“No one will ever know who I am, I’m a nobody-writer from nowhere… I’ve had a thousand rejections from all
major publishers. It seems my destiny is never to be read, another nameless soul lost to sands of eternity.” Johnny’s face twisted into a pained grimace, you could tell his heart was tied up in a pretzel knot of self-deprecation.“What’s use in writing if I know no one will ever read my stories?’ He looked at me for some kind of comfort or wisdom; luckily I was ready with answers. I don’t know much, but I do know world is constantly changing, and I also know a bit about Internet.
“Well, you could quit altogether, become a door to door knife salesman, or if it’s really bad- hey, suicide’s an option! But seriously, you’ve been locked away in your room reading and writing for too long, things have changed brother.”
Johnny looked up from where he was holding his head in his hands. He snorted, “What’s answer then? Don’t tell me it’s your bloody Information Technology computer world; you guys think you’ve got all answers. You probably also have recipe for world’s best pizza, equation that solves riddle of space travel, a new gadget that regulates bowel movements, and ingredients necessary for a deodorant that makes chimpanzees smell like roses!”
Johnny’s face lit up with an intensity I hadn’t seen in ages, his cheeks went bright pink as his words sputtered out in rapid succession using last of his current breath. However, I stayed calm. Hey, these Tai Chi classes were obviously doing their job!
I spoke softly and clearly, “ I don’t have all answers buddy. But, do you know what E Books are? Do you know you can publish your own work on Net, send it to a multitude of publishers at once electronically? You can also join writer’s chat rooms and web log journals on-line to get constructive criticism from professionals and other amateurs like yourself. I smiled my famous Cheshire cat smile. Poor Johnny looked astonished, his eyes bulging wide.
