Admission: One of my uncles was an attorney before he became a judge and championed my cause a couple times when I was abused by family members. As a child I often used rhetoric. As an adult , I’ve had political editorials that were published thousands of times online … and they were jam packed with it.

Given the fact that rhetoric is a tool of persuasion, I am aware that it can be used for self serving purposes, such as guilting someone into buying a car which is a lemon, or to bring awareness to issues that need to be addressed.

That said, I’m frustrated with some of its uses in present day society. It makes me a little crazy when words are reframed only to be placed back in their original context so as to garner power. It seems like everyone is grabbing at culturally significant words like freedom, responsibility, vision… etc… molding them into their personal brand, and then applying them to create meaning which demands to be embraced. It’s exhausting .

So why do I mess with it? Wouldn’t it be better to sip a cup of lavender tea, gaze out the window and daydream about the love affair between the big black bees and the pink hollyhock outside the door?

Well… as much as possible I actually try to, but then , during prayer, an issue comes to my heart and I find myself contemplating the holocaust of the homeless, or the voices of creatures who share this planet with us.. growing extinct.

Is that to say that the cause placed in my heart is more significant than others? Possibly yes. Possibly no. Depends. I believe we need to have some humility in this.. wait on Someone Greater for understanding. Sift through language meant to funnel us into pillars of thought… look for reason.. expect reason.. refuse all else.

I guess I have a bee in my bonnet about what I perceive to be the misuse of rhetoric, of algebraic equations that don’t add up, of persuasion used for political gain, of identity politics which claim that someone knows better just because they have read the glossary in the new math book.

The area of most concern to me this morning is the passion I see on sites like Instagram which longs for traditional publishing houses to be dashed on the rocks, that self published authors are some kind of folk hero’s in the making who are standing against the tides of oppression by refusing the evils of traditional publishing. Hatred of traditional publishing seems to include but is not limited to the construct that writers are refused because their message is too original, or because the writer is a minority, or that only established writers are accepted. ( As a female, lower income, biracial poet of indigenous descent who writes social justice and environmental advocacy poetry who signed a traditional publishing contract… I’m thinking maybe not. )

So what if … those suppositions aren’t true? What if they’re just rhetoric?

( Here I wax rhetorical) Although my publisher is a small Indie Press , I did sign a traditional contract. Does that make the years Stephanie and I spent on our faces before the Lord’s call, less of a “ fighting the odds” story? Do the countless rejection letters we received make our story less of a hardship? Does the challenge of collaboration so as to better a piece make my poems …. unoriginal?

If not, then I wonder why Stephanie and I have been accosted by self published authors demanding services from us for reviews and sales, in the name of promoting this self publishing revolution… merely for the sake of their identification as a self publisher. Just a thought… but is it possible that not all who call themselves revolutionaries have a cause? That not all who seek the utopia where every voice is published… are committed to community.

I will not speak for my daughter and agent Stephanie as she has her own stories to tell but a couple months ago one of my acquaintances actually offered Stephanie’s review services to her friend ( without asking us) because her self publishing friend had such an “ important message to share with the world.” A couple weeks ago a self published man reached out to me on IG to ask questions about the press who is publishing my collection, only to brag about his unique voice, tear my press down and try to get Stephanie to promote his work for free. ( Stephanie, who has been published in magazines across the country, who has over 70 published bylines , who generously offers her review service for free to those she feels called to support has come to me on different occasions, overwhelmed by the demands of those she hasn’t felt called to support , as they use the rhetoric of the self publishing revolution as an attempt to guilt her into writing services that she could legitimately be paid to do)

Last night I received a message from someone I barely knew on IG asking me to support her new book by either buying/ and or reviewing it. Uncomfortable with her framing this message with the words, “ every little bit will help,” I attempted to move the conversation from what felt like a guilt laden demand from a charitable organization to a dialogue between two authors… to no avail.

This makes me sad. If self publishing is supposed to be more grass roots and communal in nature, why are some turning it into an individualistic pursuit by which they turn connection into consumerism, attempting to use those in their circle to self servingly accomplish their goals? Why are some buying “ awards” and “ features” and then boasting about how they were chosen or honored? What exactly is the honor? That they have money to buy the appearance of honor.. when those with less money.. don’t? Is this even honest?

While I understand that self publishing by definition means that the services one might have via a traditional contract are thrust into the self publisher’s lap, does that really give them the right to foist their dreams on others through award related and guilt laden rhetoric? Call me crazy, but if this is going to be a positive movement, could I please see a little more integrity?

That said, I have several wonderful friends here on WP who are self published and are very committed to community and advocacy, and I love them for it. I have also been in awe of other WP bloggers who have encouraged me, who have agreed to, or volunteered to help me promote my upcoming book, who have used their writing to help others rather than using others to help their writing. ( You know who you are;) You have no idea what a blessing your emails have been. I am in awe of how you are willing to give me moments from your precious life to communicate to me that my dreams and concerns… that I matter. How generous, how community minded.. how selfless.. look at you shine.

Hugs and thanks,

Kimberly