FREELANCE social media marketer, writer, and poet, Sarika Prasad, on Saturday, launched a hybrid publishing company that promises to assist local writers like herself in getting their books published much easier.

Inkstain Media & Publishing, the new company owned by the 24-year-old, offers publishing, editing and marketing packages that combine key features of traditional and self-publishing.

“We aim to offer quality services with higher royalties for authors and more creative freedom. We offer both standard and custom publishing and marketing packages as well as editing and graphic designing,” Prasad highlighted.

The new venture was pursued because Prasad encountered much difficulties getting her own book published. As such, she was filled with a drive to make publishing easier and more accessible for others.

“I wanted to help others, thus I decided to start a publishing company,” she noted during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Her publishing company offers services for e-books, paperbacks, and hardcovers. In the future, she is hoping to expand and make available audiobooks. She also has an experienced team of professional editors, proofreaders, and graphic designers.

The young writer explained her lengthy publishing process- the experience that eventually led to the creation of Inkstain.

Her book is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel completed since 2017. She began writing this book during her time at the Saint Stanislaus College. There, Prasad chose the Arts Stream, given her passion for the written word. And it was during that time she started writing her first fantasy novel called ‘The Beast Within’.

After high school, the future was even more uncertain since Prasad’s family encountered some financial difficulties. Though she secured a job, she was not satisfied because she was unable to dedicate much time to her craft.

She eventually gained employment as a librarian and English Language teacher at the Academy of Excellence and, later, ventured into freelance work in content writing and social media marketing.

Though she tried her best to have her book published traditionally, her efforts proved futile. According to Writers Digest Shop, traditional book publishing is when a publisher offers the author a contract and, in turn, prints, publishes, and sells his/her book through booksellers and other retailers. The publisher essentially buys the right to publish the book and pays royalties to the author from the sales.

Prasad then mulled self-publishing but soon realised she did not have the necessary resources. Resultantly, she spent years saving her earnings and investing in online courses where she learned about self-publishing and graphic designing.

For her book, she hired an illustrator to adapt her book cover and an editor. This is considered hybrid publishing which is what her company seeks to do, Prasad said.

And with this done, her book will be released on June 13, 2023. After it is released, she plans to hold a physical book launch as well as a book signing.

Aside from this venture, Prasad manages a full-time job as a social media marketing specialist, as well as her freelancing and preparations for the launch of her business and book. She is also pursuing a diploma in creative writing via the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) at the Indira Gandhi National University.

Her Instagram handle is inkstain.media.publishing and her Facebook handle is Inkstain Media & Publishing.