About Inkwren
I needed it, so I built it.
What is Inkwren?
Inkwren is a publishing management system. It keeps track of the moving pieces behind a writing career or a small press—stories, submissions, publications, contracts, launch plans, deadlines—so everything lives in one place instead of spread across a pile of spreadsheets and email threads.
If you’re an author, it’s a catalog and a calendar that understand each other: every story you’ve written, every market you’ve sent it to, every publication and its reading order, along with the launch tasks and deadlines that keep everything moving. Here’s what that looks like.
If you run a small press, it handles the operational side: editing workflows with your own stages, contract tracking, royalty splits, promotion calendars, and room for your team. Here’s what that looks like for a press.
Why I built it
I tracked my own work and everything for my two publishing presses, Blackbird Publishing and Borogrove Press, in multiple spreadsheets. In one sheet I had a tab to track my stories, another to track publications, and a third to track statistics. Each anthology series had its own spreadsheet with one tab per issue. Keeping everything organized and in sync had turned into a job of its own, and that was just the catalog management piece! For task tracking, I tried at least four different tools over the years, none of which provided everything I needed.
The last straw was when I needed to pull together covers for five different anthologies an author had been in—and I couldn’t even make that list without digging through multiple spreadsheets. That week I started building Inkwren.
Now I track my own work, both in progress and published, in Inkwren. Anthologies I publish go through its editing pipelines, contracts get generated and tracked in it, and every launch and promotion lives on its calendars. This started as the system I needed for managing my own work, and it grew from there.
As of July 2026, Inkwren is officially open to everyone. To mark it, founding rates are available to anyone who subscribes by September 30—details on the pricing page.
How it’s run
It stays out of your way
Inkwren keeps records straight and keeps work moving. There are no streaks, badges, or guilt trips. Your attention belongs on the books.
Your records are yours
Import and export are built in. If you ever decide to leave, you can take everything with you.
Built for the long haul
Inkwren is small and steady, and I like it that way. I run it the same way I run my presses: carefully, with an eye on the long term.
I’m user number one
Every feature gets tested at my own presses before it gets enabled for anyone else.
Who’s behind it
I’m Jamie Ferguson. I write, I publish, and I run two small presses—so my own books and presses live in Inkwren.
If you try Inkwren, I’d love to hear how it goes—email me at support@inkwren.com or join the Discord.
Come look around.
Submissions, contracts, launch plans—in one place. Start a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.