Random Thoughts

This is just me, talking.

Okay, so I'm sort of new here, and wanted to ramble a bit, because I'm prone to doing that sometimes. The format here doesn't really offer the kind of copyright safety I need, so from time to time, I may wander in, throw words at the screen, then wander off again. Do not mind me. I do not mind that you don't.

So, here's the thing. I write, and publish my writing via Amazon's CreateSpace. Yes, yes, I know. Self publishing is so overdone. That's not really the point though. The point is, I do this. I like doing it. I enjoy doing it. It brings my often dreary life a bit of excitement and fun.

And, no, I'm not expecting to get picked up by a real publisher, become famous, or rich. I literally do it because I like doing it. I gave up on getting published legitimately long ago. The field is too crowded and it's nearly impossible to break in anymore. You'd have to either be phenomenally good, which I'm not, or rip off some one else, which everyone is now doing, except me, apparently.

And you guys, obviously. I mean, we're all here together, aren't we?

Anyway.

For a about a year or so, I was pretty active at Scribd.com, which offered everything I wanted from a writing site. The ability to upload my work as a .pdf and social networking, so I could meet and talk with other writers, as well as get some exposure for my work. It was pretty awesome.

Then Scribd changed how it works, and we, the indie authors, aren't really part of the equation anymore. I mean, we can still upload and everything, but nobody can really see it. It's impossible to find when someone you are following has uploaded a new piece, and communicating on Scribd is hard.

So, now, here I am, wandering around the internet, looking for a way to push my foot through that crack in the door again.

As I said, I'm not looking to get rich or famous. I gave up on that dream a long time ago. What I am looking for is the means to share what I write, without giving up control over it. A place that I, as a writer, can be around other writers, with that safety net that makes me feel like it's okay to show the world what I have to offer.

Anymore, it seems like that is asking for too much. I feel angry, lost, powerless. Mostly I just feel sad. Sad because in all the vastness of the internet, having the ability to safely share my work is asking for too much. How does that even make sense? What is wrong with that picture?

So, wandering about. Occasionally dropping into places, making random, chaotic commentary on the state of things from the perspective of an indie author, then wandering off again. Back to my corner, where the big publishing parents have told me to stay until they can be bothered to notice me, which will be never.

This is not the way I want to be. I want to speak the words in my head. I want to share them out to the world in a format of my choosing, with control over what becomes of them. My stories are my children, and I want them to not be manhandled and abused. Don't I have that right? In the information age, in the world of online sharing, don't I have that right?

More and more, the answer seems to be no.

Leaving me to wonder why I am given the gift of imagination, if I am not given the privilege to use it.

So, here's me, wandering about.

Author's Note

No need to review, or even comment. Sometimes I talk for the sake of saying things.