When writer‑turned‑publisher Petra Pálkovácsová grew frustrated with the barriers she faced in the traditional publishing industry, she decided to build the solution herself. While studying Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich, she began shaping the idea that would become Femmesocial Press, a women‑led indie publishing house dedicated to championing experimental, boundary‑breaking voices. With support from the Generator and the Enterprise Challenge, where she gained mentoring, business training, and funding, Petra transformed a personal struggle into a powerful platform for underrepresented authors.
Tell us about Femmesocial Press:
What did it help you achieve or unlock? We did not win any of the main prizes, but we were awarded the Santander Bursary a couple of months ago. We used it to cover some essential costs associated with running an indie press. We bought a package of 100 ISBNs for our books, some paid advertisements, and we covered our BigCartel subscription for 2024/25.
How has the Generator team or programme supported your journey?
Taking part in the Enterprise Challenge and engaging with the team has been incredibly helpful. I don't come from a business background, so the workshops delivered by Junior have been very enriching for me, and they taught me a lot from the business perspective of creative or community projects. Our mentor, Lynette, has also helped us shape our business when it came to both our manifesto and financial planning; she worked in publishing professionally before, so she was very familiar with any possible struggles we were facing. We also loved working with Rose, Christy and Lena, who have been very supportive throughout the entire competition, and they offered us very unique advice.
What are your goals for the future of your business or project?
I'd like to say I hope this to be my job one day, but I'd still say I'd like to keep the dream small, and just continue supporting people who need it. Of course, it would be lovely to get into publishing full-time once, and recently I found myself believing in Femmesocial more than ever before. We got accepted as a mentee for the Society of Young Publishers a couple of days ago, which was both very exciting and encouraging. When it comes to specific goals, we're planning to secure a distributor, create merchandise, register our trademark and continue publishing two books every season, as that has proven to be a great strategy.
What was the biggest struggle you faced when starting your business, and how did you overcome it?
I wouldn't want to say that the journey of Femmesocial has been easy, but with a strong team, even very challenging situations are possible to navigate. I think what we've been doing really well is learning 'on the go' because we did not have much prior experience with publishing before, so we found ourselves in unknown waters multiple times during our journey. I'd say the struggles I did not expect to face are sometimes dealing with bigger egos and unrealistic expectations from the authors, but we have managed to overcome that so far. Also, what we certainly keep noticing is that other publishers that seem to be performing well are owned by already quite privileged or well-connected professionals with decades of experience, which resulted in us facing certain financial and professional barriers. Yet, I also believe this type of drive or having to compete and work hard is one of the things that keeps us motivated.
What advice would you give to other students thinking about starting something of their own?
I'd love to say that dreaming is enough, but I don't think that's fair. To be finalised, most projects require a massive amount of hard work and dedication, and they sometimes work out in different ways than we'd expect. But once the hard work starts taking effect, it's one of the most beautifully rewarding feelings you can experience. However, I'd definitely encourage students not be be afraid of the discomfort and the fear that bringing an idea to life can bring; most successful projects and also the most beautiful works of art are often born through these emotions. So, yeah, do not be afraid of being afraid in a way, but at the same time, when it comes to actualisation of any project, you simply have to want to do it more than you don't want to do it :)
