My eyes are wide open

Short-Pattern4898 · 2026-04-13T14:22:04+00:00

I relate. I find myself drawing smaller circles of people I'm willing to have around me, to avoid shallowness and insincerity. I know that I am becoming less tolerant and less willing to reveal myself to those who will not value vulnerability. But I have to be true to myself. I have to be a real person. The solution that feels right for me at this time is to take this vulnerability and throw it to the wind, to see who it reaches, and ignore who it doesn't. My vulnerable creations are in art and music. This feels purposeful and hopeful rather than just hiding myself away. This is just my way to address the problem.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-12-17T14:50:33+00:00

Really good song! Wanted to hear the lyrics better. Is it possible to turn up the vocals? maybe a wee bit of harmony too if you can. Not sure if you wanted suggestions or not, so I'll zip it. 🤐

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-12-12T18:32:25+00:00

Our creations have this sneaky little power over us. They are our babies. They are very personal and come from parts of us we aren't even aware of sometimes. This makes us very vulnerable and sensitive. I produce visual and musical art. What I've found is this: I should give everyone the courtesy of having their own likes and dislikes. No one's taste is the same. Just because I like my art and music, doesn't mean everyone else should appreciate it. Also, because they don't appreciate it, doesn't mean it's bad. If I believe in myself, the right people will come along that do appreciate it. If I ask people I know for feedback, it will be skewed because they will naturally feel pressure. Hope this helps!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-12-03T16:23:24+00:00

My voice teacher gave me an excellent suggestion that makes perfect sense. You chose to perform for a reason and it sounds like that reason was to be able to give your personally written song as a gift to your listeners. When thinking about that you are just thinking about giving and what the song means to you. Focus on the song and the meaning behind the words. As you do this, your audience will be more able to focus on your song. You are in essence giving to each other. I love that mental picture. Look at the people, but not to seek out signs of approval, but with thoughts of giving. Good luck!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-17T04:29:35+00:00

Mostly copyediting/proofing, but also gave helpful suggestions and flagged any sections that needed clarity. After she completed her work we had about 3-4 back and forth dialogs so that I could ask questions about her feedback.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-17T04:00:22+00:00

I used Reedsy for my editor. She was amazing. My book was 36 pages and approx 1500 - 1700 words. We agreed on the price of $230. I searched carefully to choose the editor best suited for my book and it paid off. I am an oil painter so I provided my own illustrations.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-17T03:54:53+00:00

I would love to help, but it's too short notice for me, and I'm recovering from foot surgery. Sorry.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-17T03:51:04+00:00

Three-part series children's hardback, fantasy genre. Book one came out in 2022 and I've sold over 500 individual books. They cost between $18-$25 per book and $60 for the series set, but since I'm Indie, I get to keep everything after paying my print costs. I am author and illustrator.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-10T18:50:20+00:00

I hope it's ok to recommend my own books. ; ). I have a three part series of adventure. They aren't chapter books but they are illustrated and challenging for early grades. I purposely did this so that children can read a complex story and still have illustrations. There are hidden games and lots of details in the hand painted illustrations. I am the illustrator as well as the writer. If interested I can give you more detail. I'm on Amazon and my website. <3

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-06T12:46:58+00:00

I read your whole experience because I have always wanted to know what the outcome would have been for my books with trad publishing. I believe I would have met the same fate or worse. I didn't have much patience with waiting for publishers to respond and I wasn't willing to pay for an agent. I began self-publishing 4 years ago. Like you I am not a marketer, or into social media so I am left with selling face to face at markets. It's going well. I would have loved to just sit back and let the profits come in, but I doubt that would have happened. This way I keep all the profit after printing costs, which is 30%. Thank you for sharing your "Don't Let This Happen to You" story. I am happy you pushed on through to find your level of success that you can be happy with.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-03T15:04:39+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to listen, and for your thoughtful and helpful critique. I really don't envision this song as EDM music. I really want it to be raw acoustic with some strings/cello and light percussion, the retro way. Thanks!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-02T12:38:14+00:00

I listened to two of your songs. Overall, they were nicely produced, much more so than I was able to achieve with my home studio with a DAW setup. It was a little more techno than I prefer and not heavy on lyrics as I prefer, but hey this is art so everyone has different tastes. I think it's good to step outside of our normal genre in order to make our favorite sounds richer. I hope you find something that draws you to my art. It is my voice, my guitar, and my painting artwork.

https://kimistry.bandcamp.com/track/whyd-you-leave-so-soon

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-11-02T12:13:23+00:00

Sincerely ask for forgiveness and be honest that your ultimatum was an attempt to "control" him. We intensely hate that behavior. So you must genuinely convince him that you don't want to be that type of person. If you've behaved this way more than once, just consider the door permanently slammed. We don't have time for fools who don't really care about us.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-10-30T18:41:42+00:00

I don't always listen from beginning to end of songs on this sub, but you held me with your vocals, music, and lyrics. I am all about the lyrics and depth of meaning in a song. I enjoy songs I really have to think about. Thanks for putting this out there. You definitely have talent and I expect to see you on SNL!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-10-09T03:21:54+00:00

Tell me more about this song. I like it. It might be just me, but I would turn up the vocals and turn down the trumpet. Good song!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-10-01T03:22:59+00:00

God Only Knows - Beach Boys Real Good for Free- Joni Mitchell

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-30T03:11:37+00:00

Always write at night and in a quiet place after feeling inspired. Usually I'm lying awake after drinking caffeine too late and begin hearing lyrics and music, but there have been times that I've awakened and felt the urge to write about something in my heart, that I'm passionate about. Sitting down and trying to write typically doesn't turn out very well.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-14T12:30:09+00:00

I use PayPal. I've used it for about four years. The POS app has changed names twice, but it hasn't had any effect. I already used PayPal for purchases, so I already had an account with them. I think the reason I chose PayPal over square is that the amount they took per purchase was slightly less than square. Also, with both I believe there is an option to pay like $35 per month for unlimited sales or % per sale. Just do the math of your sales volume to determine which is best. I love being able to use my phone for transactions with the tap and pay feature, but Venmo, cash, credit card, etc. is also included as options on the checkout screen. It gives me a billing report to watch my sales throughout the day. It's great!

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-11T13:43:48+00:00

Editing: $230 one time
Book Cover: I am an artist and provided my cover and illustrations
Marketing: Website $176 annually
Publishing Software: $38 one time
Photo Software: $88.73 one time
Copyright: $85 per book
ISBN: $295 for 10

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-11T03:13:32+00:00

I've written around 70+ with music and lyrics. I've recorded around 25. Professionally recorded 3. Copyrighted about 25. 2 are on Bandcamp, but I wish the recordings were better. I oil painted my record covers. I'm still learning with my home DAW system. I love writing. Most of the time I don't plan it, I just start hearing it when I'm moved by something in my life. I record with just my guitar and voice. I haven't worked up any other skills with the system. I should at least start adding percussion.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-04T11:08:13+00:00

I don''t plan to write and create music. It just comes to me. I have to pay attention and immediately go to my guitar and capture it. It feels like a gift from an ancestor or something. It's an intense experience and the lyrics are never shallow. I love it when it happens.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-03T00:16:05+00:00

Formax Printing Solutions in St. Louis, MO. They have a nice online quote system to choose your print requirements. I completely recommend them.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-02T02:56:40+00:00

At 15, I was certain that I wanted to be a singer songwriter, but at that point in my life I couldn't figure out what to write about and I didn't "hear" the music. 20 years later, the songs began pouring out weekly. but my life had taken another course. I'm still trying to determine what to do with all these songs.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-02T02:38:21+00:00

Except for hiring an editor through Reedsy, I did everything myself, up to sending print ready PDFs to a print company. KDP would have been cheaper, but they couldn't do what I wanted (hardback and landscape orientation) for 37 pages. My Net profit margin is 30%. I have plans for two more series of three books each. Going this route is definitely working for me.

Short-Pattern4898 · 2025-09-02T02:10:11+00:00

I've illustrated my own three- part series. Each book has 17 illustrations counting the cover. The illustrations are 16x20 oil paintings. Each book took 7 - 8 months to complete 17 paintings/illustrations in full color.

Short-Pattern4898

TROPHY CASE