(Moderators, please move this to the right forum if this is in the wrong place) I'm Roy G. Bivens and this is how I'm livin.' That's a tag line for me artistically, the name being at least 90% in reference to the style of my clothing/fashion. My name is Sean Mitchell, a writer based in the Houston area. I've been in the media for 13 full years now and am in the process of writing and trying to publish books. I'm looking for more publicity and avenues for publishing, so this is a start. Take care...
Hi Roy/Sean! I'm one of the forum moderators, and I want to welcome you to the forum. And yes, you posted this in the right place. We're quite interested in hearing about the stuff you write, your reasons for writing, and ...I would love to know what RoyGBiv has to do with clothing style. I'm an elderly ex-Yank from Michigan who has lived in Scotland for nearly 34 years, so I'm outta touch with the lingo. While we do discuss publishing issues—we have a separate Publishing section of the forum, at the very top of the Community page—I do want to issue a caution. We aren't an avenue for publication, if , by that, you mean advertising your products or linking to sales sites. We are quite protective of our membership in terms of them being subjected to any kind of sales pitch or direct links to items for sale. There is more of this stance explained in our Forum Rules which I would urge you to read, if you didn't already do so before you joined. Our anti-advertising stance especially applies to new members who may have joined the forum simply to advertise themselves as writers. That's not what we're about here. You are, of course, allowed to list the names of the books you've written, and your pen name as well, but you are not allowed to link to sales sites, or directly tout for sales. We are a community of people who are interested in writing. Selling is only a small portion of that interest. Mostly we like to discuss writing issues, how we handle certain subjects, how we write for particular genres, general tips for spelling, grammar and punctuation, how 'best' to depict certain kinds of characters, plots, settings, etc. In other words, this forum operates as a discussion group focused on producing better writing. Learning how to sell your stuff is also part of the process, but the actual selling doesn't take place on this forum. Anyway, take your time to settle in and get to know us, and let us get to know you (and your sense of fashion. ) I would suggest you also read this part of the forum, which is designed to help new members get oriented. New Member Quick Start If you encounter any problems getting started, please feel free to contact me by clicking my owl avatar and 'start a conversation' with me. I'll do my best to help. See you around the threads. Have fun. Cheers, Jan
Thanks for the reply! I'll try not to advertise or solicit directly other than link where my work may be found. I wanted to join a website with fellow writers who could not only be exposed to my work but also be able converse with me back and forth. I'm also looking to advertise my talents (journalism, book writing, proofreading, researching, poetry, sports writing, spoken word, etc...) As for Roy G. Biv' (a pun nickname based on the acronym ROYGBIV for the colors of the rainbow), it is a reference to the style in which I often dress in. My colors are often bright and stand out amongst the crowd, often complete with sunshades, hats and even matching socks and wristbands. Even when not colorful (I have a increasingly famous white based outfit), my fashion typically stands out. While in college at Prairie View A&M University and in my fourth year, I was notorious more than any point prior or since for having such a knack for matching from head to toe. I've toned it down some since then but I love my new stage name, which I came up with this passed summer while thinking of something that alluded to my colorful clothing. Previous pen/stage names included the spelling of my real name backward (or some variation), allusions to the star Sirius (i.e. my star power) and even the never actively used [The] Coffee Shop Poet. My fashion skews toward African-American urban and I sometimes incorporate a backwards hat and tennis shoes. That said, I'm a good and well educated man that does charity work and who just likes to have fun and wouldn't hurt a fly. My persona is taking off and I want you guys to be along for the ride. I have no books written but many are planned. You can private message me for my Facebook fan page, unless it's okay to post here. You can find me on www.allpoetry.com/seanmitchell for an incomplete listing of my poetry. Much of it has been lost over the years but many lines and poems have been remembered.
Hi again, Roy! Thanks for the explanation about your name. I'm a fan already, then. I love multiple colours. The world is full of beautiful colours; why not celebrate them all? I'm not particularly flamboyant, but I often try to include a lot of colours in my clothes and my house as well. I'm definitely not a 'beige.' Mod hat on here: I do want to remind you that the purpose of this forum is NOT self-promotion. I suspect there are many forums that encourage it, and people join those forums to advertise their talents, but we're not one of them. AS I wrote before: We are a community of people who are interested in writing. Selling is only a small portion of that interest. Mostly we like to discuss writing issues, how we handle certain subjects, how we write for particular genres, general tips for spelling, grammar and punctuation, how 'best' to depict certain kinds of characters, plots, settings, etc. In other words, this forum operates as a discussion group focused on producing better writing. Learning how to sell your stuff is also part of the process, but the actual selling doesn't take place on this forum. As spelled out in our Forum Rules I see one of my fellow moderators deleted a post you made that we do consider 'advertising.' If you have advice to offer, by all means do so, but do so on our open threads—in the discussions and in the Workshop (where it will be much appreciated by fellow writers.) After you have been here a good long while, you may build up a core group of people who respect your expertise, and they may ask you for one-on-one beta swaps, etc. But in the meantime, please just join in and make friends? And do regard us as potential friends. You wouldn't go to a new friend's party and start passing out business cards to everybody, would you? (I hope! )
Sorry, I knew might be tip toeing the line but I thought I was on the right side. Long story short, I'm looking for more work.
That's fine, and you're upfront about it. But you can't look for more work here, I'm afraid. It's not that kind of a forum. Good luck with your search for work, however, and I do hope you do stay on as a member. (For fun and frolic. )
