July 4, 2011

Happy Independence Day and an Exciting Time for Independents

Today we honor our country's birthday; we celebrate the day we became a sovereign nation, independent and free. I can only imagine the excitement mixed with trepidation the founding fathers were feeling as they signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Although this marked the realization of a dream, it also meant we were on our own. The work was really just beginning.

This is also an exciting time for independent publishers and authors. I recently came across a June 6, 2011 Forbes article by Alan Rinzler titled Good Day Sunshine for Writers. In it, Mr. Rinzler discusses how quickly the publishing industry is changing and what a great time it is to be a writer, "especially for those in the vanguard: the self-publishing writers at the cutting edge of the brave new turbulent world of literary art and commerce."

He also debunks the negative sterotypes that have plagued indpendently published and self-published books for far too long. None of this means just anyone should self-publish. Writers need to take on the awesome responsibility of writing well and creating a story people want to read. Publishing rubbish hurts everyone, writer and reader alike. It's a time to embrace changes with excitement but also caution.

So here's to our nation and to all the hard-working writers out there. I feel honored to be an American and a writer.

4 comments:

Julia Munroe Martin said...

Happy 4th of July! Here's to more writing this summer! :-)

Tia Bach said...

Julia, Thanks for popping over. A Happy July 4th to you and yours as well!

Nicky said...

Great to meet you! Found you via the Ultimate Blogging Challenge!

Tia Bach said...

Nicky, Great to meet you, too. Thanks for taking a look. Loving the UBC so far.