indie-visible | literary justice for all »
Like many #writers, I’ve spent 30 years writing stories at the edges of parties, in the backseat of cars, in locked rooms, aisles of grocery stores, trying to stay hidden before someone discovered me scribbling furtively and disrupted my flow. Writing is often referred to as a “lonely” art, but I think I can safely say that most writers feel the least lonely when we are at the work of actual writing. Instead, I think of it as an “alone” art. It requires us to be alone when we’re doing it, after all it’s not the kind of job where you can hire an apprentice (though I can picture it: “Give me 1500 words by noon—you know, Hemingwayish, with an Atwoodian twist!) but the aloneness is necessary. The loneliest part of writing is feeling like a tiny cog in a big machine when trying to find an audience. Particularly when you live in a culture that says you’ll only “make it” if your work looks a certain way (hint: fancy glossy cover, handcuffs or vampires a plus), and oh, did we mention the competition is stiff? The loneliest part is facing down those very tall, very heavy gates in order to even find out if her work is good enough to “make it.” We’ve found that writers are good at holding one another accountable to high standards. When we don’t have to wait for or run the huge machinery of a big-time publisher, we can hone and polish and make our own audience, and spend the better part of our time writing. Indie-Visible was born on the day several of us writers crawled out from behind the couch, down from the tree, or from behind the big Adirondack chair in the backyard where we’d gone to do our work. Many of us here have had publishing success ranging from first prizes in writing competitions to books published through mainstream channels; we have great affection for those gates we’ve passed through, for the people who hold them up. But we are also excited about the many other writers, working alone, who are ready to share their work now. Right now. With you. Without waiting for the gates to open. Literary justice for all! Welcome! Jordan E. Rosenfeld Co-founder