Author and Wuthering Ink founder Sue Woolfe. Photo: Sunder Madabushi

CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MEN

 Wuthering Ink is a new Australian portal for established authors to sell their own ebooks, bypassing publishers and booksellers, and so receiving 80 per cent of the retail price rather the usual 25 per cent. 

 Sue Woolfe, the respected Sydney novelist and writing teacher, conceived the idea five years ago. Despite being a bestselling author, she had little money and wondered why the creators of print books gave up 90 per cent of their income. "In 2011-12 publishers were shutting their doors and there was despair everywhere," she says. "I could see the potential of the internet while being completely non-digital." Working with authors Bem Le Hunte, Libby Hathorn​ and Louise Katz, she developed the portal, where others such as Kate Grenville, Patti Miller and Stephen Sewell now offer their backlist​ and out-of-print books.
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