Unbound.

I heard about this great website a couple of weeks ago, and I just remembered to have a look at the site.

I have previously had a look or two on publishing, how to get a book published with a big publishing house like Penguin, or McGraw Hill etc, and while some of them have great campaigns for new and aspiring authors, most of these focus on the bigger, previously successful authors, so its difficult to get a break. And then there are other smaller sites, in which you pay to have your book published, I think one of them published 100 books for you, and distribute it for a really great price. But what this lacks the support you need to know that your work is good. There are no bossy editors, pushing you to do your best, and who believe in your book.

That's what is so great about this new site. Its a UK based site, Unbound. The gist of it is this: authors pitch their book ideas to you, the reader. The reader then decides to pledge to the book, and will fund money for the publishing of this book. Funds start at 10 pounds, and go up to 250 pounds. Each "level" of funding provides you with different levels of access, support and communication with the author. Once the author reaches a "target," the book will be published. However, if the target is not reached, the money will be refunded to you in full.

I love this idea that its not just about pushy editors and publishing houses only publishing what they need to make more money. I love that it is honest and is truly about what the readers want. I also love that its more than just picking up a book and reading it, its about providing support and really being able to show an author that their work, their art matters and that its something great to believe in.

Anyways, if you're an author hoping to be published, check it out.

<3 S

P.S. Here's a little video on the site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de9CQA7G6vk 

Ageing.

It's no secret that the older you get, the more you learn, the more experiences you add to your repetoire and the wiser you become. But they don't tell you about the pain, the suffering, the hardships you gotta get through to become that way.

Don't get me wrong, I know how lucky I am to be alive and to have lived 21 years of life. Some people get flushed out with the morning after pill, a day after conception. Some don't even make it out of the womb alive. Then there are those who will never see the first day of school, or graduate college, those who will never fall in love or experience parenthood or grandparenthood.

But entering the twenties, I always had an idea of what life would be like. Happiness, freedom, money... But I never thought about things that I've lost, things I left behind, memories, regrets. And it truth, my life is only just beginning. Up until this point, I have been lucky not to have suffered great loss or endured great pain. When you're younger, you can't wait to be an adult; to live on your own, the freedom of going and coming, the freedom to eat chocolate cookies for dinner and nothing else. But as you get older, as you become an adult, you learn that with age comes pain, loss, regret. You start to miss who you were, what you had and where you used to be. And of course, you can always move forward, but there will always be a wandering eye that looks back and brings on the sadness, and the obvious truth of what you have lost. There's those sayings about not allowing yourself to look back, because you can't change it. While that may be true, for me, its also because looking back brings on a crippling pain that makes it impossible to move forward.

Give me innocence, inexperience and ignorance, any day.