALLENGE

The publishing industry presents pain points for both emerging authors and avid readers

• Authors: New and self-publishing writes struggle with low earnings and barriers to entry. Traditional publishers offer only 10-15% royalties on sales, and while self-publishing can yield higher percentages, discoverability and marketing become the author’s burden. Platforms like Wattpad rarely lead to substantial income- Wattpad’s paid stories program is highly selective and even then author’s “probably won’t make sales.” Similarly, other serial fiction sites or writing platforms do not significantly reward authors financially. Many authors also feel locked into ecosystems rules(for example, Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited requires exclusivity and pays per pages read, which can be limiting). These conditions leave indie authors feeling that their effort may never pay off.

• Readers: For book lovers, cost and commitment are major friction points. Buying multiple ebooks individually can get expensive, and subscription services often require a high monthly fee regardless of actual usage. Casual readers who only read a few books occasionally might find such subscriptions not worth it. In fact, some readers have budgets that limit them to books under a few dollars. Additionally, free platforms like Wattpad offer an abundance of content, but quality varies and ongoing stories might never be finished- frustrating readers who are willing to pay for polished, complete books if the price is right. There is a clear need from the reader side for an easy, one-time purchase model that delivers quality reads without the hurdle of recurring payments or high per-book prices.

Atypical Publishing set out to address these pain points with a new model. Our primary objective was to make reading affordable and publishing fair: every ebook on the platform is priced at just $6, with no subscription required. Readers can buy books a la carte at roughly the price of a coffee, making it easy to try new titles. At the same time, authors earn a 50% royalty on each sale. (i.e. $3 per book), a significantly higher share than traditional deals and competitive with self-publishing royalties. By combining low, impulse-buy pricing for readers with fair compensation for writers, Atypical aims to create a win-win ecosystems. The goal is to attract cost-conscious readers with a huge selection of affordable titles, while empowering indie authors to actually make money from their work in a transparent, straightforward way.

KEY OBJECTIVES

SOLUTION

A digital platform designed to give indie authors a fair shot and readers an affordable way to discover new stories. Every book is priced at $6- no subscriptions, no hidden fees- and authors keep 50% of each sale. The reader experience is seamless: browse, buy, and read instantly in-app. For authors, the platform offers a simple dashboard to upload books, track sales, and manage earnings. Atypical removes traditional publishing barriers and puts control-and income- back in the hands of writers.

ROLE

UX/UI DESIGNER

TIMELINE:

THREE WEEKS

TOOLS:

FIGMA

DELIVERABLES:

User Research, wireframes, High-Fidelity, UI design, interaction design

CASE STUDY:

Atypical Publishing was my final project for school.

RESEARCH GOAL

Atypical’s research aimed to understand how readers and authors engage with existing digital publishing platforms. The goal was to uncover reader behavior patterns, identify pain points for independent authors, and pinpoint gaps in current platforms like Wattpad, Substack, and Kindle Direct Publishing. By understanding these, the project could tailor a better experience for both audiences.

METHODOLOGY

• User Interviews: Conducted interviews with readers and aspiring authors to gather qualitative insights into their experiences and frustrations.

• Online Forum Insights: Reviewed discussions on reader and writer forums (e.g. Wattpad community threads and self-publishing subreddits) to see common complaints and suggestions in real scenarios.

• Competitor Audit: Analyzed features and business models of Wattpad, Substack, and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing to see what worked, what didn’t, and where users felt understood.

• Subscription Fatigue: Readers strongly disliked paywall subscriptions. One Wattpad user even called the $10/month premium plan “money hungry”. Many said they would rather buy books outright than commit to another monthly fee.

KEY FINDINGS-READERS

• Price Sensitivity: There was a clear preference for affordable one-time purchases. Some readers noted that they could end up paying more for certain online stories than for a paperback novel, reinforcing the need for low-cost content.

• UX Frustrations: The Amazon Kindle app’s user experience came under criticism. Participants found the Kindle interface clunky and frustrating to navigate- one user questioned whether Amazon “actually care about getting the user experience right”. This indicated a desire for a more user-friendly reading app.

• Discoverability on Amazon: On Kindle Direct Publishing, the sheer number of titles means new authors struggle to get noticed. Market saturation makes discoverability a major challenge- a common refrain was that a self-published book can easily “sink into obscurity” without heavy marketing.

KEY FINDINGS-AUTHORS

• Substack Monetization Challenges: Substack’s newsletter model proved tough for fiction writers to monetize . The platform even developed a reputation that fiction authors “cannot succeed” there, as most readers aren’t looking to pay subscriptions for serialized novels. Authors found it difficult to convert subscribers into paying readers.

• Wattpad’s Low Rewards: Wattpad provided huge readership potential but very little income for writers. Only a small percentage of Wattpad authors ever get paid, and even fewer earn a significant amount, leaving writers frustrated after investing time into building an audience.

FROM RESEARCH TO STRATEGY

These findings directly shaped Atypical’s product strategy. In response to reader feedback, Atypical adopted a flat $6-per-book pricing with no subscriptions, so users can buy books cheaply and read them instantly without any paywall. This single -purchase model caters to price-sensitive readers and avoid subscription fatigue.

For authors, I built a simple author portal focused on quick, transparent publishing and discovery. This portal lets writers upload books easily and keep control of their earnings, addressing the monetization woes from Wattpad and Substack. It also emphasizes visibility for new titles ( tackling Kindle’s discoverability problem) through straightforward categorization and promotion tools. In summary, every research insight- from pricing to platform design- was applied to create a more author-friendly and reader-friendly publishing experience on Atypical.

DESIGN PROCESS