Nashville's FiledBy Inc. formally ended the private phase of its beta launch today by inviting authors to claim web pages created for them at the company's online venue.

In a release this morning, Founder, President and CEO Peter Clifton (left), an Ingram veteran, said the company has "more than 1.8 million pre-assembled author web pages and over 7 million book titles" already stored on the new site.

In a subsequent interview with VNC today, Clifton explained that total pages on the site are "north of 9 million," with the compilation effort having been accomplished by a combination of automated data mining and hands-on work.

Authors who claim their Filedby webpages may add personal details and add podcasts, photographs, videos and other content.  The digital-marketing services company said the basic author's web presence is free, but the company offers premium-level marketing and online-advertising tools, for which authors pay for access. 

Meanwhile, readers are invited to connect with authors via Facebook-like "wall postings," and may review books, create personalized collections, and rate authors and their works.

FileBy's updated website now makes clear it has assembled a management team comprising former Ingram, Dell and other executives, including Atiba Software COO Chip Gallent, who is listed as the firm's lead web architect. The group also includes publishing and digital-media guru Mike Shatzkin.

As previously reported by VNC, Clifton was previously president and-or CEO of several Ingram Book Group divisions based here, including Ingram International, Ingram Library Services, Ingram Periodicals, and Tennessee Book Company.  Clifton has attracted investment from Green Hills-based Claritas Capital.

Prior to Ingram, Clifton was founding CEO of PubEasy.com, a book-industry customer service and transaction portal. Earlier still, he was director of publicity and director of new-media development at John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; and, VP-new media for HarperCollins Publishers. Before that, he was VP-business development at SEGASoft in Redwood City, Calif. ♦