This story is about a man named John. John was a happy man. He worked as an accountant and he just got married with his beloved Marie. He had everything that his heart desired. But, he didn't know that everything would change drastically.
As in every story, a wicked witch appeared on a midsummer night. Well okay... maybe not in every story; I just needed a dramatic turning point here. Deal with it and let me continue. The witch spoke some words in a strange language and cursed Marie, the wife of John. Marie disappeared in thin air and the witch laughed. At the end of her laugh, she explained that the curse could only be lifted if John would write a book that would be seen as a true masterpiece; a book that would inspire and be praised by people all around the world. Then, the witch took her broom and flew away, leaving John alone in his house.
The first few days, John was in complete shock and was not able to do anything. He was only trying to gasp what happened. He searched for his wife, but of course, he could not find her. Finally, he decided to start writing a book to lift the curse. He quit his job and for many years, he devoted his life to write that book that would inspire the rest of the world. However, after many failing attempts, he realized that he was not capable of writing a book necessary to lift the curse and that he would never see his wife again. John felt miserable. He went for a walk in the park to think about whether this was the end for him and his Marie. He ended up sitting on the ground close to a lake and started crying silently.
After a while, an old mysterious man approached and he looked at John. The old man decided to sit next to John. Both men sat their quietly for a few minutes. Suddenly, the old man spoke and asked John what is troubling him. John decided to tell the old man his story, as he could not handle the burden on his shoulders alone anymore. He told everything about his wife, the wicked witch, the curse, and his life of the past couple of years. After John was finished, the old man nodded and stared across the lake. Then he finally spoke again and asked John whether he has heard of Publica. John is confused and the old man noticed that. So, the old man explained what Publica is.
Publica is a protocol for decentralized publishing on the blockchain. For example, it can be used to publish and store books. The books are stored on the Ethereum blockchain where they will last forever and will not get lost. They do not disappear, even if a publisher abandons the project. The content of the books cannot be altered or be subject of censorship by governments. All the books are available everywhere in the world without having to worry about geographic restrictions. Writers have direct control over what they want to publish, and at what price. Also, they sell directly to the readers. Resulting in more profit for the writers, and lowers costs for the reader as there is no middleman that will charge additional costs.
The old man chuckled as he realized that he has been so enthusiastic about Publica that he forgot to explain why he brought up Publica in the first place. Therefore, he continues and explains John that there is an ancient book on Publica called "The art of writing", which will help guide him to write the book that he needs; the book that will bring his wife back to him. John stopped breathing and hope fulfilled his body again. John gracefully thanked the old and wise man and ran straight back home to his computer to find that ancient book on Publica.
After he arrived at his house and turned on the computer, he installed and opened the Publica reader app-wallet. John browsed through the library of books and finally he found the ancient book he was looking for. However, access is only granted when he has ownership of a READ token for that specific book. A READ token is an ERC20 compatible token that is unique for each book and represents the right to access it linked to a smart contract. The smart contract belonging to the READ token is deployed by the author, which defines for example the price of a READ token (e.g. price to access the book). Once a reader has obtained a READ token, the smart contract is updated with the public key of the reader's wallet where the READ token is stored. This is necessary to verify the ownership of the book by the reader. The ownership itself cannot be revoked by anyone, unless the reader himself sells the specific READ token.
The price for the ancient book is set at 1000 Pebbles (PBL). PBL is the currency that is used within the Publica protocol. John did not own any PBLs. Luckily, exchange APIs are integrated within the Publica reader application. John chose an exchange with fiat integration and bought the 1000 PBLs with his last bit of money. The PBLs were then used to obtain the READ token in order to access the ancient book. Next, John downloaded the content in the reader application and started studying the materials.
It took John a few weeks to get through the whole book, but it gave him the skills and the story to write book that would return his wife Marie. There was only one problem. John had no money left after all those years. You could say that he was completely broke. Without money it would took him years to write and finish the book, because he would have to work alongside it. John did want to wait another couple of years, and he went out for a walk in the park again to think about this situation.
Again, the old man appeared and John was delighted to see him and thanked him for the help he provided so far. In addition, he explained his current situation and the dilemma he had. The old man smiled and said that Publica is the answer again, because Publica is so much more than only a traditional bookstore where you can only buy a book. It supports many different business models like for pay-per-read, scholastic or scientific institutions, public libraries, and crowd funding. With crowdfunding, writers can basically run an ICO for their book that still needs to be written or finished.
Like last time, John ran back to his home where this time he installed the Publica publishing app-wallet on his computer. John set up and deployed a smart contract with a pre sale contract attached where early backers could buy the book with a discount. To attract readers and promote his crowdfunding, he explained his background and current situation. One by one, people joined his project, and John was finally able to start writing. With the help of the old man, the ancient book, Publica, and his early supporters the book was finished after a few months. The book was about a man, a curse, and Publica. The critics were praising his work as an inspiration to all. They called it a true masterpiece.
As the wicked witch had promised, the curse was lifted. Marie and John were reunited again and they would live happily ever after.
