Patricia: How did you come up with the idea for Writer.Ly?
AC: Starting way back in 2008, Kelsye and I noticed the people in our writing group often asking about where to find editors and book designers and talking about their self-publishing successes and failures. Kelsye came up with the idea for an online marketplace and was accepted into a start-up accelerator program. She asked me a few weeks into the program if I wanted to join and I didn’t hesitate. I jumped right in because I saw that it was a great idea, and felt that if anyone could make it happen, it was Kelsye.
KN: In our own writing group, we watched as some writers cracked the publishing code, while others crashed and burned. We noticed that those that did well – got help. They hired professional editors. They paid a designer to create their covers. Our writing groups peers said that they simply didn’t know how to find good help. We realized that within our own group, we had excellent editors, marketers, illustrators and so on. If we joined together, we could be each other’s full service publishing house. The idea for the marketplace came soon after. If we needed this, so does everyone. We were inspired to build the marketplace infrastructure to serve the entire publishing and indie publishing industry.
Patricia: What need do you think Writer.ly fills in the marketplace?
AC: I think authors and writers are hearing all the self-publishing success stories and are wanting to give it a try but don’t know where to begin. They know they need help. We can’t all be experts at everything. Writer.ly allows writers to post jobs
and receive bids on their jobs but it also allows freelancers to post offers of their services so writers who might not know what they need can simply claim the offer. Writer.ly gives writers the ability to choose from an a-la-carte menu of services. Writer.ly puts writers in the driver’s seat, giving them control over their own projects for the first time.
Patricia: How did you meet? How do you two work together? How do you complement one another in terms of strengths and weaknesses, shared values and work ethic?
AC: I joined Kelsye’s Meetup.com writing group in 2008 about a year after she started it. We meet on Fridays at a coffee shop in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. We have a regular group of writers of all genres who are all there for the writing community and as Kelsye would say, “to get writing done.” Kelsye is definitely the face of the organization, whereas I am the one more in the background doing the less glamorous stuff (Excel pivot tables anyone?). We’re both idea people, so that’s exciting, though sometimes we trip over our own great ideas. We are both single mothers so I think we are both used to just grabbing things by the reins and getting them done. We work hard, often after kids are in bed and are both passionate writers ourselves, so we have a lot in common that way. Generally we have a lot of fun together.
KN: Working on other startups has taught me a very important lesson: build with a buddy! When Writer.ly was accepted into the Founder’s Institute, I knew I needed a partner. Abby’s experience as a best-selling author made her an obvious choice. Plus, we had been writing side-by-side for years, so I knew that we’d work well together. We share the same vision. We both want to see writers succeed.
Patricia: What do you envision for Writer.Ly in the next year? The next three years?
Writer.Ly
Empowering
Writers!
I am pleased to present an interview with the Abigail Carter and Kelsye Nelson, co-founders of Writer.Ly, one of the most innovative new companies helping writers succeed in the marketplace today!
Abigail Carter Kelsey Nelson