This is a guest post provided by Saraf Ali, Kashmiri author and publisher.
I write, I don’t have a paper… The Shared Pen: a new vision in the valley.
In early times, writers only had one platform to express themselves and have their works passed into the public domain. That was the writers’ public visibility and reputation that the event organisers, via a publisher’s support, used to promote for selling their work.
The platform now isn’t what it used to be. A new definition is emerging based on the reality that in this era’s readers no more depend on print media or the feature pages of a known magazine to find a new writer/author to read. Instead, they look online and expect to find a more direct path to a favourite or yet-to-be-discovered artist.
It’s still about discovering a new artist, having their works in the public domain, but today’s approach has changed. New platforms are emerging to showcase the talent and feature artists of what The Shared Pen is the one to be talked on, that focuses on developing a bond between writers and their readers, with anyone controlling the flow. Now it’s anyone (who has the writing skills and some motivation), not necessarily an author, who inspires readers. The Shared Pen allows not only well-established authors, but also unknown, first-time writers to do an end-run around the platform they provide and reach readers or writers directly.
They today feature artists filled with their musings, frequently updating their posts, tweeting, and featuring home-made brief videos the artists come up with, to post on YouTube. They’re offering original content of artists in samples and chunks, with invitations for feedback, and taking every opportunity to comment and join their platform on topics that relate to one’s work.
Artists, writers, and authors here don’t need to be professors at Harvard to contribute useful comments and information online. Post brief sections from your book if you’re an author, quotes/one-liners if you’re a writer, and discuss with other fellow writers and authors about building your reputation and visibility. This is true whether your subject is science and technology, history and biography, food and cooking, parenting and relationships, really any subject in any genre, and whether you’re a fiction or non-fiction writer.
What makes The Shared Pen different from other platforms available is their rules. The basic rule of The Shared Pen is never to actually ask people to have their platform likes or comments given, but rather promote their work by making enduring connections, establish authentic online personalities, offer valuable information, analysis, opinions, and inspiring works.
In this way, they create a platform that represents emerging talent in the valley of Kashmir.
Saraf Ali is a freelancer, author, publisher, and first Kashmiri to win a reader’s choice award, perusing engineering (computer science) in SSM College of Engineering and Technology, Kashmir.
