Best for:
Struggling poets, independent authors, and creative activists seeking to bypass the traditional gatekeeping of the literary industry.
The Vault:
- Indie publishing support for free – who this offer exists for & why.
- Community over profit Model & Philosophy behind my brand and indie small press.
- Our “review economy” & our aim to provide radical accessibility.
- How capitalism contributes to artistic burnout.
- Balancing third-shift work with creative goals.
- My long-term vision for a grassroots creative ecosystem.
What job would you do for free?
When Creativity & Survival Collide:
For years I have found myself wondering what happens when creativity collides with survival. We sadly exist in a world where nearly everything is monetized, or based on premium monthly subscriptions, so helping others create without expecting profit can feel strangely rebellious.
Somewhere between my never-ending string of overnight shifts, editing manuscripts, and building my personal brand and independent publishing house, I realized the answer to the question “What job would you do for free?” was never hypothetical.
The Heart of the Hustle – Why I Offer Indie Publishing for Free:
In our society we treat every waking moment as a potential billable hour; we have even found that constant productivity feels demanded of us. The act of helping someone else create something or even creating something yourself just for the sake of its existence feels like a radical rebellion in today’s society.
The Answer:
For me, the answer to the age-old interview question, “What job would you do for free?” isn’t a hypothetical daydream, and is much closer to my lived reality.
Through Poeaxtry and the Prism, I have committed to providing a launchpad for voices that the mainstream industry often silences or ignores.
Publishing, Editing, & Formatting:
I do so by offering indie publishing, professional formatting, editing, and design at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis, for creatives from any minority community. I am attempting to strip away the financial barriers that keep powerful, real stories locked in digital desk drawers.
This mission is born from the belief that art is a human right, not a luxury reserved for those with the capital to pay for high-end vanity presses. When I talk about “indie publishing for free,” I am not just talking about a lack of a price tag; I am referring to the democratization of information and the preservation of culture from the bottom up.
Digital Collections & the Review Economy:
For me, this mission goes beyond simply putting words on a page. My brand operates on a philosophy of radical accessibility. We do this by offering free digital collections to those who are personally affected by some of the themes reflected on in the work, that may be through shared trauma, marginalized identity, or specific lived experiences.
If a collection speaks to your survival, you shouldn’t have to pay to see yourself reflected through art and, you don’t have to ask for it either. I provide the forms upfront, no need or use for shame here.
When you see the state of our economy, it is plain for anyone to see why I also offer anyone else who is not quite in the place to pay, my collections in exchange for an honest review.
This “review economy” helps build a community of feedback and visibility that doesn’t require a credit card for access. While it also ensures that the art here remains as accessible as an open-ended conversation rather than just another fully pay-walled transaction.
If you compare this model to modern capitalism, the “currency” is your engagement, boosts, and human connection, each holding far more long-term value for a grassroots author than a few dollars ever could.
The Capitalistic Hellscape – Why Art is Suffering:
If we didn’t live in what I can only describe as a capitalistic hellscape, the scope of this project would be infinite. However, the truth for the moment is we do live in a system that views humans as “resources” to be extracted rather than beings to be nurtured.
This systemic pressure forces creators to commodify their deepest emotions just to keep the lights on.
Many artistic creatives seem to agree that the greatest thief of art isn’t a lack of talent, but a lack of time.
Burnout & the Effect it has on Your Creativity:
The horrors of our current economic structure mean that most of us are too tired to be brilliant or too burnt out to function in a creative manner when we actually have the time to be.
We are seemingly trapped in a cycle where survival will always precede self-expression.
When we have to choose between buying groceries, car insurance, rent, or paying for a professional for our book’s cover art, editing, or formatting, I already know our art will lose every time. This is why I work at providing these services for free.
I see this as my greatest act of defiance; it is a way for me to tell the system that our stories cannot be bought, sold, or suppressed by our bank balance.
The Reality of Third-Shift:
The reason I am not currently offering even more for free such as: workshops, physical prints, or direct mentorships, boils down to the crushing weight of working the “9-to-5.”
Though let’s be real, for many of us, the typical 9-5 now spans a greater time frame.
The current reality I recently faced at my “day job” involved a rather demanding schedule which consisted of two 12-hour shifts and two 16-hour shifts. I have recently switched this up some and currently work an average of four twelve-hour shifts, per week.
However, no matter your sleeping pattern when you work that many hours a week you will at least be tempted to spend your “free time” in a state of recovery rather than discovery. Again I am grateful I recover most while I am also in discovery mode.
The exhaustion for some may not just be physical; known to visit others by way of a spiritual tax. In a healthcare setting being in “go-mode” for sixteen-hours straight leaves little room for error. Though night-shift rounds are not always as demanding as their daytime counterparts. This is where I find the time to work towards creative goals and a small extra paycheck nightly.
Thanks again capitalism, seriously…
This burnout-inducing cycle is sometimes a hurdle between my creative output and my ultimate vision for a fully accessible creative-hub that respects both the economic truth of America as well as my time. This is the perfect example of how capitalism kills things that make life worth living.
My Creative Vision:
In a world where our basic needs were met; labor wasn’t extracted from people for crumbs falling from above, the publishing press I run would be vastly different.
I would:
- Host Daily Community “Sprints”: these would act towards providing real-time, hands-on editing and book design sessions. Open to anyone considered part of a minority community that also has a story to tell, regardless of their technical skill level or ability to pay.
- Establish a Physical & Digital Archive: This is the permanent, digitally stored as well as tactile space for handmade zines and indie works. Existing for these to be shared, interacted with, read, and archived for future generations.
- Launch a Global Gift Initiative: We would ship physical poetry, art, and minority literature collections to rural libraries and community centers worldwide. Without the looming shadow of shipping costs or production overhead to affect our ability to share.
- Full-Scale lessons & Mentorship: I would enjoy being able to spend my days teaching the technical side of rockhounding, polishing stones, and/or digital publishing. Using this time to help others build their own platforms of resistance and products from found materials.
The Collective Struggle of the Creative Class:
I for one know that I am far from alone in this struggle. Across the globe, musicians, artists, and word-lovers alike are all echoing the same sentiment: we are being worked to death, leaving our mediums of choice blank.
The “starving artist” trope is not a romantic rite of passage; it is a systemic failure. When we look at the history of art, much of the work we celebrate today was only possible due to patronage or, the cost of living allowing for a simpler, slower pace.
Today, our pace is pre-set to hyper-speed and, we are all expected to be productive at work or producing “content” for viewing at a breakneck speed.
That goes without even mentioning that most of us do this all for close to free in the name of giant corporations. Yet, we are the ones basically paying a subscription premium to exist.
Paving the Way Forward:
Despite the exhaustion felt after some of the overnight shifts mixed with the emotional-weight of my work week, every hour I spend on anything creative is a brick in the path I am paving.
I aim to work toward a future where my brand isn’t just a side project squeezed between shifts, but a sustainable ecosystem for myself and other members of marginalized communities.
I’m building the infrastructure now, through digital collections, community-building, spiritual items, and natural items too. All of my individual creations and projects are about creating an entryway.
This is me playing the long game with every manuscript I format for myself or another indie author. Using each win collected as another reminder that we are still here.
We are done shouting into the void.
One day, I intend to walk through that door into a full-time commitment to the arts, leaving the endless night shifts behind to finally focus entirely on elevating the voices of the grassroots artistic and writing community.
I am aligned with the movement focused on helping each other build the world we want to live in. Even if I have to do it one-by-one through each free access code, publishing opportunity, or open-mic night I provide.
TLDR:
I offer free indie publishing support to other individuals in any community considered marginalized due to my deep-rooted belief that storytelling and artistic expression should not be locked behind financial barriers.
Through Poeaxtry and the Prism, I am trying to create more accessible pathways for marginalized creatives.
This experimental piece explores burnout, overnight work culture, capitalism, and the tension between survival and creativity. It also outlines my long-term vision for a community-centered publishing space.
Further Reading:
Print 2 Demand – Indie Publishers are Shaping the Future
Ness labs – Burnout & When the Creative Tap Runs Dry
Success Reclaimed – Doing Enough
Permanent Ink- Iden
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