As a writer, it has always been my ultimate goal to publish my own work. Before this class, I understood that to mean pitching my work to agents and publishing houses in the hopes that they take a chance on me and then do all the work on my behalf. I never considered making my own ebooks or self-publishing as a viable route because I did not know any better; I thought that the only way to succeed in the literary world was to follow the traditional path. What this class revealed to me, however, is that traditional publishing is a waiting game, and that I am a very impatient person. As the saying goes, if you want something done right, you do it yourself, and thanks to this class, I realized that I don’t have to wait around for the publishers to take a chance on my work; I can publish my own work on my own terms as soon as I want.
Working with digital media in this class elucidated a very important lesson for me: that capitalism has complicated a process that in fact can be very simple. With the technological advances and capabilities of today, it is easier than ever for a writer to self-publish and market their work. It is all just a matter of having the right tools and expertise to build a presence for yourself. Of course, working with traditional publishing can have its benefits, but only if you’re thinking in terms of financial success. Instead, I believe that ultimate freedom in publishing comes from the individual, rather than the choices of corporations who only think in terms of what is profitable. I believe that art succeeds when the artist is not limited by the interests of others, and instead trusts themselves to create something that is true to their artistic vision. Self-publishing an ebook does not always equal success in the traditional sense, but “real” artists are never interested in what is traditional, I believe. Ultimately, I see myself as an artist interested in innovation and pure self-expression. Learning how to create my own art in different mediums through this class has been nothing short of a liberating experience, and I hope to carry forward what I’ve learned into my future career as an artist and a writer.