Preparing to take on even more challenges ahead.As you may know, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, (aka SFWA) had a membership vote and changed their membership criteria pretty drastically, admitting self-published and small press members to apply if they can prove they’re making an amount of money equivalent to the advance a writer would make from a traditional publisher and qualify for SFWA: three thousand dollars over the course of a year. The year does not need to be Jan-Dec, and it can be any period after January 1, 2013.
Income can come from crowdfunding, but in that case, the book must have been delivered to the funders in a timely fashion. You can combine advance and royalties, but they must fall in the same twelve months.
The income is net, not gross. If you spend ten thousand bucks printing books and then sell them for three thousand dollars, that would not count. Mainly this is there to keep people from faking their way in and I’m not too worried about small publishing expenses counting here, myself.
How do you prove income? Right now, we’ll look at whatever people think is reasonable. As the month progresses, we’ll start knowing what is and isn’t reasonable.
This is all very new, and I know we’ll be deciding many cases as we go along. I also expect there will be delays at first as we get the process working and people flowing through the pipeline.
You can find out more on the SFWA site. The application form is there. I apologize for the fact that it’s not entirely suited to self-pub apps so far – we’re working on that, and I’d be glad to hear your suggestions.
Got questions? I can answer them here if you like.
Note from a question that arose in this morning’s e-mail: Active members CAN qualify through self-published short fiction; that got left out of the official webpage and I’ve got a request in to add it.
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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Platform Statement for SFWA Vice President
I am running for SFWA vice president because I love the organization and think I can do more for it in that position.Well, the statement’s up in the SFWA forums, so I should probably put it here as well. I am running for SFWA VP. I think I can do a good job. Even if you’re not voting for me, please vote if you’re a SFWA member.
Dear SFWA Members:
I am running for Vice President of SFWA.
I joined SFWA in 2005, as soon as I made my first qualifying sale. Among the work I’ve done for SFWA are stints on the Nebula short fiction and Norton juries, work with the Copyright Committee, interviews and articles for the SFWA blog, articles for the SFWA Bulletin, assisting with the YA-SIG’s move to a mailing list, and helping develop guidelines for and moderating the discussion forums. At the time I joined, I was excited and proud to be joining the ranks of so many writers I’ve admired, and I continue to be an enthusiastic advocate for and supporter of SFWA.
I have worked with the current administration and know that I can interact smoothly with it to maintain and continue to build the organization as a valuable resource for speculative fiction writers and one whose members can take pride in their membership. I’m pleased to see SFWA continuing to adapt to changes in the publishing landscape, such as the recent rate increase for SFWA-qualifying markets and the work of the Self-Publishing committee, and hope to lead similar efforts.
As far as my qualifications go, I’ve worked as both a writer and an editor. I have over 100 original short story publications, including in such places as Asimov’s, Weird Tales, and Tor.com, and three collections (two solo, one with Jeff VanderMeer) (for a complete list, see http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/fiction/). My short story, “Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” was a 2012 Nebula nominee, while others have been nominated for the Locus Award and the Million Writers Award. I was the editor for several years of award-winning Fantasy Magazine, receiving a 2012 World Fantasy nomination for my efforts there, and I have multiple editing projects coming up in 2014. I have also worked as a volunteer with both Broad Universe and the Clarion West Writers Workshop. Last year I wrote and self-published Creating an Online Presence, a guidebook for writers trying to navigate the confusing world of online self-promotion, and am currently writing a similar guide on podcasting with Folly Blaine, the podcast manager of Everyday Fiction. I teach a popular series of online classes on writing and editing and do some podcast narration. I am a frequent convention-goer and make a point of participating in SFWA activities when they’re available at such gatherings. This year, I will be attending Norwescon, the Nebula Award ceremony, the Locus Awards, and Worldcon, with tentative plans for a couple of other conventions.
My priorities as a board officer include:
Building SFWA’s name and influence by reaching out to both established and newer F&SF writers who have not joined but would find it useful. I’d like to see SFWA’s social media presence continue to expand and to work to interest and intrigue potential members.
Preserving SFWA’s institutional memory through archives and collecting existing information.
Improving the existing volunteer structure in order to more effectively connect volunteers with SFWA’s needs, as well as recognizing and rewarding volunteers more consistently.
Assisting SFWA as it determines qualifications for self-published writers as well as how it can best serve such writers.
Working to address internal miscommunications by better communicating what the board is doing and how people can assist in such efforts. I’d like to help current volunteers and SFWA officers tell other members what they do.
My primary role as VP, though, would be to support SFWA’s President. To assist me in that role, I’ve got good people skills, a sense of humor, and the fact that I don’t take myself overly seriously. I will continue to represent SFWA with enthusiasm and the respect such an august organization deserves.
Currently I am head moderator of the SFWA discussion forums. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, I have asked the other moderators to oversee the election subforum. Over the last six months, I’ve been recruiting new moderators and working out processes so someone else can take my place, should I be elected. As VP, I would continue to work with the moderating team to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
SFWA and Independent Writers, Part One: History of the Organization
As part of a Twitter conversation, one of my favorite gamewriters, Ken St. Andre, suggested I write up something about SFWA and independent writers that goes into enough detail that people can understand why — or why not — they might want to join. This is part one of a multi-part series that will talk about some of the history behind the decision, and in this first part I want to talk about the organization prior to admitting independent writers. Part two will discuss how SFWA came to change membership criteria in order to make it possible for people to qualify for membership with indie sales in 2016, and some of the changes made as part of planning for that expansion. Part three will focus on how SFWA has changed in the intervening time, while part four will look at what I see as the changes that will continue as we move forward over the next decade. In all of this, I’m trying to provide something of an insider’s look that may or may not be useful, but certainly will be full of many words.
So what is/was SFWA, before the change? I’m going to paint in broad strokes here based on my understanding and research. (I’d love to see a book devoted to the history of SFWA at some point and one of our current projects is trying to collect that, under Vice President Erin M. Hartshorn’s direction.) The organization started in 1965 with Damon Knight organizing a number of professional genre writers in order to force publishers to treat writers better, namely pay them decent rates in a timely fashion while not taking excessive rights.
One of the first writers they helped was J.R.R. Tolkien, whose work has been pirated in the United States, Bob Silverberg said to me in email that there’s very few of those founding members left, but they included himself, Brian Aldiss, Harrison, Robert Heinlein, Kate Wilhelm and a host of distinguished others. Silverberg says Ellison as well, though the document he sent me seems to contradict that. At that time it was the Science Fiction Writers of America.
Initially SFWA was exactly what you would expect of a volunteer organization run by the most chaotic, capricious, and disorganized creatures possible: science fiction writers. Stories abound, including records getting lost because someone’s cat peed on them, Jerry Pournelle inviting Newt Gingrich to be the Nebulas toastmaster and a subsequent heated brouhaha that included some people walking out of the ceremony and Philip K. Dick agitating to get Stanislaw Lem expelled. My favorite remains Joe Haldeman’s account of the SFWA finances being somewhere in the realm of $2.67 when he became SFWA treasurer; he bought the notebook to keep track of them out of his own pocket.
The membership requirements were proof of a professional sale. Over time the memberships would expand, allowing associate members to join with a story sale, bringing in publishing professionals as associate members, and introducing estate and family memberships. The question of requalification – making members prove at intervals that they were still producing — was raised more than once, usually with plenty of heated discussion — but never implemented.
The charter members of SFWA.
Along the way, SFWA grew and became an organization that did what its founders had envisioned, and more. Under Jerry Pournelle’s leadership, the Emergency Medical Fund, which helps writers with medical emergencies affecting their ability to to write, was implemented. A similar fund for legal situations followed. Ann Crispin and Victoria Strauss launched Writer Beware under SFWA’s auspices and began the fight to keep new writers aware of unscrupulous editors, publishers, and agents.
Another focus would be an effort unsurprising for a group of writers: establishing a set of awards, the Nebulas. While that may seem a bit cynical on my part, I’ll point much less cynically to the effect of the awards: the recognition of some of the best and most interesting F&SF over the years via a prestigious award group that has grown to include screenplays and Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction as well as recognizing achievements in the field via the Kate Wilhelm Solstice award and the SFWA Grand Mastership.
Other good stuff that SFWA took on or did over the decades included a publisher audit that helped draw attention to auditing practices, started the SFWA Bulletin, a public-facing magazine aimed at educating and informing professional F&SF writers, and many efforts that started, worked for a while, and then died a graceful (sometimes less so) death when the volunteer driving them lost interest, died, or got fed up with SFWA.
Those membership requirements continued to change over the years, usually to reflect inflation. (To a degree. I’ve calculated that if we matched the buying power of the original rate, we’d be looking at closer to 20, 25 cents per word than the current 6.) The Science Fiction part was expanded to include Fantasy.
Over the decades, SFWA communications took multiple forms. The paper Forum was intended only for members and featured a letter column that was often lively in pre-Internet days. As the Internet grew in popularity, that shifted. The message boards were originally hosted on Compuserve and later moved to SFF.net, where they gained a name for being acerbic, nasty, and often contentious to the point where, when I joined, I was warned not to visit them. When I did, I found them considerably less heated than had been described, and not actually full of epic levels of bon mots, clever insults, and sundry literary feuds, somewhat to my disappointment. The SFWA Handbook appeared in multiple forms, compiling articles of interest to working F&SF writers. The SFWA Bulletin became SFWA’s outward facing publication, publishing not just what SFWA was doing, but articles of interest to all genre writers.
During Russell Davis’s term as SFWA President, Davis did something that would radically affect the direction of the organization: began the move towards reincorporation as a 501c nonprofit in California. The organization had originally been incorporated in Massachusetts, which meant there were restrictions that included having to use paper ballots for elections rather than being able to use electronic means. I will confess here that when the advantages of it all have been explained to me in the past, my eyes glaze over a bit, so I may not be the best person to speak to all of the motivations.
I joined SFWA in early 2006 but did not do much with the organization, as an associate member with a short story sale to Chizine. I found the message board system unwelcoming and generally once I’d joined, I figured I’d checked that box off my writerly bingo card and could now move onto something else.
However, I got asked to volunteer for a group assembled after an incident where a bunch of files got pulled from Scribd, including a number whose rights-holders did not want them pulled. That was an interesting group and I learned a lot about copyright as a result. I also served on a jury for the Nebula award for short story; our job was to put one thing on the ballot that we thought would otherwise get overlooked. My impression of SFWA was, I think, like most members: I didn’t think much about what the board was doing and I took advantage of some of the SFWA offerings, like the SFWA suite at conventions, the local reading series, and reading the Bulletin.
In 2012, I was asked if I’d take over as head moderator of the SFWA discussion boards, which had moved away from SFF.net onto the SFWA website. I had been the moderator of an often contentious discussion board for a game community as well as a BBS, and so I felt reasonably comfortable taking on the role. What I didn’t foresee was how that role would change my relationship to the organization, making me much more aware of its internal workings. And then, Steven Gould spoke with me in 2014 and asked if I’d consider running for Vice President. It was an interesting time in SFWA’s history, I liked the people, and so I said yes.
As part of a Twitter conversation, one of my favorite gamewriters, Ken St. Andre, suggested I write up something about SFWA and independent writers that goes into enough detail that people can understand why — or why not — they might want to join. This is part one of a multi-part series that will talk about some of the history behind the decision, and in this first part I want to talk about the organization prior to admitting independent writers. Part two will discuss how SFWA came to change membership criteria in order to make it possible for people to qualify for membership with indie sales in 2016, and some of the changes made as part of planning for that expansion. Part three will focus on how SFWA has changed in the intervening time, while part four will look at what I see as the changes that will continue as we move forward over the next decade. In all of this, I’m trying to provide something of an insider’s look that may or may not be useful, but certainly will be full of many words.
99 Responses
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
@Catrambo I’ve got a book coming out with a small press in a few months and I hope this is my SFWA year because of it. Thanks Cat!
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
@author_farren Apologies for the delay. Please see http://t.co/W8zVLMHpil and http://t.co/SZhcJE6Ewh
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/19Kydnwlg8
EEeeeeek! I can apply to join the SFWA!… http://t.co/k9xwPvuGZV
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
Useful info for self-pub. RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/2F6jncWp0F
@Catrambo that 2013 and forward requirement is a mistake. But I bet you already know that.
@Catrambo @SFWAauthors Why not put that up on the SFWA blog?
Thinking about Lucy. I wonder what “In a timely fashion” means? -_-http://t.co/tosQNVQmbi
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
@Catrambo @sfwa Nice tweet, Cat.
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/mjGFzVpHy9 via @catrambo
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/YavXiJ2mWh
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/ypQEXnNfuv
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
Important info, genre writers! RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/aiMXzh9Y92
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/ubIUDTIJXB
Are you independent? You can still get on with #SFWA http://t.co/fUS2N3QbNh
I have mixed feelings about this. Fellow authors, what say the rest of you?… http://t.co/90QzvcHCSR
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/jQuw0v5OCF
RT @pdjeliclark: How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/jQuw0v5OCF
RT @pdjeliclark: How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/jQuw0v5OCF
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/utGXs7wmA9 via @CatRambo
RT @TammySalyer: How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/utGXs7wmA9 via @CatRambo
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/ORJH6VWhQB
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
RT @Catrambo: Applying for @sfwa membership with small press and selfpub credentials: http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials: http://t.co/7EXeszwQZX
@Catrambo @sfwa Question! Does a duology count as 1 work or 2? (Dratted 2013 cut-off; made more $ in 2012. Book 1’s at $2,822.94 for 2013.)
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/6LvlGDXtO3
Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
.@Catrambo @sfwa Yay! 🙂
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @hopeclark: How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/ypQEXnNfuv
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
@Catrambo @sfwa Authors can qualify thru selfpub short fic. What about smallpress short fic that pays 6 cpw?
@Catrambo @sfwa Also, does the $60 min per sale still apply? Mentioned in market qual, but not in membership section.
@Catrambo @sfwa Very relevant to flash fiction authors who may get paid good word rates, but for shorter pieces.
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
RT @Catrambo: Applying to @sfwa with selfpublished or small press credentials – http://t.co/uliQR929IQ
How to Apply for SFWA Membership with Small Press or Self-Published Credentials http://t.co/w7KorGbYuA
A @sfwa agora já considera publicações independentes ou por pequenas editoras no processo de membership http://t.co/tGjIEng612
RT @anadefinisterra: A @sfwa agora já considera publicações independentes ou por pequenas editoras no processo de membership http://t.co/tG“¦
RT @anadefinisterra: A @sfwa agora já considera publicações independentes ou por pequenas editoras no processo de membership http://t.co/tG“¦
So here’s the two posts from this week about the SFWA smallpress/indiepub stuff: http://t.co/bMy5H5hn1Q
RT @Catrambo: So here’s the two posts from this week about the SFWA smallpress/indiepub stuff: http://t.co/bMy5H5hn1Q
RT @Catrambo: So here’s the two posts from this week about the SFWA smallpress/indiepub stuff: http://t.co/bMy5H5hn1Q
HEY #Indy #smallpress #selfpub Writers!
New SFWA guidelines for memebership qualifications http://t.co/YLDUcPrGNE
Straight from @Catrambo
SFWA for small press & self-pub’d authors — http://t.co/dVdHYn0ntx
RT @Catrambo: So here’s the two posts from this week about the SFWA smallpress/indiepub stuff: http://t.co/bMy5H5hn1Q
RT @Catrambo: So here’s the two posts from this week about the SFWA smallpress/indiepub stuff: http://t.co/bMy5H5hn1Q