On Writing : Not a meanie. Just a realistic. by Lyla L. Hartley

it's best when it's a win/win situation. people can help you, but they have to be the RIGHT people. Be selective but not so closed off that you don't allow people to "help" you when they can.

I have been a member of this site for how long? My point exactly. No one person in my entire history on this site has offered a win/win. Just being honest. I am being "selective" as you suggest. I am not exactly "close-minded" again... as you suggest. In my (what?) 3 years here I have yet to meet ONE person that is of like mind.

I know it's challenging! I've met my share of "flakes", too. but I've also met some divine wonderful folks who've really helped me. It's a selection process. keep going. you can do it. never give up!

I LOVE that word! Flakes! You summed it up for me! Thank you! Truth be told I do know (personally) of one local publisher that would "like" to see at least one of my 75+ works that is young adult/sci-fi/romance because they only want to publish works from women for the entire year of 2017.

@Lyla, thank you for this. I've lived in Hollywood longer than the dinosaurs did and I've seen and heard it all! Keep going, never give up!

Lyla always copyright your work that should help you if anyone try to steal your work.

@Xun yes, copyright before you start pitching it

There's a nice thread in this section regarding self publishing. That might be an answer.

@Stephen Foster - Older than La Brea? lol :) @Xun Silverstar - If I could afford to copyright, I would! :) lol @Richard "RB" Botto - Dang my luck! Nice idea. I looked into self-publishing (years ago) and found that I can not afford it. When I say welfare, I mean exactly that... welfare! I get $194 a month in food stamps and I get state medical. That's it, that's all I get. Is there someone/someplace that will let me pay them in food stamps? Illegal yes and hence... a no go for me. It seems that my best bet (for now) is to finish up the one project and put it forth to the ONE local publisher that will only publish works from women in this year of 2017. Do any of you gentlemen or any other persons that might come across this post have any other ideas? I'm open! :) Oh and yes, I looked into the writers guild. (sigh) No money for that either and of course any/all crowd source funding has been a joke to me. (sigh... again) Just my crappy luck! (eye roll)

I think you can self-publish on amazon for free! I first published my acting book (with a crappy homemade cover, btw) for FREE!

I can't even do that. I do not have any bank accounts and I do not have any credit cards. When I say that I am poor and on welfare... I mean exactly that. I literally have nothing. lol

Exactly how many of your 75+ ideas of yours have your finished? I have 1,236,632 ideas I haven't finished (all fabulous, mind you), but they ain't worth a damn until they're down on paper or digital.

How long until you finish your masters degree? You should be able to get a good paying job after you graduate. Actually, I'm surprised that you haven't found a job with the bachelor's degree. Hope you can find a job that will finance your writing soon.

@Robert Rosenbaum - I actually completed many of them and had them all on my website. I removed them from my website for fear of theft. I will never admit that 100% of my works are "fabulous" as you claim yours are. Wow! 1,236.632 ideas!? You're WAY ahead of me and should be richer than King and or Rawlings combined!

@Greg Spader - As I stated, according to COLLEGIATE tests I have a near Master's Degree concerning my command of the English language. My apologies if my statement was misleading to you. However, I did state "collegiate tests". I was being honest.

Of course all my ideas are fabulous... when I start to write them down is when they fall apart! And of those 1.2m+ ideas, I have finished a few dozen and produced several. I have been paid for (or made money on) a few. My point is simply you don't make money on an idea you make money on the product of that idea. You also do not make money on works kept in drawers, nor can you make a name for yourself if no one sees what you can do. Copyright your work and put it out there. Write on spec and send your work around. Write for credit if you really believe in the person or team you are working with. You say you would "never admit that 100% of my works are 'fabulous'" however you think they are so much better than everyone else's that we are lining up to steal them? Of course by that I mean don't worry about people stealing your completed (copy-written) work, you have to put it out there. As for your ideas...

@Robert Rosenbaum - As I've stated before, I can not afford to copyright anything. I did put forth my works on my own personal website in the hopes to get read. Instead I got faced with thieves all across this planet. That is why I removed ALL of my works from my website. I used to have many pages dedicated to the many different genres as well as novels and screenplays. I removed my 9 novel sci-fi series called "Spera", my 51 series of "Hypno-Terror", I've removed my two "Charmed" tele-screenplays, the tele-screenplays for the series "Forever" as well as countless others. I even got stolen from some man in NIGERIA! He was HIGHLY interested in my zombie trilogy. Yep! I reported that person. When I stated that not 100% of my works were "fabulous", I meant that not 100% of any one or entire population will think that my idea is "fabulous". Just for you and you alone I will from now on further specify and clarify EXACTLY what I mean. Thank you for your challenge and doubt. I assure you I am not a liar. Egads! I despise the word "liar". It is just not my nature to lie nor embellish when it comes down to the cold hard facts of my own private and personal life. Do you want to know my blood type? My Rh factor? My home address? My social security number? My drivers license number? My date of birth? Where I was born? My father's, mother's and grandmother's full name? My first pet's name? I will GLADLY give ALL of that information to you in a private message providing that YOU are not a thief. Congratulations on getting paid! Color me jelly! :) lol

I'm surprised you've got a 9-novel series and it's not available to buy anywhere (well, not anywhere obvious like Amazon). Why not self-publish? It's free and you'll get paid for every copy that sells and it seems - from what I've been told - that people love series (Harry Potter, etc.)

Lyla - Sorry that I misinterpreted your post. I'm new at all this. I went back and reread the thread. It sounds like you have a great opportunity to get your work published. You stated that you already have some completed projects and a local publisher that is willing to read your work. Submit your work and let us know how what happens. Best of luck.

Oh - one more thought. If people are asking for your help, you must have a good reputation in the writing arena. You could start charging to help people. It doesn't have to be a lot of money. But you can save it up and use it to get copyrights or self-publish your novels.

Let's see if I can help. I'll look at what you've got and at least get your favorite one copyrighted for you. Screenplay, short story, or novel. You choose. It's really not that much money, but I understand what you're saying. It won't fix everything because you will still need to self promote, get it edited, etc.; and that will cost money too. But at least you will feel comfort in knowing that at least one of your written works is protected. If you have a finished work, we'll get the ball rolling. Where it goes from there, is up to you. If you're interested, send me a PM.

https://kdp.amazon.com/ This is supposedly free, but I'm not sure. Good luck.

Thanks for the info Wayne. Lyla - I read through all the steps and it doesn't require a credit or debit card. You only have to enter your bank information if you want to receive electronic payments. Otherwise, they will send you a check for your sales. It looks like this is just what you are looking for Jeff Langham has offered to pay to copyright a selection of your work and then you just have to upload it to Amazon.

Agree with Greg. That's it. Let me know. Just mention me when you accept any awards! ;)

Assuming that I can find my works (as it has been some time and I gave up hope) and if each and every one wants to take a peak, I am VERY willing to send a "sneak peek"/synopsis. As everyone is different, just mention which genre interests you most. :) My personal e-mail address is LLHartley@LLHartley.com

Do they require a credit card, bank account, etc.?

Great that you've been paid! :)

Thank you Mr. John Busher for your advice. If I ever have a bank account or credit card/etc. I will keep it under advisement! Again... THANK YOU and Blessed be! @Kay Luke - Could you please clarify your post? Thank you ever so much and blessed be! :) I got an e-mail notice of a reply to this post but I do not see the post here. My apologies that I somehow missed someone offering to pay the copyright fees. If I may ask, what percentage must I pay "IF" it takes off/sells? The offer still stands, if you want a sneak peek (at my works) and are willing... you can privately e-mail me at LLHartley@LLHartley.com . Just mention which genre interests you most. I am trying to have faith and trust in this community. If I get attacked one more time I will simply delete this entire post and delete this account and will favor the "old school" way of getting things done via a private publisher or anyone else. I have spent years on this site. I have added to and deleted from this site. It just appears (to me) that this site is something that is not going to work for me yet does work for others. I commend those that this site works for them! I wish the the BEST! :) Blessed be and keep sweet you all! - Lyla :)

So, I did a little more digging and found a TROLL! This person (that attacked me and appeared to delete their MEAN post) has a karma of 9 and has been only on this site for a mere few days.Their profile isn't even complete! Not even a picture! Meanwhile, my profile is complete and I have been here for years!

I only earn meager income writing but I do not complain. I think it's how you think and value your work that matters.

Well, I have deleted one post that I made to this thread. Thought that you couldn't possible be talking about me because I know I didn't write anything "mean". But I am new and I don't have a picture. I wasn't sure what karma meant on this site but when I checked my profile I saw that it says I have a karma of 9. I'm not sure how being new on the site makes me a troll. Show me a person on here that wasn't new at one point. Please feel free to quote my deleted post if you have it. Report me to a moderator. I don't remember exactly what I wrote but I do remember being surprised that you said you weren't sure that you could find your work. I thought about it and realized that I have lost track of digital photos and other documents over time. Anyway, if I were you, I would focus on all the positive things that have come from this thread. Someone is going to pay to copyright one of your novels. You now know how to self-publish and the method does not require a credit card or bank account information. Or, you can send the work to the publisher that you mentioned earlier in this thread. There is nothing stopping you now. Take advantage of this great opportunity! This might be your big break.

Oh dear Lyla lovely, keep your ideas to yourself only...why...there is no copyright for an idea...why don't you write one of your novels, from your wealth of ideas..publish it yourself (with your own copyright) I did this first...100 copies then uploaded to Amazon. ( incidentally put my other ones there) Good Luck

l am a published author. I love sharing my ideas, because discussing them with my friends, very often, help me improve the projects. I never care about others stealing my ideas. If they can get rich on my ideas, more power to them. I think we're here on earth to share, not to get rich. I feel very blessed because I can help others and I am very fortunate that others also watch my back. With that said, there are some selfish bitches out there, so it never hurts to be vigilant.

Maybe turn one of your ideas into a short film? You could work with college kids or volunteers. Create a sort of "book trailer". I'm willing to help with music, if need be. I understand being poor and wanting your creativity to get noticed. It really is hard, having so many ideas but not being able to utilize it. It gets hard, which stifles creativity...

I'm definitely down to help you if you do go the "book trailer" route. I think it's a good idea because it gets the buzz flowing.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. I have a book filled with ideas. However, I've turned many of them into finished work. You need to write before you can help other writers. I wouldn't be asking you for help since you have no proven track record of success as a writer. My advice to you is to write. Expand those ideas - or at least one of them. Then share that with others to see where you're at in terms of your abilities.

You sound certain that your ideas will make someone rich. If that's the case, make yourself rich with your own ideas. I strongly encourage you to expand them, grow them, enjoy them and turn them into finished projects.

Ideas are just the start. In fact, I'll give you the premise for my latest short film. Take it, and run with it. Write the story as you see it. I'm betting that our finished products won't resemble each other at all.

Good luck with everything.

Lyla seems to.have disappeared.

Nope.