Indie Attitude

Indie Attitude While I’m on a Joel Friedlander high (last week’s issue), I had to sink my teeth into a piece he had on his blog recently. thebookdesigner.com/2014/05/the-secret-sauce-for-indie-publishers-attitude/ The blog post was titled The Secret Sauce for Indie Publishers: Attitude. Nina Amir was the author of that post, and she advised that an Indie attitude needed to consist of: 1) Willingness 2) Optimism 3) Objectivity 4) Tenacity I loved reading the comments afterwards, some from readers who obviously were not interested in an attitude adjustment, preferring to remain in their I-can’t-do-this or you-have-to-know-somebody mindset. Actually, the Indie attitude is just a healthy attitude toward life. You don’t have to be a writer, and your attitude doesn’t have to be about writing. And if you want to take attitude and   boil it down to one word, you can stop with the first in Nina Amir’s list: WILLINGNESS. If you are willing to do whatever it takes to change, try new things, learn new ways, attempt trial and error, and write until you figure out how to play this game and make a living at it, it just might happen. I had a long conversation with my editor the other day about more books, a new series, and how I view my writing career. In the exchange, I let her know that whether I’m published or not, I’ll write my stories. And if I cannot find a publisher, I’ll self-publish. It’s just what I do, and I’ll adapt to whatever I need to in order to keep doing what I’m doing. She was impressed at my â€Å"attitude† toward the future.  Frankly, I see my future no other way. Why not be willing to adapt . . . when it makes me better or more successful? Why not learn new ways . . . if old ones have quit working? Why not step outside my comfort zone . . . if staying inside it confines me to a routine that isn’t moving me forward? It’s all attitude. You’ve met those people in your life, the ones with a great outlook and a willingness to improve. They are exciting to be around. So why can’t that be you?