The Idea Behind the NAIWE “Tribe”
I was just skimming through Seth Godin’s Tribes again this morning. The idea of creating a tribe is a good one, and the prerequisite is a very specific, unique idea that serves as a guiding principle.
The guiding principle behind the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, for example, is that “writers and editors, both commercial and literary, are worthy of respect, support, and success.” We believe that there shouldn’t be artificial barriers between commercial and literary writers, as those barriers tend to propagate a “starving artist” mentality and even an odd sort of disdain for writers and editors who are successfully (and perhaps spectacularly) making a good living at freelance work. This barrier-oriented mindset ensures that many very good writers and editors will spend their lives under-earning. Many never learn to think in an entrepreneurial way, thus sabotaging their own careers.
One of the greatest barriers to success is mindset, and as long as freelancers have mental reservations about whether financial success is compatible with artistic integrity, writers and editors will struggle. Our goal is to put that question into perspective and make success a reality for our members.
