I’m a member of two writer organizations: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) , and Romance Writers of America (RWA). Alison talked a bunch about the RWA on Monday, so I’ll only touch on it briefly.
I joined RWA in about 2006 for pretty much only one reason: my editor asked me to. She wanted the publisher to be able to take advantage of advertising opportunities in Romance Sells, a newsletter that RWA sends to booksellers and libraries. I’d written my books as fantasy, but they were being cross-promoted as romance to such an extent that it seemed like a good idea.
I haven’t participated in RWA in any other capacity. The monthly publication sometimes has interesting articles and I’ve learned a lot about the romance field, which I knew nothing about previously. Since I was already published, I didn’t have a need for some of the RWA’s strongest benefits — the education and development of new writers. I’ve never been to the national conference. To tell the truth, I’m kind of glad I wasn’t a member of RWA before being published — I think I would have been overwhelmed.
One of the biggest differences between SFWA and RWA is that you have to be published in order to join SFWA, either three short stories in qualifying professional markets or one novel. I joined in about 2001 based on my short story credits. Because of this, SFWA tends to act more like a union, while RWA seems to act more like a networking and promotional group. SFWA’s primary purpose is advocacy for published authors.
Some of what SFWA does: It presents the Nebula Awards, voted on by its members. It has an active Grievance Committee which investigates disputes between member authors and other entities, often successfully winning settlements for members. It administers an Emergency Medical Fund and Emergency Legal Fund to help members in crisis, and publishes a quarterly magazine, the Bulletin, which you can subscribe to without being a member. SFWA hosts Writer Beware, an amazing clearinghouse for scam agents and publishers. Writer Beware actively seeks prosecution in fraud cases against publishing scams. This is a huge public service that benefits the entire writing community, not just SFWA members.
SFWA has a presence at the World Science Fiction Convention, with a table in the dealer’s room and a party/relaxation suite open to members only. This can be a great way to meet other folks in the industry. I especially found the networking/social benefits to be useful when I met other writers at the same level I was, that kind of twilight neo-pro area where we’d sold a few short stories and were trying to sell novels but hadn’t yet. An additional benefit of the organization having a presence at the convention: A few years ago, I wasn’t able to schedule a signing through the convention, but I was able to schedule one at the SFWA table, and it worked out well.
Here’s the one big thing SFWA did for me: I found my agent using the SFWA Directory. Every year, SFWA sends its members a directory with every other members’ contact info (yes, members can opt out of having their info listed). The directory also has a listing of members’ agents. Using this listing, I was able to focus my agent search in a way that I was never able to using the big Guide to Literary Agents and the like. I’d looked for agents three or four times previously, and it always felt like throwing darts at a gnat, and about as successful. This time, though, I hit the target.
Now for the negatives: SFWA is famous for its infighting. About every three years or so, a scandal ripples through the organization. (The latest from a couple of years ago involved the group’s leadership cracking down on unauthorized electronic distribution of members’ fiction, which infuriated members — some of whom are fierce anti-DRM activists — who didn’t want a crackdown on behalf of their fiction. A sort of comedy of errors followed, where every action that was meant to settle the situation only made it worse. This is an oversimplification of the issue, but you get the idea.) Also, now that SFWA’s been around for over forty years, generational conflict is entering the picture — the younger members and the old guard seem to have a hard time talking to each other. The group is small enough, about 1500 members I think, for factions to be close knit, for rumors to travel fast, and for grudges to carry on for years. At the same time, SFWA is big enough that individuals can avoid the politics and focus on the benefits of the group if they so choose.
I’ve appreciated my SFWA membership enough that a couple of years ago I signed up for a lifetime membership. Because I’m young and hope to have a nice long career ahead of me.
