The image, my name/persona all come from a video ‘game’ called Second Life. In there, I, as Lacie, have become a somewhat successful publisher of amateur writing! As an amateur writer and lover of erotic stories, this medium gave me a virtual world experience of learning what it takes to make a magazine. So many of the things you talk about are true when it comes to e-books. What price will people pay? How do you assemble a staff and can you pay? Will you have advertisers? Oh God has it been an adventure over the last 12 months.

All of my writers and photographers are via Second Life and they donate stories and I find a world of talented photographers that contribute images to make stories pop off the page.

It’s an interesting experience, very draining but at times, so rewarding. Writing, photography and music are wonderful expressions in my life yet anyone with a creative spark must never forget that there is a business side to this all and you should never be taken for granted or taken advantage of!

My advice is to follow your passion. If your passion has a foundation with others, it will be a success. I charge such a small cost for my publication that it helps me keep my little virtual world in tact but not much beyond that. Am I rich? Yes! Because the learnings from all of this are priceless.

When I speak of Karma….I must ask….did you know your picture was taken by a SL avatar? Did you know she is a writer and publisher? Did you know she works in online marketing and demands SEO on a daily basis!?? HA! It is Karma in my mind. Or, at least poetic.

xo

Lacie

Danger Zone 1: I totally agree with you on this. same thing happens with freelancers very often and very few of them stand back on themselves. You are the only right person to judge yourself from inside that who you are and what you want to be.

Danger Zone 2: That’s also making total seance as a really good artist know what’s the difference between quality and quantity. it’s always better to stand with quality.

Danger Zone 3: Here my view is little different. as i also mentioned in my first point that you should stand by yourself and try to judge by your instincts and others intention behind the work. there is much difference for writing a article for a commercial blog and a non profit organizations like wiki. obviously there is also other side which says that profit is also having same importance.

these are my personal view so no offense.
Anyway… Thanks for the quality post.

Thanks for the post!

@ Michael – I’m talking, mainly, about Google’s keyword spam algorithm, yes.

@ Tina – Absolutely, it is liberating, isn’t it? As I get further in my career, too, I find that I can pick and choose projects based on what I’ll enjoy, as well as on what’s ethical. It’s a great place to be in.

@ Susan – I think that’s key, too. The work you do has to align with not only your values, but with your goals.

@ Monica – Compromise is fine when it comes to breaking into a field. But what you can’t compromise on, in the long term, is your values. Sometimes, you’ve got to let a gig go by to maintain personal integrity.

Great thoughts, all!