First off, in the interests of disclosure, I did not renew my RWA membership this year. I was a member, PAN qualified, yaddah yaddah. But year after year, there were the factions fighting each other and eruptions and I kept asking myself, “What do I really get out of this organization?” And when I couldn’t come up with a good reason to give the org another hundred bucks, I didn’t.
Previously, I’d renewed solely to advertise in Romance Sells. But I found that to have no measurable effect on sales, especially since by the time I had final cover, I usually couldn’t get an ad in early enough to influence bookstore purchases.
I’m not anti RWA, I don’t have any grudge, I simply found the organization increasingly irrelevant. My epublishers, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain were originally RWA recognized, making their authors eligible for PAN and to enter their books in the RITA. And then stripped of recognition for no good reason I could ever discern, and rules continually changed to keep epublished titles out of the RITA, the organization’s premier award. Which, unlike other industry awards, authors have to pay a fee to enter their work in. So I don’t see that the RITA has the same quality as say, the John W. Campbell award. But that’s a topic for another day.
I am not anti-NY: my publishers also include St. Martin’s Press and Pocket Books.
I’m not rabidly pro-epublishing; while I enjoy the benefits of epublishing, I’m also not blind to the downsides.
But what RWA as an organization cannot seem to get past is that if they truly want to fulfill the stated mission, “to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. RWA works to support the efforts of its members to earn a living, to make a full-time career out of writing romanceβor a part-time one that generously supplements his/her main income”*, it’s time to stop excluding epublishing as a valid choice.
Epublishing is not the answer to everything, but consider the benefits, mainly creative freedom and monthly checks. Both of those are worth a lot to me, and I have continued to epublish while also writing for a traditional publisher.
But, says RWA, it’s not a valid choice because you don’t get a 1K advance. Well, I can release an ebook and make more than that in royalties in the first month, with usually less than a six month wait from turn in to first check. NY might pay an advance, but an author might well end up waiting longer to get it than an epublished author gets for going straight to royalties.
I think the main issue here is fear that advances will be done away with by NY and the way authors have earned a living will be in jeopardy. This fear is somewhat valid, in that NY has begun to experiment in the royalty-only as opposed to advance-paying model. (Not that you get that advance all that quickly; payments can stretch out over 2 years from time of offer to receipt of final payment.)
I understand, from a professional perspective, that not getting a definite amount of money in exchange for sale of rights is…sticky. You might well sell your rights for a handful of magic beans. This is where an author has to investigate an epublisher, know the market, and determine if their work is likely to do well there…and they’d be greatly helped in this if RWA actually provided education about the realities of epublishing. As, you know, part of fulfilling their stated mission.
In the end, there are no guarantees either way, with epublishing or traditional publishing. Your book might tank from Harlequin as easily as it might tank from Samhain. But authors have the right to choose what they think is the best option for them, and informed decisions are much better than ignorant ones based on hype, fear, or myths.
*You can earn a good living epublishing, or at least a nice supplement. I know; I have since 2005. You cannot, however, earn a good living writing one single title per year at a 1K advance unless you live in a box under a bridge.
Here, here Charli. Well versed.
Thanks, Vivi. I truly hope RWA changes their stance on having epublishing represented at the national conference. The members pay big bucks to attend and deserve to be kept informed of emerging markets and opportunities.
I’m beginning to think your way. π
After being with them for too long (and feeling squished by rules and what not), I think it’s time to part ways and see if that helps recover the lost creativity.
The politics and whatnot are tiring.
Thanks for reminding me why I won’t be renewing.
K.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I’ve toyed with letting my membership lapse as well for a number of reasons. And from what I’ve heard some epubbed authors make, they seem to be doing quite nicely for themselves.
Please keep telling it exactly like it is. π
I have crosse over to the dark side (I was told there would be cookies?), lured by prospect of monthly checks. It is now part of my evil plan for global domination and a 3 week vacation (hey, the later is as likely as the former *g*). Have yet to join RWA, on the other hand I’ve been a professional in my dayjob for 10 years and have yet to join ALA. π
Ann, Have some cookies! Seriously, those monthly checks are wonderful.
Carolynn, make no mistake, there are epublished authors who do very well and those who have dismal sales. This is also true in NY, though, so it really comes down to: whichever way you go, publishing is fraught with risk. The key is to examine all sides and pick the risk you think fits your needs/goals best.
To be fair, many people stay with RWA because they love their local chapter and that’s the real benefit they see to belonging; but I think I made 2 meetings in a year, so it’s not really a factor for me. YMMV.
Kristen, good luck recovering! I recommend The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path by Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott, and Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande. One of Julia C’s best bits of advice is: keep the drama on the page. Writer’s orgs do not seem to be good at following this. *g*
To me, right now, it’s this conversation that is sooo important. It’s not even about where we all end up on this issue, but that we’re talking about it, sharing ideas, disagreeing and suggesting other ways of seeing the issue.
We’re smart people, creative and I think we have a lot more to offer than what we’ve been given.
Very well said, Charli. I’ve never been a member of RWA for two reasons. 1) There is no local chapter near enough for me to attend meetings and 2) I’m totally e-published and I’ve always known they frowned upon that form of publishing.
Maybe now that the big NY publishers are getting into the e-book game, organizations like RWA will move forward into the future and recognize that there is a place for both print and ebooks in the marketplace. I know, I buy both.
Great article from all sides, Charli.
I dropped my RWA membership when I was refused entrance to PAN (long involved story I won’t go into, except to say, I was singled out as a mystery writer when others were not). I don’t have a local chapter, and the online chapters never returned my emails after several months, so I figured I wasn’t out anything by dropping it. It’s proven to be right.
Do readers care that I belong to RWA? No. Heck, to some extent, readers don’t care who you write for, just as long as they can find your books.
I am on the board of directors of Mystery Writers of America, and ironically enough, I’m on the committee that vets publishers who want MWA approval. I think at MWA we’re less political than RWA, but to some extent, we’re still stuck in the – X number of dollars upfront = success in publishing – mindset. I don’t think a blanket “rule” about advances should apply to every organization, there are far less epubs publishing mysteries than romance. So I think all professional writing organizations RWA, MWA, SFWA shouldn’t look to each other to see what they’re doing (which we do), but focus on what’s best for the members. Or we’ll lose members.
>>This is where an author has to investigate an epublisher,
And can I add, it’s the AUTHORS Job to vet (vette?) their publisher NOT RWA’s. Sorry. Yes, it would be nice, it would be FAB if RWA would vet (vette?) epublishers but ….the buck stops WITH THE AUTHOR. And yes, I have know authors to sign contracts without reading them. Boggles the mind. Your career is NOT RWA’s responsibility but yours (and you is anyone ;-))
Great post Charli. I have more to say but I have to get ready for work now–the dayjob that keeps a roof over my head so I can keep writing π
Lauren, I’d love to see the conversation lead to understanding. But it really is important to have it; you have to have your head pretty deeply in the sand right now to not see how the industry is changing across the board. Writers need to change along with it.
NJ, I buy both, too. Unfortunately, I think there’s a trend to want to see epubs fit the traditional advance model; and if they did that, they’d no longer be able to offer the advantages they currently do (i.e., creative freedom and monthly checks). You can’t have it both ways.
Lori, I’m sure readers don’t care about organizations OR the publisher’s label, they just want a good book. And I agree that no one-size-fits-all rule is going to work across organizations, although I’d argue that many of RWA’s problems come from allowing unpublished members, something no other pro org does. When the majority of your org’s members aren’t pro writers (although many may well be career-focused), there are widely differing needs and RWA suffers greatly from trying to be all things to all career stages.
Amie, it is 100% the author’s responsibility. You’re the one taking the risk, you’re the one who needs to investigate and make an informed choice. And that applies to NY publishers as well. RWA’s stamp of approval doesn’t mean you’ll be treated well or that the contract won’t have horrible gotchas.
Looking forward to your thoughts when the dayjob allows. *g*
I guess this sort of goes back to Zoe’s blog yesterday and what Lori said above. I know that no writer’s org is perfect, and never will be, but in the four or five years I was a member, I saw a LOT of sub-genre bashing…from chick lit, to erotica to mainstream WRE to the fighting over what is a romance and is it erotica or is it erotic romance…and frankly, it got old.
I even got it from members in my own chapter–some of whom were still tweaking the same manuscript year after year and some of whom had never even FINISHED a manuscript. I’m sorry but if you don’t “vote” (and by vote I mean write like you mean it), STFU! I don’t give a crap about your opinions or the way you look down your noses at chick lit…or other genres for that matter.
And after two years as an officer and dealing with rank apathy, I decided it wasn’t worth it. We have two other local chapters and they’re very nice but I just decided I was tired of giving RWA my money.
For that matter, I’ve never really been good at “joining” stuff. That’s not to say I’ll never go to another RWA conference or anything because it’s a great way to see my friends and my agent but…in this instance, I’m glad I spoke with my dollars and kept them in my pocket this year. I honestly wish more people would, then maybe RWA will listen. But that’s not my problem anymore π
Sorry for the blog hijack.
>>Amie, it is 100% the author’s responsibility.
I’m doing an article on LBLI geared toward newbie writers about wanting to be a published author. I think I’m going to expand it and add stuff about author responsibility.
That’s not hijacking, that’s contributing to the conversation. *g* Author responsibility is huge, and you can’t just trust your agent/editor to look out for you once you have ’em, either. One of my best investments ever was a book called “Be Your Own Literary Agent” (can’t remember title, it’s in a box still), and it explains contract language in a clear, understandable way.
Excellent post! π
Thanks, Heather, hope it’s helpful.
I find it interesting that no one has brought up Kindle and its competitors, because that was the final part of my decision to submit to an e-press. When you can buy more than 300,000 titles –including most or all of Charli’s backlist– and read on your (book-like) device almost immediately, or carry an entire library in the space of a thin paperback, e-publishing starts looking a lot like NYC publishing. As an end result, my first novel is being released from Samhain in September.
I do miss seeing Charli a couple of time a year, though. π
Val! I didn’t know you’d sold to Samhain! Congrats, and looking forward to your book. : ) I have issues with my email addy on the Samhain author loop, which is probably why I missed seeing you pop up. And yes, the lines are really blurring now. The definition of “book” is becoming very slippery.
CBCers always welcome to visit me on Oregon’s north coast! If you don’t mind the fog. *g*
Excellent post! I’d love to hear more about e-publishing–particularly what your experience has been like. Yes, I do have a selfish motive. I have some romance/erotica that might be right for an e-publisher.
Feel like sharing in a future post? I have chocolate and I’m not afraid to use it.
Darlene, if you just search the archives, you’ll find previous posts on epbublishing. I’ve discussed it a few times, although chocolate is always welcome.
Amie, I’m not here. I’m writing my book. This comment is just a fig newton of your imagination.
During the latest e-dustup, I’ve been having so many flashbacks to RWA versus the E-pubs circa 2000 that I’m pretty sure Michael J. Fox is going to show up in a DeLorean any minute now and yell “Quick, get in! They’re trying to oust the e-pubs in 2020!”
But that’s what I get for being an old writer chick. And since I really should be writing my book, all I can say is I’m sorry these people are so short-sighted and narrow-minded. I’m sorry that once more they are failing their membership in order to perpetuate their writer caste system. Again. I thought I deserved better than what RWA offered (nothing), so I got out seven years ago, and did my own thing (lots of things), and I have not regretted it for a split second ever since.
I love fig newtons. Even imaginary ones. *g* And I can think of lots of good uses for $100 a year besides perpetuating an organization that doesn’t serve my professional interests.