RWA dues increase: renew or not?

Do you participate in any online groups or any in-person groups? Do you go to conference?

If the answer is no to all three, then I'd drop. It wouldn't be worth it to me. I do the local groups and go to conference, so I keep mine going.

But if you're just getting the magazine, well, not worth it.

If anything really important happens in the romance industry, it will be in PW online, here on AW, or the Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books blog.

Save your money.

Such clubs and their newsletters were once vital for writers to stay in touch with each other.

But now, with the Internet and everyone blogging and tweeting, you get more news, gossip, and industry contacts than you have time to handle. For free.

The most use I see for RWA membership is to get a nomination for one of their awards.

I'd rather have huge advance checks and tons of readers.

They hold conventions, but anyone can get in for the price of one of their (vastly overpriced) tickets.

*whew* I don't feel so strange for being a romance/women's fic writer who's not an RWA member. I went to one local meeting and didn't get much out of it, and I wasn't sure how being a member would help me. Plus, as Karen pointed out, the drama among groups of writers really turned me off. I'm with Gil -- forget the awards and gimme tons of readers instead!

Gillhoughly said:

If anything really important happens in the romance industry, it will be in PW online, here on AW, or the Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books blog.

Save your money.

Such clubs and their newsletters were once vital for writers to stay in touch with each other.

But now, with the Internet and everyone blogging and tweeting, you get more news, gossip, and industry contacts than you have time to handle. For free.

The most use I see for RWA membership is to get a nomination for one of their awards.

I'd rather have huge advance checks and tons of readers.

They hold conventions, but anyone can get in for the price of one of their (vastly overpriced) tickets.

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Interesting thoughts. Yeah, you're right. What RWA once offered wasn't available anywhere else in any great quanity or quality. In the last several years, it seems its mainstay was networking and education has been replaced by bickering and in-fighting. Now I'm wondering if that loss of purpose has anything to do with the problems?

I was a member for 10 years and dropped it in 2006 because of various reasons and, honestly, I can't say that I've missed it much. I didn't attend conferences, hardly looked at the RWR and the people I was in touch with I'm still pretty much in touch with.

Good luck with your decision.

You know, I was a member for a year before I attended any meetings. Before I attended a meeting, I'd say it wasn't worth it.

But I enjoy the meetings. It's nice to network with people (esp if you don't get out much) and you learn a lot at some of the workshops. It's a really good in-person support system. But! It also depends on your chapter, I think.

Irysangel said:

You know, I was a member for a year before I attended any meetings. Before I attended a meeting, I'd say it wasn't worth it.

But I enjoy the meetings. It's nice to network with people (esp if you don't get out much) and you learn a lot at some of the workshops. It's a really good in-person support system. But! It also depends on your chapter, I think.

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It totally depends on the chapter and the people in it.

In Michigan, I attended two different chapters, though I was only a member of one. Over the course of 4 years, the personality of the chapter I was a member of went from open and positive to snippy and back-biting. The other chapter was much more business and not enough social for my tastes. I've been a member of various on-line chapters, which I found to be far more interesting--and time-consuming.

All depends on what you want out of the group, I think.

I stay in RWA only for my local chapter (check through the old AW threads I've started regarding RWA, you'll see how I feel about 'em. ) but I LOVE my local chapter.

I joined the RWA loops, and delete 99% of the nonsense that comes into my in box. Waste. Of. Time.

If my local chapter folded, I'd drop RWA like a bad habit. The organization is out of touch and slowly becoming irrelevant, IMHO.

Its probably because I'm a guy... but I got a distinct feeling of unwelcome among RWA members. I did not join because of that and because I also felt the "cliquey" atmosphere and prejudice mentioned. I understood not wanting guys in the club... but then I noticed the cliques were more deeply rooted... in fact, I would say maybe it wasn't because I was a guy.. however, several RWA members did mention that was a reason... it was one I was willing to try and overcome... that is until I saw the cliques, the infighting and such and such. My experience is entirely online, so perhaps the local chapter here is absent of this... but honestly, I had enough sampling to determine the RWA was not for me.

Umm.. so, the annual dues are much too high for me... to deal with the RWA, it would have to cost much less, IMHO. No offense intended.

Brindle, I think that's a very valid point. I know that a guy went to a meeting at my local chapter, and there was a lot of puzzlement as to why he was initially there. But I think after a few meetings, people got used to him being there and it's a nonissue now.

But I can see how that would affect your enjoyment!

My local group has a couple of male members - they get the strange look the first time, but that's about it. I hope they've never been made to feel unwelcome. I'd be pretty embarrassed by the chapter if they were.

I'm sorry you had that experience as well -

Ahhhh... thanks everyone! No worries. I didn't take it all that personal. I've entered the realm of romance for reasons of my own... but also to conduct an experiment. I felt there was more potential to romance, which already dominates the literary world. In that there are large untapped markets out there, if a writer could bridge that gap.

There are things that make men feel excluded from romance books. Things that I dont think need to be there and as well, there are elements that could be added that would attract more male readers, without turning off its female readership... I could be insane too... but thats my hope... so I am writing in what I perceive is a middle road approach, intended to appeal to both men and women. Call it a niche market and likely, I'm not the first to think of it... but... anywho... now I'm rambling and way off topic!!! I digress. *lol*

There's a well-known romance writer who is actually a husband-and-wife team. I often use my husband as a sounding board when writing from the male POV. (It also helps that I tend to think like a guy for some really weird reason)

Brindle Chase said:

Its probably because I'm a guy... but I got a distinct feeling of unwelcome among RWA members. I did not join because of that and because I also felt the "cliquey" atmosphere and prejudice mentioned.

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Now that's a shame, and it's also the very reason I don't participate in local chapters. I hate that juvenile, exclusionist mentality that some packs of... women (in my experience)... form. I even see the bickering in the one specialty online chapter that I've remained a member of, and it's to the point that I don't even want to READ the snippiness. I have no patience for that nonsense.

I did renew my membership this year, but only because I'm planning on going to the conference (my first!) and I wanted to do that before I gave up altogether.

That's why I LOVE AW and other online forums that foster and celebrate community and collaboration and diversity! IMO, they should have embraced the unique perspective and background that you would have offered to the group.

BUT, their loss is OUR gain. I hope you continue to feel comfortable hereabouts because I enjoy your postings.

Jersey Chick said:

I often use my husband as a sounding board when writing from the male POV.

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Me, too! It's vastly important to me not to emasculate my hero...

I adore Ken Casper, who writes for Harlequin. He used to write for Superromance as K.N. Casper, but he's now allowed to write under his <gasp> real name.

We also have several guys in my local chapter, and they're important to the group.

So hopefully your experiences, Brindle, can change.

Susan G.

I haven't seen fit to give them 75, so the idea of paying another 10...

Like Gillhoughly said, industry info is available online, most contests have a non-member fee, and conferences are open to everyone.

I bailed out of RWA a few years back, for reasons I've already gone into at (boring) length. If some of their stances change, I might want back in. I don't know whether I'd rejoin my local chapter, though. The last time I stopped in for a "visit," it was like, "who did you say you are again?" after like two years away. I don't need that, LOL--I can get blank stares at my day job. At this point, though, $85 is quite a lot of money for a subscription to RWR.

There are reasons for being in RWA:

-- The members in your local RWA chapter share your interests and provide friendship and support.

-- You belong to one of the on-line RWA chapters and you find it useful or interesting.

-- The craft information works for you.

-- You wish to enter RWA contests.

-- You want to support the genre. You consider RWA your professional organization.

-- The National Conference gives you an opportunity to connect with writing friends and conduct writing business.



There are reasons for NOT being in RWA:

-- You do not find the benefits worth the price.

-- You do not want to write commercial, Romance-genre fiction. You want to write something else.

-- You do not wish to interact with the members of your local RWA chapter.

-- You are not at a point in your career where you need the insider information and contacts RWA offers.

My membership lapsed when I got sick and lost my job. I attended the annual conferences--they were like our 'vacations'. I'd go to some of the workshops and the 'freebie' room. I had a couple of agent/publisher pitch sessions. I actually enjoyed the experience.

However, I never joined a local chapter and don't care about the 'social' aspect. Once my membership lapsed and I gave up writing, it lost any appeal for me.

I've tentatively started writing again, but don't see me wasting money on RWA again. I'm not the type who gets anything out of it.

I belong to a number of organizations. One of them is RWA. I think it's still a valuable resource to me. So, I'll join again, just like I joined SFWA, HWA and several others. Thankfully, ITW is now FREE (yep, you heard that right! Completely FREE owing to the money they're making on a couple of anthos by members), so it pays for the others. ITW used to be really pricey.

But I do understand what the rest of you are saying. Still, while it and the chapters still serve me, I'll stick around.

I checked ITW's website and it's $90 to join. Still out of my price range nowadays.

Deb Kinnard said:

I bailed out of RWA a few years back, for reasons I've already gone into at (boring) length. I. At this point, though, $85 is quite a lot of money for a subscription to RWR.

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I did as as well (though my local chapter was terrific.) And the others make a great point-- when I first joined RWA, I got all my info from the RWR and chapters. Now we get the same info, faster, online.