When Will RWA Show Vision?
Today is my day to blog, and I didn’t have a topic until I learned that Angela James of Samhain Publishing had her workshop on digital publishing rejected by RWA for the 2010 National conference set in Washington, DC this coming July. According to Romancing the Blog ( Read here) and the Galaxy Express ( Read here) there aren’t any digital publishing workshops on the ticket. This topic’s not yet hit the pages of Dear Author or Smart Bitches, but I imagine it will in the next couple of days.
RWA’s decision really confuses me. The mission statement of RWA is (and I quote straight from the website) “…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 romance—or a part-time one that generously supplements his/her main income.”
If the mission is to support members in their effort to earn a living via a full-time or part-time career, why would you refuse to put out as much information as possible for your members? Information that might prove valuable for all members, including those who state that the eBook royalties on their statements are a miniscule piece not to consider. If you hear rumbles that there might be layoff at your workplace, do you ignore them or do you work a little harder to ensure you keep your job. Simply because eBooks are a sliver on your statements doesn’t mean it’s good business sense to ignore them. You need to learn all you can about this small piece of the pie so you’re prepared for what comes when the pie slice grows.
When a workshop is submitted by a highly respected editor in the ePublishing world, you DO NOT just throw it out the door simply because the submitting editor works for an ePublisher. It’s also important to note that Angela James is not an editor at some fly-by-night ePublisher. Since Samhain opened its doors in November 2005, it’s become a force to be reckoned with in the ePublishing industry. So why reject a workshop that offers insight into the digital world? It’s most illogical as Spock would say (either reality you want to cite from).
Digital publishing has been around for quite some time, and in the past six years, it’s boomed. Is it about to take over the print medium? No, but its growth continues by leaps and bounds, whereas the print industry’s growth has been seen as lackluster. RWA says that the numbers from digital press only makes up a small slice of the pie. But whose pie are we talking about? The pie of RWA members or the pie of writers who do not feel the need to belong to RWA, or both sectors of writers. Either way, they’re only looking at data, and they’re clearly NOT looking too far down the road. So I’d like to offer up a real-world business example of how ignoring something new can bite you in the a$$.
Once upon a time, there was this WONDERFUL software called WordPerfect. It was customizable and there were templates for legal, writers, administrative workers, etc. People loved WordPerfect (including me). Then suddenly there was an underdog on the scene. Microsoft Windows for the PC and a word processing program called Word. At first Word wasn’t much to speak of, and in fact, it couldn’t even compare to WordPerfect in the customization or flexibility department. But it did have one thing that WordPerfect didn’t. It was mouse driven and on a pretty screen, which was easier to read than the blue WordPerfect screen.
But WordPerfect saw Microsoft and their word processing software as a fad. Something new that would die out and never really grow. So what did WordPerfect do? They ignored Microsoft Word. But Microsoft’s Word’s share of the market grew and grew until WordPerfect finally said, whoa! We need to put out a version of WordPerfect for Windows interface. Problem was, WordPerfect waited too long. The balance shifted and now Microsoft Word owns the world, and WordPerfect while still around is pretty much a piece of hair in world-wide soup called Microsoft.
While I agree that RWA cannot be everything to every writer, to ignore digital publishing in any way is not only short-sighted, it lacks vision. It also shows RWA isn’t putting the needs of its membership at the forefront. It seems to be kow-towing to a small portion of its 10K+ membership.
I am not advocating RWA should charge ahead and throw in every workshop out there simply because it’s about digital publishing. What I do advocate is that RWA provide as much information to the membership as possible. Even if it means providing information on a publishing segment that doesn’t pay an advance. RWA Board President, Diane Pershing herself said in the June 2009 RWR that “RWA is set to do its part, to be more and more proactive in offering better and more complete education to the membership.” And in fairness to Ms. Pershing, the workshop committee is responsible for selecting workshops. Not Ms. Pershing. However, one has to wonder why the message isn’t getting down the food chain. And while RWA insists they are concerned with members and their advances, fine. But at the same time, if you believe ePublishing isn’t good enough for your members because there’s no advance, why not educate them on that issue and let the member decide if its for them.
I easily see the day will come when a growing number of RWA’s members write for NY print and ePub simultaneously. Oh but wait! That’s already happening. Angela Knight, Jaci Burton, Lora Leigh, Lucy Monroe, Deidre Knight and many more are writing for NY and for ePub. Why put one’s eggs all in one basket. Good business models in so many instances are about diversification. To not offer up information to the membership sends the message that RWA doesn’t think the member has to worry about this segment of the market. All I can say to that is…I’m glad RWA isn’t writing my personal business plan. I want long-range planning and vision in my plan, not dismissal of a medium simply because it’s only a small piece of the pie at the moment. I don’t like playing catch-up. I’d rather be leading the charge.
Monica
Monica Burns – http://www.monicaburns.com
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Excellent post, Monica. Clear, concise and logical. I hope RWA starts to listen to their e-pubbed members soon because they are not looking out for the best interests of ALL their authors when they continue to ignore the e-publishing world and the e-pub business model. I used to think they just don’t get it – but I’m beginning to believe it isn’t that they don’t get it. It’s that they don’t want to – until one day, when like WordPerfect they’ll look at the e-pub market share and wonder where the heck they went wrong.
My take has always been that RWA’s refusal to recognize the e-author and the industry that supports them is, quite simply, elitist snobbery. Of the 10,000 plus members of RWA that pay dues and spread the word how many are e-authors? What would happen to RWA’s income stream if the e-authors picked up their toys and went someplace else to play? The only segment of the publishing market that has shown steady (and phenomenal) growth right through the recent economic crisis is e-publishing. Any particular reason Barnes & Noble recently purchased Fictionwise?
Francesca, I really think we\’ve been approaching it wrong. We need to show not tell why they need to wake up. You know I\’ve never advocated the SHRILL voices, but education is important. But I don\’t think it\’s education of the higher ups. I think it\’s education of all the unpubs that\’s the key. And I think the unpubs are beginning to listening. It will take time.
Roscoe,
I’m not sure what the numbers are as to the percentage of membership of eBook authors. I don’t think it’s as large as some might think. I know a lot of eBook authors who’ve either quit RWA or have never joined because they believed there was no point given the stance.
As I just mentioned to Francesca. Education is pretty much the only way to get our point across. I don’t know that leaving en masse would work because as I said, I think the percentages are not balanced in the direction of ePub authors at this time. In the future, maybe, but if RWA continues to believe many fallacies about ePublishing, then I don’t see those numbers increasing either as ePub authors just won’t join.
Someone somewhere will create a new organization and RWA will suffer. When I was growing up my parents belonged to an organization called National Campers and Hikers Association (NCHA)as other camping groups came into being because members didn’t like some of NCHA’s policies, memberships shifted and NCHA has disappeared in place of Good Sam’s club and other orgs.
Change is hard for everyone, but most certainly for an organization with a 10K+ membership.
Great post. I wish more people were unafraid to say this. RWA claims its first guiding principle is to enhance members’ “careers” as romance writers, but I’m not sure how a $1000 from Dorchester makes a huge career difference, or why the PAN designation rides on such a silly amount of money (from a “career” perspective, that is). What other profession considers making a grand a sign of being a professional? My father in law makes more money than that fixing up old cars and reselling them. Which is just his weekend hobby.
From what I’ve seen in my year as an RWA member, they do more damage than good to a writer’s career. All I see is hype about “the dream” of being published, the honor, the almost childlike desire to see your cover on the store racks, reminiscent of that feeling we got in elementary school, when our construction paper art projects were chosen to hang on the wall outside the cafeteria. They feed us the rhetoric, “Don’t quit your day job,” “It’s hard to make a living at this,” “Achieve the dream of being published,” and all the new writers fill their minds with this and go about offering up their work for free, for the honor and privelege and dream of being a published author.
When there are hoards of people willing to work for free, why would any publisher pay you? And how is this in any way helping me to have “a career” (i.e. paying the rent every month) as a romance writer? Can you imagine any degree program advocating for its members this way? “Now, don’t quit your day job, but if you have guts and determination, and never, never give up, you too can be a dental hygenist! It’s not about the money, it’s about loving what you do!”
I’m sorry. That’s not a career, that’s a hobby.
I agree that what we need is a new organization. A group more like the Screenwriter’s Guild, which actually puts its money where its mouth is and treats the business of screenwriting as a *business*, with the goal in mind of earning a living, not cheerleading. You know, like in, “a career.”
Monica,
Great post! I am hoping to soon be epub’d and I think that it is very shortsighted of RWA not to pay more attention. The reality is that as eBook readers, iPhone apps, and Blackberry apps continue to pop up making eBooks easy to read and access outside of a computer this segment will continue to grow. In addition, as we become more environmentally conscious readers may begin to choose to exclusively buy eBooks in lieu of traditional books simply to reduce their personal impact. As you indicated, other organizations may pop up. With sites like Linked In, Facebook, and MySpace RWA should be careful that alienated eAuthors do not band together and do just that. The internet makes finding those disenfranchised people VERY easy.
I’ve never joined RWA because after researching it, I saw little that would be of benefit to me right now. I think it was a smart decision. If I see some changes, perhaps I would reconsider my position, but right now, I see nothing that would indicate I should join. This article reaffirms my decision. They seem now, as they have always appeared, shortsighted and elitist. Thanks, Monica.
Great post (but WordPerfect is so much more awesomer than RWA).
First, I will say that Angie was on a panel I set up last year for the RWA nationals and we were picked. While I do believe that she should have been picked up this time too, just for the fact she is an editor at one of the top publishing houses, they will probably use that as an excuse. It isn’t a good one, because if there is an editor, she should be picked up IMHO. Also, we had a lot of people in that class last year, all of them very interested in it.
Secondly, RWA is about to make themselves extinct. The digital age is upon us and even at BEA they said it was the year of the ebook. The dinos in the RWA who still believe we make 20 bucks per book are the same ones who say I am crass for pointing out I made 5 figures last year.(big eye roll)
I am trying to decide if I should stay in or not. I find little to no help for me, even if I do make it to NY. If I want to go to Nationals, I can still go as a nonmember. Why should I want to be a member of an org who disdains me, tells me my paychecks aren’t “decent” and then assures me that being a member has benefits? Their archaic thinking is going to ruin the voice they have in publishing. Digital does not outsell print, but it is an avenue that is gaining speed. And with the next generation, the Twilight fans who have kept most of the books in the top five for the last six months at Kindle, are going to be the first TRUE ebook generation. I know, one of them lives in my house and eats a lot of food. And I have to hear every day how it isn’t fair I have a Sony and she doesn’t, lol. They don’t remember life without the Internet and they vaguely remember CDs. Remember when everyone laughed at digital music? These readers are going to want instant access. While I know it is the underdog, epublishing is gaining momentum as new hardware comes into play. RWA ignored digital before by not educating their authors about it and many authors signed contracts that offer them as little as 6% on their digital rights.(I get no less than 37.5%) While they say they aren’t a union to protect us, they say they are there to educate us. But how can they educate us when they ignore the biggest story in publishing this year?
[...] Cat Johnson alerted us via Twitter to a well-written editorial by author Monica Burns: “When Will RWA Show Vision?” about the rejection of a proposal to present a session on digital [...]
Excellent post. I stumbled into this from the EPIC boards, and would add that the same criticism holds true for the SFWA (SF Writers of America). They go out of their way to omit and otherwise block anyone having to do with an e-book (I write SF for an e-publisher). The trade magazines such as Locus have policies in place to ignore e-book authors and publishers according to an editor I talked to at World Fantasy Con.
It’s all about protecting the New York industry. Always has been. If you look into the history of paperback books, you will find a similar pattern starting with denigrating authors and ending up with New York muscling out the indies and taking over. Only then did being associated with “pulp fiction” become respectable.
The RWA is a little less harsh then the SFWA – the latter won’t even allow in e-book authors, but the problem remains the same for both. Sooner than later these guilds will become irrelevant to the majority of working authors – until New York figures out how to take over the e-book business themselves. Trouble is, the distributors have already started down that path ahead of them.
It is not to say that e-publishers don’t have problems – chief among them being a way to raise themselves above the flotsam. You can’t live off of e-book royalties either. Still, sticking one’s head in the ground and trying to pretend we are not out there is not going to work either.
K M Tolan
I love my local chapter. They’re really my only social circle. Yes, I have to pay to have friends *heh*. I am not so loving of the rest of the organization today, though, that’s for sure.
An example as to the short sightedness of RWA: My husband purchased a Kindle for me, which yes, you CAN put other formats into it if you use their process. I haven’t had a problem yet.
Prior to the Kindle, I was reading 2-3 books per month. I just didn’t have time. I didn’t like lugging books with me to the airport, or to the doctor’s office, or any place else, which is almost the only time I have to read.
Since the purchase of the kindle I have purchased and read more than 45 books. I just got the Kindle in April.
That’s 45 books that wouldn’t have sold had I not had the kindle. Why? Because I don’t have to sort thru my paperbacks to decide what goes with me. I grab the kindle and out the door I go. Heck, I even bought a purse it fits in so I can take it on the motorcycle, strapped around my body and listen to audio books through the head phones. (Talk about an awesome feature – audio books and the text to speech feature both rock)
When I walk in the door with it in tow, everyone oohs and ahh’s, and asks me how I like it, and talk about their next big purchase will be a kindle.
Not a High Def TV.
Not an mp3 player
Not a fancy cell phone with all the bells and whistles.
A kindle.
If one person has so much influence just by carrying a kindle around, it tells you how fast the ebook world is spreading.
My own doctor saw I had one and even before she asked me about my health issue, she asked me how I liked my Kindle!
Watch out RWA. There may be a day you are obsolete if you continue to ignore this growing and explosive trend! I agree, someone will get tired of this and create their own romance author supporting organization, and RWA will be a thing of the past.
[...] Kristin Painter’s response here. And Dear Author is running a poll and asking for comments. Monica Burns weighs in over at the HEA [...]
Folks, I am soooo sorry, I didn’t come back and respond. I had a book proposal deadline, and I got so wrapped up in it, that I forgot to come back in and respond to comments.
Thank you all for posting your thoughts, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. And I’m totally, freaking AWESOMED OUT over having been twittered!!! LOL
Monica