I have been thinking lately about my own shortcomings as a
writer and, to a certain extent, as a person. This will be very much less about
my strengths (I think I have some.) and mostly about my weaknesses and what I
wish I was able to do. It will also be an open invitation not only for comment
but to consider getting involved.
I am disorganized, unfocussed, lacking in technical
expertise, and prone to procrastination. These are not good qualities for
someone who would like very much to be involved in creating a journal of good
(or at least, attractive to me) writing. On the other hand, I'm a good editor,
I am passionate about writing, I have numerous contacts in the writing world,
tremendous patience with beginners who want to learn, and the time to devote to
the work.
I am a very fortunate man. Through the serendipity of love I
found a life partner who fills most of the holes in my personality and temperament
as far as the ordinary (and the extraordinary) parts of life but her artistic
drives are in a different direction than mine. That isn't a problem for the
most part but it leaves me with a dilemma. I need to find someone with my
passion for sharing literature who fills the empty spaces in my skills in the
literary world. They need to be someone I can like and work with, whose ideas
of what is good in the written word are compatible with mine, and is good at
details, record keeping, collaborative effort, and organization. They should be
someone who cares enough about publishing that they don't mind if little or no
money is ever made from it. Money would be nice but we need to be satisfied as
long as we aren't spending a lot of our own to do this. Also nice would be if
this person was more technically proficient than I am so that they could give
me guidance on those sorts of issues.
Let me make this clear. There would be some start up money
necessary to do what I would like but I'm not looking for a bankroll. It would.
however, be necessary to share whatever monetary risk was involved. Would I
object if someone with deep pockets said, "You do the artistic work and
I'll handle the business end and fund the project. Spend whatever you
need."? Don't be silly. Of course I wouldn't. Am I expecting someone like
that to show up, or even exist? Of course, I don't.
Am I just daydreaming here? Probably. Few dreams ever come
true but on the other hand, pretty much every great thing started with one.
