株式会社indent

株式会社indent (indent inc.) is a Tokyo-based internet services company that plans, develops and operates products supporting the writing of source works (原作) for novels, manga, scripts and game scenarios. Its core product is "Nola," a writing tool for authors that synchronises data between PC and smartphone and provides manuscript writing, reference/setting material storage and plot creation functions. Around it the company operates "Nolaノベル" (Nola Novel), a novel submission site where readers can read, comment on and support works and where authors and editors meet; "Nola出版" (Nola Publishing), an e-book publishing agency service that lets individuals create and sell e-books through electronic bookstores; and "Prologue," a short-story posting site capped at 2,000 characters per submission.

In addition to author-facing services, indent runs a production studio and in-house editorial department that acts as an agent between authors and companies. Studio services include supporting the creation of original works matched to a client's target genre from the planning stage, designing and operating writing contests (募集ページ design/development, operation and outreach to authors), and commissioned production of novels, manga and vertical-scroll (タテ読み) manga, ranging from discovery of source works to full editorial production. The company also runs its own original novel labels: NolaブックスGlanz for shonen/seinen genres, NolaブックスBloom for shojo/josei genres, a BL label NolaブックスRegalo launched in 2026, and a joint label "comic E-CLIPSE" with サード・ライン・ネクスト.

The company states a vision of "はじまりのきっかけをつくる" (creating the paragraph/indent that marks a beginning), referencing the Japanese typographic indent used at the start of a passage, and a stated purpose of building a structure in which writing can become a livelihood with sufficient income.

Founding story

Yuki Kamagata, while working at an IT company on marketing and business planning, began developing "Nola" on weekends with members who liked making things and content; the company 株式会社indent was founded one year later, on 8 October 2019.

Business model

Two-sided model combining BtoC author services with BtoB solutions for content companies. Authors receive the Nola writing environment, the Nola Novel posting site, the Nola Publishing e-book agency service and in-house labels providing monetisation and commercial-debut opportunities; publishers, distributors and webtoon studios receive an "編集部の掲示板"/corporate listing plan, agent functions, contest operation and an "IP開発トータルパッケージ," generating revenue from commissioned editorial production and agent fees. The corporate listing plan for original-work solicitation was offered free of charge as of 2023.

Revenue is described as coming from BtoB work for content companies — original-work solicitation and scouting, contest design and operation, commissioned editing and production — plus agent commissions, alongside author-facing publishing services in which writers receive royalties from e-book sales.

Traction

As of the October 2023 funding announcement, Nola had over 350,000 members, more than 1.3 million works stored and over 50,000 new works created monthly. The company website cites over 430,000 authors using Nola, while 2026 press materials and third-party profiles cite over 700,000 registered authors. Nola marked its eighth service anniversary in 2026. Multiple works for which indent served as original-work agent have been commercialised as comics or books with partners including 文響社, 一二三書房, 竹コミ/COMIC熱帯, R-TOON and LINEマンガ.

Latest developments

In 2026 indent launched the BL novel label NolaブックスRegalo and the joint comic label comic E-CLIPSE with サード・ライン・ネクスト, opened permanent original-work solicitation on Nola for 一二三書房's new label メルティアブックス and for BS12トゥエルビ's e-book label じゆうに文庫, and announced multiple comicalisations and book releases of works it agented, including 『勇者の教室』, 『手紙の魔女のおくり旅』, 『機械仕掛けの殲滅少女』, 『幽子さんの心霊鑑定』 (with 文響社) and 『伝説の悪役令嬢らしいので本編には出ないことにしました』 (with 一二三書房). A third-party startup database recorded the company at Series C stage as of April 2026.