Guest Post
by Morgan Winters
My name’s Morgan, and I’m an author. I feel kind of like I’m at Authors Anonymous, confessing my deepest secrets. I’ve kept my writing hidden for a very long time because I write incredibly dark and disturbing stuff. In fact, it’s so warped, I can’t even discuss it here on this Safe-for-Work platform. It’s better that way, anyway.
I’d started a half dozen or so projects, finishing none of them. That’s probably not a lot compared to most of the authors who frequent IU. But for me – the “nice guy” – it was a lot, and it was frustrating. I couldn’t complete them; I knew that once I did, I’d have to publish them. And then – then, I’d get “the looks.” You know the ones I mean… OMG, did he really write that? He must be sick! What a creep! I hope they fire him. I don’t want to work with someone that disturbed. Yeah, those.
No one expects that kind of dark stuff from me, you know? I have no idea where it comes from. Sometimes I wonder if I am indeed disturbed. But I have no urges to kill or torture anyone. No urges. Thoughts, sure, we all have those, don’t we? And usually in the boss’s office. But I digress.
Speaking of bosses, I need my job. I enjoy a roof over my head and food in my stomach. But I also have stories that need to get out of my head. Trading sanity for comfort? I figured there had to be a better way.
So I went online and I found Indies Unlimited. I stumbled into an incredibly thought-provoking written flash fiction prompt by he who they refer to as The Evil Mastermind. The photograph was also compelling. I wanted to enter, but again – the story in my head was warped, and I couldn’t risk being found out by my co-workers when it came time to ask for votes. And what if, on the outside chance, my story won? Then everyone would think I was not right in the head. Well, I’m not, but I mean like not right as in OMG Mabel, get the kids in the house, that creepy guy is coming up the street. I stared at that screen for a long, long time. I write (or try to, anyway) novels. I can’t write short stories – what makes me think I can write something that’s only 250 words? I’d never even had a thought that short in my life. Then I had an idea – what if I don’t win – on purpose? It was then I decided to use a fake name and purposely exceed the word count so there was no chance I could win. It was then I became who you all know as The Secret Scribe.
No chance to win? No pressure. Waiting for the next Saturday’s flash fiction prompt was like an itch I had to scratch. Gimme the prompt now, dammit! Give it to me. I needed it. I was now an addict. Still am.
I decided to contact Indies Unlimited directly and ask if it would be all right to publish my stories in a book, along with their photo and written prompts. The gracious folks gave me permission. I now planned to publish a year’s worth of stories in one book. Not unlike the official anthology, I’d have the prompts (written and photo) on one page and my story on another. That’s over 100 pages right there. Wow. In one year, I would be a published author. I just had to figure out how to make that happen without anyone finding out about it.
As if it was divine intervention, L.A. Lewandowski wrote an article about pseudonyms. I had to try it out immediately! Of course, I didn’t already have an author central page, or a KDP account, so I had to set all that up. And all the instructions to do that were right here on IU, along with a step-by-step guide on how to publish a book for first-timers like me.
So – the “moral” of the story, if you will, takes us to the title of this article. Indies Unlimited has done EVERYTHING for me. It has shown me that I can write something shorter than an epic novel. It has taught me how to do everything from formatting my own book to finding free promotion platforms. I learned how to set up my Author Central page, how to make a book trailer video, and so much more.
My collection of twenty-five stories is now published, and I ran a freebie using Martin Crosbie’s list of promo sites. I didn’t have a lot of downloads – but I’m not on Facebook or Twitter and my Dark and Disturbed blog doesn’t have any followers. No matter, I’m very happy with how it turned out. I even made it to #14 in the anthologies category. All that coolness, and I can still go to work. I feel kind of like Clark Kent.
So thank you, Indies Unlimited. Without you, I wouldn’t exist.
Disturbedly Yours,
Morgan Winters
Morgan Winters is the author of the flash fiction collection Dark and Disturbed. He hails from a secret location in a secret city in a secret country. His true identity is … in fact … a secret. You won’t learn anything new about Morgan on his Author Central page or on his blog. Because everything’s a secret.
Thanks for sharing. You’re not alone. Just make sure when the checks come in, YOU can deposit them.
Hello Mr. Waters, thank you for commenting. I was sitting here nervously listening to crickets. Checks would be nice, but right now I’m just happy to have an outlet for my work.
You’re welcome. If you call me Mr. Waters again, I will get one of my bad guys to intercept your trip to the bank. Dick is fine.
Most of us forget where we were before we got into this business.
Hopefully some day those checks will be worth robbing.
Hello Morgan,
I would love to introduce you to my friend Nelson Q. Lewis, but he is a paranoid sociopath and unable to endure sunlight. Frankly, I think you would become good friends. I’ll work on it.
I am glad my post was helpful to you in your quest for secret literary fulfillment.
Ms. Lewandowski, I am so glad you are here so I may thank you “in person” for your great post on pseudonyms. Without that, I would not be a published author today. And I would love to meet Nelson. We sound alike, although I can endure sunlight.
“Morgan” you are so right – Indies Unlimited is one stop shopping for any writer. There’s not any topic that one cannot find pertinent and accurate information on, to help us with our writing journeys. Congrats on your anthology.
Thank you, Ms. Greenlay. Indies Unlimited has been a life-saver to me. Thank you for commenting.
Congratulations Morgan. Stick with IU and you will continue to glean the stuff that counts. They are always there when you need them. Oh, and everyone has a bit of the dark in their souls.
Thank you, Ms. Joice. I prefer to think of it as my brain misfiring, and not actually embedded in my soul. And you don’t look like you have one iota of dark in you. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Thank you for sharing this with us. It validates what we are trying to do here. Keep writing and keep publishing. Who knows, one day we may say we knew you when.
My pleasure, Ms. Hertzberger. I appreciate all you folks at IU do for those of us who need guidance.
So glad to finally “meet” you, Morgan. Keep writing! 😀
Nice to meet you, too, Ms. Boris. Thanks for all your great articles on IU.
Thanks for posting, Morgan, and congrats on your book! Glad we were able to help you. That’s what we’re here for. 🙂
Thank *YOU*, Ms. Cantwell.
Be bold Mr Winters! Finish your book and publish it under a Pen Name. Then you can have the satisfaction of watching the faces, hearing the comments and saying nothing. It can still be your dark little secret.
Make sure you choose a name that is nothing like your own, something like Gabriel Snooks, or Winston Hael.
Mr. Mathie, you don’t care for my pseudonym of Morgan Winters? I figured it had a mysterious air to it. Sort of dark, sort of cold. Bad pun, I guess. Thanks for your encouragement.
You should hook up with Blaze McRob at Visionary Press. He’s my bud, even though he’s never published anything of mine since I’m fiercely Indie. But, he read my horror, gave me feedback, and dared me to write sci-fi. Well, I did, and folks liked it. So give him a buzz, he’s also on FB. And he’s probably just as even if not more “disturbed” than you!
http://www.blazemcrob.com/
Happy writing!
Thank you for the recommendation. I’ll make a note of Mr. McRob’s website. Hopefully I’ll get to a point where I’ll need it.