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Choosing Your Track

Inkwren has two tracks: Author and Publisher. These aren't tiers where you upgrade from one to the other—they're different tools for different jobs.

The Key Question​

Are you tracking your own writing, or are you publishing other people's work?

Your answer determines which track fits your primary use case—and that affects your pricing and default experience.

Author Track​

For: Writers tracking their own careers.

You're on the Author track if you:

  • Write stories and submit them to magazines, anthologies, or publishers
  • Self-publish your own books
  • Want to track where your work has been published
  • Manage multiple pen names
  • Need to know which stories are out on submission

Default features: Story submissions, pen names, publication tracking. Publisher features like contracts and editorial workflows are off by default (but can be enabled if you need them).

→ Get started as an Author

Publisher Track​

For: People who publish other authors' work.

You're on the Publisher track if you:

  • Run a magazine, anthology, or small press
  • Receive and review submissions from other writers
  • Manage contracts with contributors
  • Coordinate an editorial team
  • Handle payments to authors

Default features: Everything in Author, plus: receiving submissions, editorial workflows, contract management, team collaboration. Author-focused features like submitting to external markets are off by default (but can be enabled).

→ Get started as a Publisher

Flexibility: Mix and Match​

Here's the key insight: your track sets the starting defaults, but every workspace is fully customizable.

You don't pick a "type" when you create a workspace — you just give it a name. Your track decides which features your first workspace starts with, and any additional workspaces begin with a standard set you can tailor in Workspace Settings. Turn features on or off per workspace to fit how you use each one.

Example: Sarah is on the Publisher track. She has three workspaces:

  • "Sarah's Writing" — author features turned on for tracking her own writing
  • "Moonlight Press" — set up for her small press
  • "Starfall Books" — set up for her other imprint

Same account, different feature setups. The Publisher track gives her access to all the features; she enables what's relevant in each workspace.

Common Questions​

"I self-publish my own books. Which track?"​

Author. Self-publishing your own work is part of tracking your writing career. You're the author, not the publisher of others.

"I write my own stories AND run an anthology with other authors."​

Publisher. If you publish other people's work—even occasionally—you'll want the publisher features. Create an author-style workspace for your own writing, and publisher-style workspaces for your press work.

"Can I turn on publisher features in an author workspace?"​

Yes. Workspace Settings lets you enable or disable individual features. The defaults are just starting points—customize to fit how you work.

"Can I switch tracks later?"​

Yes. Switching is a subscription change — upgrade from Author to Publisher to unlock publisher features, or downgrade if your needs shift. Your data is preserved across plan changes. See the pricing page for current plan options.

"What about pricing?"​

Each track has its own pricing tiers. See our pricing page for details.

Still Not Sure?​

Most people know right away. But if you're uncertain:

  • Start with Author if you're primarily a writer who might publish others someday
  • Start with Publisher if you're already receiving submissions from other writers or planning to soon

You can always switch later, and workspaces are flexible enough to handle mixed use cases.