Today we’d like to introduce you to Ania Ray

Hi Ania, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

How does a “regular” Catholic high school teacher become a CEO and cofounder of an international writing community for women? By being an “I don’t know” babe, never missing a therapy session, and going “all in” with your support system.

For six years, I was living what I had worked so hard for: I was a high school English teacher planning curriculum and the most engaging ways to teach it; chaperoning field trips and dances; and doing my best to show up for my students on a daily basis. Add in the dreams of finally writing a novel and the part-time gigs that were supplementing my meager Catholic school teacher’s income, and it wasn’t a surprise that my perfectionism, workaholism, and high-functioning anxiety were coming to a head. The piles of papers to grade kept growing at the same rate as my burnout, and it wasn’t long before I was writing a resignation letter, packing up our things into storage, and planning a year-long move to Costa Rica with my husband, Cody, and our cat Bahama. Did I mention I was tired of getting my period after years of trying to conceive and our marriage was in crisis?

I no longer had a steady income, but I still had the desire to serve; more specifically, to create, mother, and nurture something since our dreams of conceiving naturally were not being fulfilled. Moreover, I was STILL a teacher who knew how to plan curriculum and create strong relationships with my students, AND I had a desire to empower women – especially those who kept burning out because they kept putting their own needs on the backburner. I didn’t know how this was going to work out, but I trusted my cofounder Cody to help fill in the gaps in my own knowledge and vision. It turns out that he’s extra amazing at long-term vision and I can translate that vision into day-to-day tasks.

So when it was tough to talk about anything else, Cody and I talked about Quill & Cup. We kept asking the question: “What would a writing community created specifically for women look like? What do they need that we can provide?” Ultimately, the goal at the start and end of every day is to empower the women we’re privileged to serve. We do so by offering continued education in mindset, craft, and authorpreneurship, within a fiercely supportive community that holds women accountable to doing what they say they have dreamed of doing for so long: write and publish the stories on their hearts.

I’m proud of the fact that, within three years of existence, we’ve hosted six in-person retreats, give members an average of 5 masterclass opportunities per month, host 60+ hours of educational content on our member website, have a merch shop, welcomed many USA Today Bestselling Authors to our table to learn from them, and more. Cody and I never could have imagined that we would have over 120 members from all over the world who are committed to showing up for one another and the stories that won’t let them go. The women we attract are kind. Generous. Servant-hearted. They’re willing to calibrate their egos. Ready to laugh and have a good time and extra ready to hold each other accountable and get the work done, too. Eager to learn. Comfortable saying “I don’t know, let’s figure that out together.”

Somewhere along the way, we became family. By the way — it’s been a ridiculous honor to watch these same women hold our 8 month old daughter. Eleanora is going to grow up being inspired by some really incredible role models.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

We had very impressive grassroots growth in the first couple years, only to plateau in membership when we reached about 120 members worldwide. We’re finding it a fun challenge to both serve and retain members in a monthly subscription model while also aiming to grow in membership (our community has big goals!). We’re all in tough financial times with inflation, job loss, and general uncertainty/anxiety), which makes it really tough for women to justify spending money on their writing lives, especially when they don’t see it as a need they’re ignoring but rather a hobby they can afford to ignore. We often get members at the moment they say, “Enough is enough. I’m ready to prioritize this dream of writing and publishing my books.” We’re proud that we keep offering more and more benefits and value while keeping our monthly subscription at just $47 USD per month.

It has definitely not been a smooth road, but the struggles I’ve experienced have all taught really important reminders and lessons: I don’t have to do anything by myself. I have blind spots, and that’s where other people’s strengths can help me. Listen to my intuition. Make room for nuance. It’s not my job to “fix” anybody. Be upfront with expectations and transparent in communication. Don’t assume. Ask good questions. Don’t be so hard on myself. Take a break. Don’t read feedback when my energy is low (and, therefore, my resilience to stress is low) so that I can see it objectively and as information instead of getting defensive. Recalibrate my ego. Don’t make big decisions on little sleep. Keep asking, “Why?” so everything is led with intention and strategy. People >>> prose.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Quill & Cup is a fiercely supportive writing community for women who prioritize their writing, who lean into personal growth with continued education on mindset and craft, and who make rest a non-negotiable part of the creative process. Our members love to learn. We love to laugh. We love being able to show up as ourselves. Our community is often described as a “sisterhood” and a “breath of fresh air.” We’re so proud of the fact that, if you hear that someone is a Quill & Cup “hedgie” (quill.. hedgehog..), you can expect to meet someone kind, friendly, genuinely supportive, and intellectually humble.

It’s my job – our collective effort – to find these women and then empower them all the way to the finish line – whatever that looks like for them.

Through continued education, accountability, and community, we transform a woman who didn’t believe in herself into someone who feels confident to advocate for her work in very real ways with very real results. We don’t just talk about writing our books; we’re out here doing the dang thing. It’s not uncommon to celebrate, genuinely, a fellow writer who’s just written “THE END” after years of self-sabotage or putting writing on the backburner, or one who’s landed an agent, or one who’s attending her first book signing. More than that, however, we celebrate those milestones that a writer often lets slip by when she’s writing in isolation. In our community, writers feel believed in, seen, and understood. They’re met where they are, and then they’re encouraged to go jusssttt outside their comfort zones to grow and evolve — so that their stories do, too.

You’d think this makes us cliquey or exclusive; quite the opposite. We’re proud to be a diverse, inclusive community that frequently requests feedback from its members to make sure we’re “hitting the mark” and serving Hedgies the way they deserve.

Our writing community has championed hundreds of women at our virtual table as they make progress on their stories, helping them overcome writer’s block, defeat imposter syndrome, and receive continued education on craft and mindset. In a world of “boss babes,” we’re “I don’t know babes” who do the work to calibrate our egos. We have heard hundreds of success stories from these women – we call them our Hedgies (“Quill”.. hedgehogs.. It’s a thing) – that confirm our mission is not something we say; it is something we do. The ripple effects aren’t just published books that might have been stuck in an untouched drawer otherwise – they are healthy relationships with self and with others, women enjoying what they’re called to do and serving the readers who are grateful that book is now in their hands. Getting to meet these women in our in-person retreats is the cherry on top.

We convince introverts that they CAN thrive in community — and then we convince them they can write the books, too.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?

“You reached out exactly when I needed it” is our good fortune in action. Or is it? We reach out to hundreds of women on a monthly basis, inviting them to try and see what life within the Quill & Cup Hedgie House would be like, but the ones who sign up often chalk it up to serendipity: “This is exactly what I’ve been needing!” “You saved my life!” “Thank you so much for reaching out.”

In my life, good luck plays along the same lines: when I’m in need of a next step or need to make the next right move, the person with the wisest answer shows up. Ultimately, it comes down to both me — and my future writers — realizing and accepting one thing: we each don’t know everything, but together, we know a whole lot.

Pricing:

• Membership is $47/month, which includes.. A LOT.
• In Person Retreats vary based on location and offering, between $700 and $1200 per trip (airfare not included)
• Virtual Retreats are $50/retreat, offered 4 times a year
• To be matched for a Best Feedback Friend (because “critique partner” sounds scary), there’s a one-time enrollment fee of $97 for Mindset Training

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quillandcup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quillandcup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quillandcupwrites
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@quillandcup