As it is in nature, so it is in the hearts of human beings. Editors are not always Predators. As writers multiply and flourish in their desire to express themselves in the angst and tension of the modern world, to be creative and original, so also have their opportunities blossomed. What was once a closed door except for a lucky one in a hundred is now a gathering room with many open doors.
Industries shift according to needs.
Just because an author pays for publishing services, that does not imply that his/her words are not worthy of reading. (It is ego and vanity that assume the worth of words according to who publishes them.) It only implies that he/she doesn’t have the time or desire to wait for that one-in-a-hundred chance, or that his/her words are worthy of sharing regardless of others’ opinions or judgments.
Why not simply judge our own words firstly and act according to personal will? Let’s not focus on the dark clouds but on the silver-lined clouds that come by way of small publishers who aim to usher in the light of opportunity.
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(By the way, I’m a writer, too, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I publish my own words.)