Pursuing dreams in retirement
Scarlett pursued her dream of starting a new career as a romance writer.when she retired early from the public service.
"So far, I have had several short stories published in print for various magazines," says Scarlett "but it was when I got online a few years ago that my hopes were raised sky high -- I found a publishing website that paid writers according to the number of visitors that read their work."
"Although there was far more interest in non-fiction articles," explains Scarlett, "I was nevertheless pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors -- and money -- I received for my romance stories."
"Of course, the money never materialized and the publishing site disappeared in the dotcom bust," sighs Scarlett, "but it did give me an incentive to get started on a novel -- rather than my usual short stories."
"I know that lots of writers publish on the Net for the love of it rather than for financial reward," says Scarlett, "but it's important for me to get paid for my work."
"The publishing website I wrote for had a great idea and it's sad that it had to close up shop," sighs Scarlett. "As well as paying us, the site also provided a great venue for writers to get together and discuss their work and hone their skills. It was a great idea!"
"Some of the writers at the website were very talented and were actually earning a living from freelance writing on the Net -- providing content for various other websites," explains Scarlett. "Since more and more Internet publications are becoming 'user pay' it is a pity that the site chose to fold rather go that route."
"I really believe that it's only a matter of time before Net surfers accept that if they want quality information and entertainment on the Net then they will have to pay for it," says Scarlett, "and a website that provides a venue for talented writers to display their work -- requiring user registration and a nominal subscription from readers -- sounds reasonable to me."
"Freelance writers not only lost a lucrative source of income with the Dotcom Bust," says Scarlett, "but they also lost much of the prestige and copyright protection that they once enjoyed when their work appeared on well-known publishing sites."
"Now, by advertising their work on various 'free' websites -- in the hope that they get writing commissions from readers -- these talented freelancers are just going to get ripped off."
"There is definitely a paucity of content on the Internet these days that is not designed to get you to buy something or part with your personal information -- which in itself is quite valuable," says Scarlett, "so talented freelancers who publish on the net for free are going against the tide."
Read more by Scarlett:
<< Home