A Co-Op for Writers. Built by One.
The Shoot System™ didn’t come from a boardroom. It came from a working writer who wanted a place where indie authors could get real support without being gate kept, priced out, or talked down to.
This page is a letter to you — about why this exists, who’s behind it, and what we’re trying to grow together.
Why I Built The Shoot System™
Like many of you, I dream of sharing my stories with the world. Also like many of you, I soon found out how daunting that can be. I can relate to anyone who has struggled to find the quality support a writer needs without paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
I didn’t feel exploited so much as gate kept. I felt like the new kid in the lunchroom, holding my tray and scanning the room for a place to sit — somewhere that felt welcoming, safe, and fair. I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
The more I learned about indie publishing, the more I saw the same patterns: expensive services with unclear outcomes, confusing options, and very little protection for the writer. You either paid a lot, went it alone, or hoped a stranger on the internet would be both affordable and trustworthy.
So I started asking a different question:
What if writers could build something together instead? What if we shared the work of editing, design, and promotion — and used structure and standards to make that fair and safe? What if we could give each other the kind of support we keep wishing we could find, without surrendering our rights or royalties?
The Shoot System™ is my attempt at that answer: a writers’ cooperative where stories grow like shoots — rooted in community, tended by shared labor, and allowed to blossom into books that still belong to the people who wrote them.
The values under the roots.
The co-op is more than a workflow. It’s a set of promises to the writers who join it. These are the principles that shape every policy, every packet, and every decision.
Craft with dignity
Every story deserves to be taken seriously, not just the ones with a big budget. We believe in thoughtful feedback, not assembly-line edits.
Community over gatekeeping
You shouldn’t need secret knowledge or special connections to get help. The co-op is built to be transparent, standards-based, and welcoming.
Rights stay yours
You keep your creative ownership and your royalties. Always. The Shoot System™ exists to support authors, not to take a cut of their work.
Shared labor, shared growth
Members earn support by contributing to others — editing, design, mentoring, outreach. The system works because we do, together.
Transparency & trust
Clear processes, documented contributions, and a real dispute resolution system mean you never have to just “hope for the best.”
Continuous improvement
Writers shape how the co-op evolves. We expect feedback, we invite change, and we’re committed to getting better together.
About Ataul Kaleem
I’m not a corporation. I’m a working writer who also happens to think in systems. The Shoot System™ sits at the intersection of both: a home for stories, built with the same care I bring to my own work.
The writer
I’m an eclectic writer, with novellas such as I Don’t Look Like Her and No Más for young adults, and more mature dramas such as The Ghost in the Garden and Dark Lotus and the Jackal.
My upcoming titles include full-length novels like My Cougar Conversion and What Love Is Like for Ugly People — stories about identity, desire, shame, courage, and the quiet ways people try to rebuild their lives.
You can find more of my work at booksbyataul.com.
The systems builder
Outside of fiction, I’ve spent years helping entrepreneurs build practical systems — the kind that make big ideas sustainable. My background in Lean process work and my time in the Army both taught me the same lesson: structure can either crush people, or protect them.
The Shoot System™ is my attempt to build the protective kind — a structure where indie authors can access professional support, share labor fairly, and still go to sleep at night knowing their work is theirs.
What we’re trying to grow together.
This first version of The Shoot System™ is just that — a first version. My hope is that, over time, the co-op becomes:
- A trusted home base for indie authors who refuse to give up their rights.
- A place where new writers find mentors and peers without having to prove they “belong.”
- A launchpad for future initiatives: scholarships, translation funds, maybe even residencies or retreats.
- A community where no writer ever has to feel like the new kid in the lunchroom again.
I don’t expect to get everything perfect out of the gate. That’s why this is a co-op, not a product. We will refine it together — story by story, season by season.
Want to help shape the first season?
If any part of this resonates with you — the stories, the values, the “lunchroom” feeling — I’d be honored to have you as part of the Founding Waitlist. That’s where I’ll share updates, early drafts of the system, and invitations to the very first cohort.
Join the Founding Waitlist
We’re building The Shoot System™ carefully — with input from the writers and contributors it will serve. Add your name below if you’d like to be notified when we open our doors to Founding Members.
- A voice in the final shape of the co-op.
- Early access to the first membership cohort.
- Priority for early manuscript slots.
- Founding Member recognition inside the community.
If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be a better way for indie authors to do this,” The Shoot System™ is our answer — and you’re invited to help us grow it from the ground up.