Readers and writers, angels and demons, ladies and gentlemen: we’ve long kept you waiting to see what Prose has in store for you. Today, we hope to satisfy your curiosity with the introduction of Prose Gold and a host of new updates. We created Prose with lofty ambitions: to invigorate the digital landscape with a love of literature, and to revitalize an aging publishing industry. Prose Gold is our next step on that path.

What is Gold?

Prose Gold is a subscription service, which affords readers a near unlimited selection of content at a flat monthly price. We track the number of readers and time spent reading each piece, and distribute earnings to authors. Anyone can publish on Gold to earn a piece of the pie. Gold is available to the first thousand or so Prose loyalists at a never-again price of $5.99/mo.

Publishing to Gold.

We allow everyone to publish on Gold, though Gold subscribers will enjoy a few extra perks. When publishing a new piece, simply check the “Gold (Open)” or “Gold (Restricted)” option before hitting publish. Gold (Open) will leave your post open to the public. Anyone can read it, and any Gold subscriber who reads it will contribute to your monthly earnings. Gold (Restricted) will lock your post, making it available only to Gold subscribers. Anyone can publish to Prose Gold once every 30 days, though Gold subscribers are allowed as many Gold publications as they wish. Further, subscribers publishing to Gold (Open) or Standard are able to set a purchase price on their work.

Payments

We’re moving away from PayPal in favor of credit cards, processed via Stripe. We anticipate that this will lead to a much smoother experience when buying content or sending donations on Prose. Prose “Coins” have been converted into account credit, which you can use just as you would have in the past.

Partners

The “Partners” program is being discontinued for the time being. The features of the Partners program are being moved to Gold. Namely, the option to set a flat price on your post or book and the option to suggest pieces for the spotlight.

Under the Hood

We’ve rebuilt the website from the ground up, to offer a much snappier experience on Prose, and to make way for some of the cool things we have in store.

Portals

We’ll soon be offering Gold subscribers the option to create and curate their own portals. We want to offer expanded flexibility and customization of portals, allowing folks to read, write, and share in their own personalized corner of Prose.

The Bookstore

The Prose Bookstore has a long way to go. We’re working on a number of updates and improvements. Stay tuned.

Prose for iOS

We’ve been so busy on the new website, that we’ve let the iOS app lag behind a bit. We’re working on offline reading functionality, progress tracking, and a number of improvements to the user interface. There’s a big update soon to come.

This is a small taste of all we have in store for you with Prose. Until next time, happy scribbling.

You can check out Gold or subscribe here: https://theprose.com/p/gold

Writers,  

     Seattle Refined did a remarkable spot on us. From a bar in West Seattle to the downtown offices of Prose., this three-minute piece came out nice and clean. Link is below.

     We hope your sentences are hitting the page lean and mean, and to see more of your work across this spectrum words. Thanks for being here. 

Go to minute 14:00. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fm-uquSrxSI&

"Hi, I was just looking out my window and I couldn't help but to notice a Yorkshire Terrier in the street outside my house. I believe that the same dog was chased by the local kids back here. Is he your dog?"

"Yea, he my dog."

"Oh, great. I'm glad he's safe, then. He was just so small and skiddish, I didn't want him to get hurt. You know how the people speed down here."

"Why you talkin' like dat?"

"Like what?"

"Like that."

"It's English."

"I know what the hell it is. Why you speakin' it like that?"

"I'm a native speaker."

"Don't tell me what the fuck I already know. You sound white."

"I didn't realize that colors have sounds."

"I mean like white people, lil' gurl."

"So are you trying to say that my voice sounds akin to a white woman's usual dialect?"

"Stop gettin' smart with me, bitch."

"So now I'm an increasingly intelligent female dog? I feel as if I should see that as a compliment."

"..."

"Have a great day, ma'am."

OMG YES JUST FIRST I WANNA THANK GOD AND THEN I WANNA THANK JESUS-- //shot

But in all seriousness, thank you so much to everyone who has read my words. I don't even care if there's a like or a repost; the fact that you take time out your day to read whatever I have to say gives me great joy and pleasure as an author. A 15 year old (I turn sixteen in like two weeks guys omg) amateur at that!

I've only been here for two months now, so I had no idea that things would escalate this quickly. There's been a lot of ups and downs since I've joined Prose, both on the website and in my life in general, but I'm still honored to be writing and entertaining everyone who comes across a repost of my words, likes something I wrote, responds to a comment, tags me, or just visits my profile. You guys are the best!

So, to celebrate this achievement and to challenge myself for the most part now that I'm succeeding more as an amateur writer, I'm going to start taking requests! I know, that sounds super dumb and cliche, but here me out.

A lot of Prosers may have things that they want to write or see written, but they can't write it themselves for whatever reason that's bothering them. So, as a way to keep my writing going and help me improve, y'all can leave requests of what you would like to see written down in the comments below this entry or you can hit me up over messages. I'm cool with either! I love everyone's unique ideas so this is a huge opportunity to get me to step out of my comfort zone and try different flavors of writing.

Thanks so much to everyone! Special thanks for @sandflea68 @jwelker76 @iseun1 (who won't be on as often due to irl stuff but congrats on graduating man!) @Tylasmith @JamesMByers @PhynneBelle and countless others that I can't remember at the top of my head that's supported me so much from the start!

Peace--

SelfTitled

I'm fifteen.

Sixteen next month.

I get thrown so much shade I can call it sunshine.

In high school.

Top ten percent of my class.

I have a crush on four guys.

My best friend is Jesus reborn.

Mom and I are obsessed with Hannibal

Manga, still life, portraits, and landscapes.

Love = Parents.

Waiting for my email from Brown.

Yeah, Brown hit me up.

Love sweets.

Hate Trump.

I'm X and Dubois.

I'm King and Garvey.

I'm black and a panther.

Yeah, I'm black.

Undeniably so.

Some people don't get that.

I can pass as white, like, over the phone.

I make original characters.

Love traveling.

Want to go away for college.

Three high schools in the last two years.

Been reading since two.

Haven't stopped.

It's my way of traveling the world.

I have a wanderlust that depresses me.

Kinda broke.

About to start working this summer.

Still be here, in this tiny ass town.

And that kind of sucks because I hate it.

But at least I can keep writing what I know.

Then I can drown with three pages left

...

Journals are hella cheap.

I can't swim.

©SelfTitled, 2017

This was for the warning to my past self challenge, but since I have no coins I can't post it there.

••••••••••

In the future, there will be this thing called the internet. On the internet, people will post these videos telling depressed gay kids that "it gets better". I'm here to tell you that it does not get better. You can't sit around waiting for it to get better. It will just get worse unless you get the guts to ignore the haters and grab life by the balls and make it get better.

Oh, and here is a list of stocks, and the dates to buy or sell them.

I put my hands on my face

Imagining they're yours

My grip tightens

My breath quickens

I grab my own hair

Rake my nails down my chest

I'm numb with want

and hurt feels right

1) Environmentally Inspired,

2) Conceptually Imagined,

3) Cocktail Napkin Doodled,

4) Digitally Word-Processed,

5) Edited and Formatted,

6) Type-Printed,

7) Grouped and Bound,

8) Read,

9) And forever, became.

Copyright © 1986-2017

Alan Salé

All Rights Reserved

contact: AASalehi@gmail.com

PoetryByAlan.com

I try to ignore the tally marks on my legs

It’s starting to embark a lot like last year

And I don’t want to succumb to my fears

I look over at my bamboo plant

That has wilted and dried

And in that moment I realized

That if I were God

We all would have died

Maybe I forgot,

I’m really not surprised

There’s a chemical imbalance in my head

That makes me believe I am better off dead

I take pills to replace my thoughts and feelings

But it was your embrace I sought when I was dealing

Now I’m lying here wrapped up in your sweater

And I can’t tell if what I wrote

Was a love letter,

Or a suicide note