I have a dream, a vision. I’ve been managing this site on my own since January 2015. It’s been both a learning process, and a journey; overall, it’s been worthwhile. I’m writing this to share part of the inspiration for this site and obstacles I’ve encountered so far in my efforts to expand this site and help it reach more people and reach its full potential (I’m not exactly a fan of this phrase, as I believe there’s always something for which to strive).

I recall when I first truly wanted to build a site, and more importantly a community, of writers and literature. This came after getting a poem published in my university’s literary journal. Each person who was accepted into the issue had the opportunity to read their work in front of an audience; each person had the opportunity to have their voice heard, commended, appreciated.

After this moment, seeing the community this event brought made me want to recreate this–it was but a mere hour, if that, but in that hour a community nonetheless was constructed. With the help of a co-founder and manager of the site at the time, for the first issue of Scribe Base (Winter 2014), the name of the site was born. The site was originally meant for writers of all genres and styles to come together; the site was meant to be a base for scribes, no matter what the topic. I appreciate all of the submissions people have sent in over the years, without which Scribe Base would not exist whatsoever, but I would also like to increase traffic to the site and expand the scope, to encompass everything writing-related. Is this possible? I think that question is irrelevant; the crucial point is that we strive to accomplish this goal, as a community.

Hence, a compulsion sparked from within to do just this; I had always wanted to be part of an academic journal or even start one of my own. Hence, the inspiration behind the journal project on here, which also helps the goal of expanding this site as a literary base that is all-encompassing. It is hard to gauge just yet how well (or not well) this project will fare. There have been over a couple dozen clicks from the call for papers ad thus far, and I have someone willing to help with the editing process and going over submissions.

Yet, despite the efforts taken on here and Scribe Base’s social media pages, it still unfortunately feels as if this academic journal won’t be taken seriously and that it’ll be a flop. This could be doubt on my end and/or fear of failure which has held me back for years from even attempting a project such as this, but there is a frustration that exists alongside this fear. We write for creative expression and freedom; we write because we have a story we feel needs be told. It feels that, without a PhD and affiliation to back one up, one’s voice in the realm of academia goes unheard.

I stand, as an independent scholar, interested in all that studies of nature, philosophy, culture, and more, at the foot of the ivory tower. I exclude no discipline from my personal study, for I’d like to be able to understand life from all perspectives. I stand here, feeling voiceless. I have a bachelor’s, and have taken courses at the graduate level, and do plan on getting an MA and/or PhD, but in the meantime, must I wait in order to have my vision realized or be able to offer researchers a platform of their efforts? I get the credibility side of the argument, but is that a reason to not take a project, a vision, seriously and to dismiss it entirely? I’d like to see this journal as an opportunity for researchers to have their voice heard, to provide a platform for their efforts; that others will share my vision and see what may come of this project. Of course, one issue has been with generating traffic, but it’s not unreasonable to suspect that what I’ve mentioned may also play a role.

Another obstacle has been financial, whether it’d be money to have the journal hosted on another site or even have a call for papers ad posted onto a site. I get that it costs money to have those sites maintained, but should one pay for access to knowledge? We’re talking $50 per post. It stays up for a year, but does it ensure the success of this project or that I’ll get submissions? Not really. It solves the problem of getting the journal seen, but not guaranteed. And what if I would like to have an edited volume? Another $50. Add these costs up, along with other advertising, hosting the site, hosting the journal (if I have the journal itself pay for submissions to itself) and, well… even one submission/month will have this cost over $200/year. This site has no funding source, and it’s a bit steep to fund that out of pocket. I hate to admit that. Point is, it prevents a site managed by one person with huge aspirations for it from expanding and realizing its goals.

Again, to reiterate, I thank everyone who has helped this site so far in making it what is–between sharing our social media posts, following us, subscribing to our mailing lists, providing us with content for our issues, and more. We are a community. If you would like to help out in any way, I’m all ears. This site would be nothing without support. It’d be on a volunteer basis, which unfortunately (but understandably) deters. I’d like to get some people on board for our academic journal who have a relevant background. As mentioned in some ads and implied here, a bachelor’s degree and/or being an independent scholar with knowledge of a relevant field, I think, suffices. I’d also like to get people on board to help with the social media side of things; getting the word out about the site and its vision. I’d also like to get people to write up posts that’ll appear on the site’s main feed (op-eds, what’s your favorite story and why, what has inspired you to begin and/or continue writing, etc.). This post has also prompted a potential project for Scribe Base, titled Voice of the Voiceless or From the Depths, which will feature articles from anyone who’s ever considered giving up on a dream because it seemed it’d never come to fruition, anyone who’s ever felt their voice has gone unheard and requires an outlet for their expression.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.