Pubsoft

Pubsoft^[1] is a cloud-based eBook publishing platform headquartered in Houston, Texas. It serves as the publishing engine for Kbuuk, LLC,^[2] a self-publishing software company that provides digital conversion, distribution and marketing services for authors.^[3] Pubsoft is designed to allow publishers to create and manage an online eBook store^[4] for direct consumer sales.^[5] Publishers can also use Pubsoft to handle social media marketing, deliver eBooks to mobile devices,^[6] manage author and reader relationships and distribute royalties^[7] through an administrative portal that uses PayPal.

Pubsoft

Developer(s)	Isaac Shi
Initial release	2012
Type	Cloud-based eBook publishing platform

The Pubsoft system also provides book-level analytics designed to help publishers and authors move toward data-driven publishing. Originally designed for the trade publishing sector, the Pubsoft system is currently used for a variety of applications by agencies, education and creative writing programs, enterprises, industry experts and religious organizations.

Pubsoft allows companies to manage content by uploading documents and converting them to EPUB 3.0 eBooks, which can then be read in a web browser or on an iOS device. Through the Pubsoft backend system, an administrator or instructor can then evaluate reading progress and engagement, as well as assess reading comprehension through customized quizzes.

History

Pubsoft was founded and launched in 2012 by CEO Isaac Shi^[8] and COO Dougal Cameron.^[9]

Technology

Pubsoft is a multi-tenant software-as-a-service (SaaS) eBook publishing platform^[10] that is designed to support digital publishing industry standard EPUB 3.0, an XML-based eBook content standard.^[11] Pubsoft utilizes a Model View Controller (MVC) design pattern, and the system contains three layers: a database layer created in MySQL, a business logic layer built on a Zend framework and a responsive user interface^[12] layer created with HTML5 and CSS3.

As an enterprise-grade application, the Pubsoft database is built on a relationship schema compatible with Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF), which is designed to ensure scalability, reliability and data integrity.

The Pubsoft SaaS application is deployed on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and Amazon Relational Database Service.

References

1. Schneider, Andrew. "Houston IT Firm Aims To Woo Publishing Giants At Book Expo America". KUHF News for Houston. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
2. Lanham, Fritz (April 7, 2013). "E-book startup hopes cloud is solid". Houston Chronicle.
3. Abrams, Dennis (April 2013). "Ready For Kbuuk? Another New Self-pub Ebook Company". Publishing Perspectives.
4. Karr, Douglas. "Pubsoft: Ebook Publishing, Reader Portals and Stores". Marketing TechBlog. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
5. Dilworth, Dianna. "Pubsoft Lets Authors & Publishers Sell eBooks Direct". MediaBistro. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
6. Hebbard, D.B. "New start-up Pubsoft offering cloud-based, software-as-a-service for eBook publishers". Talking New Media.
7. McNally, Victoria. "Want To Self-Publish All On Your Own? Someday Pubsoft Might Be Your Biggest Asset". BookWorks: The Self-Publishers Association. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
8. Shi, Isaac. "Software, Innovation and Entrepreneurship". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
9. Cameron, Dougal. "Featured Startup Pitch: Ebook publishing startup Pubsoft wants to help publishers and authors reclaim the 'reader relationship'". StartUp Beat. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
10. Pilkington, Mercy. "Crowdfunding to Expand Transmedia Story Stream "Gamifying" Platform". Good eReader. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
11. Wied, Heather. "Which E-Book Format Is the Best?". MarketingProfs. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
12. Magoo, Sara. "New Platform to Leverage Facebook Video Game Mechanics to Allow Readers to Interact, Earn Rewards while Reading Ebooks". DailyGame. Retrieved February 4, 2014.