FollowLast weekend the staff of Indigo Editing and Publications
visited Ashland for their staff retreat. Over coffee at Starbucks , Maureen and I learned a little about their company. Named after the ink, not the musicians, Indigo was founded five years ago by Ali McCart, a graduate of the Portland State University masters in publishing program affiliated with Ooligan Press. Todays, Indigo offers professional writing services for nonfiction and fiction and even poets. They do developmental editing and book proposal consultation, line editing and proofing, and some publicity work in the Portland area. And they work for publishing houses, businesses, magazines and authors of all sorts—from literary fictionand poetry to sci-fi, wellness, and spirituality and sustainability. But they also do a lot more, as we learned. Indigo gives affordable monthly workshops on writing and the business of writing and the Indigo editors are also the organizers of the Portland’s Mini Sledgehammers writing contests, where you shatter the writing block (sledgehammer, get it) by competing in a 36-minute writing contest.
Indigo the sponsors the Ink-Filled Page, a quarterly online literary journal supplemented with an annual print anthology.
The editors—Ali McCart, Kristin Thiel, Susan DeFreitas, and Laura Meehan–have just the right blend of training, experience, and zest for publishing and community engagement. I’m glad they picked Ashland for their retreat so we had a chance to learn about their work.
Four brash, confident young women drinking coffee in Ashland, Oregon, this early spring afternoon. At times words tumbling about with laughter, finishing one another’s sentences when they speak of Indigo, Sledgehammer, graduate school or each other. At times measured and thoughtful as they talk of their writing, each with areas of expertise and interest, each complementing the other. It’s a delight to meet them and listen – the strength of passion and innovation in how they speak, delivering much more than the words they say. Building a friendship and building their company, Indigo Editing.