Industry Spotlight - Inklings Publishing

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Meet Inklings Publishing

Inklings Publishing was founded in 2013 by Fern Brady. Its mission is to birth a legacy in words for readers to enjoy while creating opportunities for authors to grow in their craft and career. It began with a series of anthologies, Eclectic Writings Series, which allowed the company to publish many authors through these compilations of short stories. Eventually, t h e company signed its first individual author, Meg Hafdahl, and now has eleven authors under contract.

Fern Brady started the company using her retirement funds when she stepped away from full-time teaching. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company had recuperated the initial capital investment and had it as a reserve. This has kept the company going through the past two years as the economy recovers. Inklings Publishing is and has always been debt free.

The publishing house is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has been listed among the top five publishers in the thriving city as well as in the top twenty for the state. It follows a traditional model as a publishing house that acquires and pays for the development of its books, issuing royalties bi-annually to authors. It does not require authors to pay for any costs and, at this time, does not do advances when acquiring new projects. It seeks to become a full publishing house offering a wide

selection of fiction novels across all genres for both young readers to adults. Inklings Publishing prides itself in a rigorous developmental editing process to ensure that when the final book is released the story will be crafted with care, well-fleshed out, and without plot holes or character development deficiencies. Authors who sign with us agree to work with their editor to revise the novel until it is deemed ready for public consumption. The high quality of the stories keep readers returning for more.

The company does extensive copy editing to ensure the final book is at or exceeds industry standards with regards to the conventions and mechanics of the language. Additionally, our authors and editors work as a team with the cover design and marketing materials development professionals. The process is designed to ensure that the cover and materials reflect the author’s vision while simultaneously meeting the standards of the industry and viability for marketability. Because Fern Brady, the founder and CEO of the company, is an author herself, the company is designed to be author-focused. Brady works hard setting up procedures and instilling a company culture that reflects the type of publisher she, as an author, would want to be published by. A tight knit family, Inklings Publishing authors and staff work as team to ensure the success of all their projects.

ABOUT FERN

Fern Brady is the founder and President of Inklings Publishing. She holds multiple Masters degrees and several certifications. She began her professional life as a foreign correspondent, taught for 15 years in Alief ISD, and is a full-time Realtor in Houston. She has published numerous short stories, two children's picture books, and a couple of poems. Her debut novel, United Vidden, which is book one in her Thyrein’s Galactic Wall Series, released in 2020 along with her graphic novel/novella hybrid New Beginning. She is the current president of the Houston Writers Guild, with whom she served in that capacity previously, and is on the board of Authorology. Besides being Municipal Liaison for Nanowrimo Houston, she is also a member of Authors Marketing Guild as well as of Blood Over Texas and Romance Writers of America. She lives in Houston, TX, with her parents and her talkative husky, Arya.