Inkwell Success Stories
Self-Publishing Star Catherine Ryan Howard
Within a short period of time Catherine Ryan Howard has gone from unknown to star blogger of the self-publishing world. With four books behind her, here Catherine shares about working with The Inkwell Group.
I first heard of Inkwell Writers towards the end of 2009, when I started using Twitter and found Vanessa, Inkwell’s founder, there. She seemed to be connected to every other Irish writer on Twitter, so her connections were a great place to start to a new writer!
We got chatting, and I told her about my plans to self-publish a travel memoir I’d had no luck getting published—Mousetrapped: A Year and A Bit in Orlando, Florida—and how I needed an editor with experience in both US and British English who could help me knock the book into shape before release. Vanessa put me in touch with one of Inkwell’s editors, Sarah Franklin, who was a joy to work with and very reasonable. I’ve since used her for my second memoir, Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America as well.
When it came time to write a novel (my real publishing dream!), I again used Inkwell’s manuscript critique and assessment service to get the book into tip-top shape, and it was vastly improved by Vanessa’s input. I really benefited from Inkwell’s Get Published workshop too (the one I attended was in April 2010—the same workshop Ireland’s newest bestselling author, Maria Duffy, was also at!) and through Vanessa I’ve made great contacts with editors and other publishing professionals.
Since I first found Inkwell two years ago, I’ve started making a living from writing, been interviewed in print and on the radio about my self-publishing success, sold over 10,000 books and, in February 2012, will even give my own self-publishing workshop at Faber & Faber’s Faber Academy in London—something I still can’t quite believe! If you’re an Irish writer, your next stop has to be Inkwell.
