Twelve Years of Building a Dream Alone: The Untold Struggles of an Indian Woman Publisher

For the past twelve years, I have been trying to build an independent digital news publication in India. What began in 2014 as a dream to create original, meaningful journalism has become a journey filled with hope, sacrifice, frustration, and resilience.

Today, I am writing this to share the invisible struggles faced by thousands of independent women entrepreneurs who are trying to build something meaningful with little or no financial support.

A Dream That Started With Hope

When I launched my publication on August 15, 2014, I had nothing except my passion for journalism. I did not have investors, a newsroom, or a team of writers. I had only my experience in journalism, my determination, and my belief that original content would eventually find its audience.

To my delight, Google AdSense approved my website within a short period. My publication was also accepted into Google News. These early milestones gave me confidence that quality and originality still mattered.

I believed I was on the right path.

Doing Everything Alone

Over the years, I became my own reporter, editor, photographer, videographer, SEO specialist, social media manager, web administrator, and technical support team.

Whenever I could afford it, I hired freelancers for small assignments. But most of the time, financial limitations meant that I had to do everything myself.

Running an independent publication without funding is exhausting. It leaves little time to create new content because maintaining the platform itself becomes a full-time responsibility.

That is one of the biggest reasons why my website has only around 300 carefully researched articles despite more than a decade of work.

Every article represents hours of research, interviews, travel, editing, and fact-checking. I deliberately chose quality over quantity.

The Most Painful Challenge

Nothing prepared me for what happened a few months ago.

I got an email that around 40 articles on my website had received copyright complaints.

I was shocked.

These were not copied articles. Many were based on interviews I had personally conducted. Some were stories about people I know personally. One article was about my own uncle, a well-known psychiatrist, based on information that only I knew.

Yet someone—often from websites outside India—claimed ownership of my original work.

Imagine spending days researching and writing an article, only to receive a notice saying that someone else owns your content.

It is heartbreaking.

Fighting a Battle Without Resources

Google provided a legal process to file counter-notifications.

I followed every procedure carefully.

I submitted counter-notices. I explained that the work was original. I waited.

Some pages were eventually restored. Others remained affected.

To avoid further damage to my website, I removed several articles even though I knew they were my own original work.

Just when I thought the problem had been resolved, new copyright claims began appearing on other articles.

The cycle started all over again.

As a small publisher with no legal team and no financial backing, fighting repeated copyright claims against foreign entities is almost impossible.

When the System Feels Bigger Than You

I even consulted legal professionals.

The advice was discouraging.

Because many of the complaints originated from foreign websites, pursuing legal action would be expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain.

I also discussed the issue on Google’s community forums.

To my surprise, I discovered that I was not alone.

Several publishers shared similar experiences and wanted to know how to fight false copyright claims. Unfortunately, very few had any solutions.

This is not just my problem.

It is becoming a larger issue affecting independent creators.

The Financial Reality

People often assume that if a website has Google AdSense, it must be earning well.

That has not been my experience.

Despite years of work, I have still not crossed the US$100 AdSense payment threshold.

Every year I continue paying for domain renewals, web hosting, software, and maintenance from my own pocket.

There are technical problems on the website that I cannot afford to fix.

I have requested help from software professionals, but many issues remain unresolved because they require specialised expertise.

Without funding, even small technical problems can become major obstacles.

The Hidden Cost

The greatest investment I have made has not been money.

It has been time.

There have been family moments sacrificed.

It has been weekends spent researching instead of resting.

It has been years of believing that one day this publication would become financially sustainable.

The emotional cost of watching your original work questioned, removed, or buried is difficult to explain.

As a writer, your words are your identity.

When someone falsely claims ownership of them, it feels like a part of your identity has been taken away.

Why Independent Publishers Need Support

India celebrates entrepreneurship.

But many independent entrepreneurs—especially women —struggle to survive because they cannot afford legal assistance, technical support, financial aid or dedicated teams.

Original journalism deserves protection.

Creators should not have to spend more time defending their own work than creating new work.

There should be faster, fairer systems for resolving false copyright claims and stronger support mechanisms for independent publishers who act in good faith.

My Appeal

I appeal to digital platforms, policymakers, technology experts, and digital rights organisations to pay closer attention to this growing problem.

False copyright claims can destroy years of honest work.

Independent publishers need accessible support systems, transparent dispute resolution, and protection against abuse of copyright reporting mechanisms.

I Will Not Give Up

Despite every setback, I continue writing.

I still believe that original journalism matters.

I still believe that independent voices have a place in India’s media landscape.

This publication represents twelve years of my life, my hard work, and my commitment to truthful storytelling.

I have earned little financially, but I have earned the trust, respect, and appreciation of many readers.

I refuse to let that dream disappear.

I only hope that one day independent women entrepreneurs like me will receive the support they need—not just to survive, but to thrive.

Until then, I will continue writing.