The Twitterverse & #RWAChange
I am not a hard core Twitter user, but I do try to log in at least once a day. I read some of the people I subscribe to, catch up on the news and commentary, make a few tweets, etc. Sometimes I spend a bit of time checking out a conversation I may have missed over the course of the day. It’s like being at the party even after the party’s over…
The past couple of days Deidre Knight, agent and writer, has been working the Twitterverse hard with many fellow authors to protest the blatant discrimination the Romance Writers of America (RWA) have been practicing with respect to epublished authors.
I’ve never been a member of RWA. One, I’m too cheap. I think it costs less than $100 bucks a year to join, but since I am several hours away from a local chapter meeting, I didn’t see what I’d be getting for my $100. A magazine? A chance to join online writing groups?
Not enough to get me motivated. I can think of better things to spend my money on.
Everything I learned about writing and publishing/epublishing I found online. Either through Yahoo groups, online critique groups, or the good, old fashioned trial-and-error method. I’m not the kind of person who believes in short cuts. I’m willing to put in the work to get where I want to be…I may not get there as quickly as I want, but I don’t give up once I get an idea in my head that I want to accomplish something.
So, I had been reading all of this #RWAChange dialogue with an outsider’s perspective–curious interest, but nothing more.
What I found *very* interesting was how my interest in RWA changed as I started to contemplate some of the ideas being bandied about on Twitter. If I, as a small-time epublished writer could enter a contest specifically for epublished works…now that might interest me. Or if there was a liaison within RWA who wrote a monthly column on epublishing with information I could use…now that might be something that would get me to part with the $85 or whatever the dues are to join.
Maybe those in Twitter-land should be calling out to those of us who are epublished, but not yet members of RWA. Find out *why* we aren’t members and then build your changes and improvements and demands around those ideas. Because what would make a bigger statement to RWA about including epublished writers and educating its members on epublishing than to show them that they might experience a jump in RWA membership if they were to do so?
Things I’d be interested in:
1) a source for information on epublishers about sales, contracts, advertising, treatment of authors that is based on factual data rather rumor-mongering, like some of the online sources I already know about.
2) a monthly column in RWA magazine geared directly toward writers who are epublished or who are interested in learning about epublishing.
3) a 3rd ‘contest’ for books that are epublished…or, at least a chance to participate in either the Golden Heart or the RITA.
4) conference workshops geared toward the digital market and epublishers.
5) an RWA standard for ranking epublishers…a way to ‘rate’ them that can be changed yearly if epublishers meet certain standards or average sales.
6) be a force for digital rights and a fair and equitable royalties structure for ALL authors in the digital market…as far as I’m concerned some of the standard royalty payments for NY-pubbed authors is highway robbery.
And those are just a few things off the top of my head.
I’m very interested to see where this Twitter conversation goes. You just never know, this time next year, I might be a new member of RWA if things pan out….
Kris
June 21st, 2009 at 12:44 am
Kris…tweeted u a comment but in case you don’t see it head to Marianne LaCroix’s blog
June 21st, 2009 at 12:49 am
excellent article, Kris. I’m of the same opinion, a non-member, never had the incentive to join.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:32 am
I’m sure you get the same feeling I do, Belinda, watching from the sidelines…why in the heck would I join this mess of an organization? Every year (or sometimes twice a year) there is some controversy. It reminds of cliques from high school, which I tried my best to avoid.
Instead of being about promoting the romance industry and authors in that industry, it’s more about making rules to exclude certain types of authors or writing you don’t like. It also seems heavily geared toward being published with Harlequin.
Here’s to hoping Deidre, et. al. manage to raise enough cain to make some long-lasting changes.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:51 am
I joined RWA in February and love it. As far as writing organizations go, there’s nothing out there that comes close to the support RWA provides. But then, I have a local chapter I’m able to attend (when I’m home) that makes me feel like I belong. I don’t know if I’d love it less if I didn’t have that group there.
I’ve skimmed over some of the discussion re: e-books. Honestly, e-publishing, epsecially on the level it’s at now, is relatively new. What’s happening within RWA is what happens within any organization when something changes and the people have to debate what to do about it. I do think it’s ridiculous for the president to be so dismissive of e-published authors. Something must be done to include e-pubs. On the other hand, how do you define who an e-pub is?
ANYONE can start up a website and throw books up there. There are some e-publishers who print some pretty crappy, unedited work. The quality within e-publishing varies A LOT, and I think this goes to your point, Kris, about ranking e-publishers. There needs to be standards, and that’s what RWA she be debating, not whether to include e-published authors or not.
Hmm. I wonder who’s supposed to become the next RWA prez.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:50 am
Sandy, if I did have a local chapter, I might’ve joined way before now. Because I do see value in being able to gather with other writers or wanna-be writers in romance. But that would’ve been my number one main reason for joining.
Since that was not an option…attending my local chapter meeting…looking at the rest of what RWA offers, it just didn’t appeal.
And I totally agree, anyone CAN start an epublishing house. That is why I *wish* RWA would take a more serious stance on epublishing and do something about rating the epublishers or acknowledging the good ones. Just like they do ‘regular’ publishers.
I understand that it’s sort of the wild and woolly west on the Internet…a medium that grows and changes so quickly, it’s hard to keep up. But when Harlequin moved into the digital arena and found success, I was hoping RWA would do more for its members with regards to digital rights and royalties.
Anyway, I still am curious to see what happens with this #RWAChange group on Yahoo.