What I'm Hoping For SFWA in 2016

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.

Sincerely,
Catherine (Cat) Rambo

My last day is June 30, 2019, wheeeeeee, after which I will have been Vice President of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for one year, and President for two two-year terms, adding up to the sum of five consecutive years on the SFWA Board. Thank goodness for term limits.

The Elections Committee asked me to do a write-up of what the role involves, which was an interesting exercise in reflection about what all I’ve done over the past time on the Board, and I thought that might be of general interest to the F&SF community at large as well, particularly because SFWA has evolved so rapidly in the past decade, including the admission of indie, small press, and game writers, the implementation of dozens of new initiatives, and the explosive growth of the Nebula Conference Weekend. So here’s an expansion of what I sent our Elections Commissioner Fran Wilde.

The President is one of the major faces of the organization, and should be willing to attend events such as the Nebulas and conventions as well as representing SFWA at the other events they’re present at. (When signing up for conventions, I usually pitch a SFWA meeting and/or “What Can SFWA Do For You?” panel, for example.) As such, they do need to bear in mind that anything they say on social media or in interviews may be taken as having “of SFWA” appended to it, whether or not they want it to. The President carries this more than board members, and needs to remember that the membership may interpret something they say jokingly on Twitter as indicating the overall board’s opinion. Having a disclaimer that your opinions are personal and do not represent the organization on places like social media profiles is vital.

A good President will be familiar with the bylaws and OPPM and work to bulletproof the organization against anyone wishing to do it harm. They must work side-by-side with the board, the Executive Director, the Deputy Executive Director, the financial team, and a slew of volunteers and contractors to make sure that SFWA remains true to its mission while growing and adapting to the evolving and ever-changing publishing landscape.

In order to do that, the President needs to keep an eye on what’s going on–which can be difficult at times, given the volunteer nature of the position and the stressors of life. They need to be available to people who need them or arrange someone to cover them when on vacation. But it’s also usually easy to keep up with things and often just a matter of checking in on the discussion boards and e-mail once or twice a day. I do want to note (from experience) that many e-mails are time sensitive and not paying attention can result in holding things up in a frustrating way for other people.

The President also needs to make sure the other Board members also stay on top of things and they work in tandem with the VP to ensure things remain on task. One tradition that’s been implemented are regular weekly video calls with the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director and SFWA Board. These last 15 minutes to an hour and are pretty low-key. I’m going to miss seeing those friendly faces and getting to compare notes.

There is also a monthly call with the Volunteer Wrangler, frequent calls and texts with Griefcom, and sometimes the need to sit in on calls about legal matters when, for example, a scam publisher decides to try to intimidate Writer Beware into removing an advisory about them, which happens every few months. (My policy has been to be very assertive legally in replying to these; SFWA has the funds to defend itself and I want to make it clear to these folks that Writer Beware won’t play their reindeer games.) It should be noted — although it may be obvious by now — that there is a requirement to have Internet access should you decide to run.

The President needs to review the financials in a timely fashion when they are presented to them by the financial team along with the rest of the SFWA Board. Sometimes they will need be able to sign off on decisions with some authority as well as make informed decisions on their own. They have a small discretionary fund; I have used mine on outreach and learning and funding some minor low-cost projects, usually some form of volunteer recognition. I did use a chunk one year to attend a conference on non-profit fundraising, which was fascinating.

The President needs to provide the membership with regular and thorough information about what’s going on, in the form of reports for the Singularity and Binary, the President’s letter in the Bulletin, and posts on the discussion forums. (I’ve tried to do this for the public as well, with things like my blog series on SFWA and independent writers, a piece I’m working on right now about game writers for a magazine, and even this blog piece.)

The President must know the organization, its resources, and the frameworks around those resources. There is a constant flurry of people asking for assistance or guidance with communications coming in through a multitude of channels, including telephone, e-mail, and social media, and 90% of the time it’s a matter of steering them to the right place, whether it’s the office, the Emergency Medical Fund, the ombudsman, Griefcom, or something else.

The President needs to not give into the temptation to Do All the Things, because there will be a constant stream of people bearing all manner of projects, many of them things that really do need to be done. Therefore the President needs to be someone good at working with or steering people to the Volunteer Coordinator to find roles for volunteers that will be rewarding for both sides as well as working with the Volunteer Coordinator to make sure volunteers are getting recognized.

As noted earlier, the President should be willing to attend events such as the Nebulas and conventions as well as representing SFWA at other conventions and conferences. They must attend the various receptions and functions–including the Volunteer Breakfast and Spouse/Partner party at the Nebulas. At conventions and particularly the Nebulas, the President should pretty much figure 90-100% of their waking time will be devoted to SFWA-related stuff and spent networking and engaging the membership, along with leading Board and business meetings, spending time in the SFWA suite or table if there is one, and participating in SFWA-focused programming.

The President needs to be a good leader, mindful of the varied needs of the membership, and willing to put energy into learning in order to fulfill the organization’s needs as well as occasionally set the organization above their own interests and/or ego. Patience is important; kindness is vital. It is one of the most rewarding — and occasionally the most frustrating — roles I have filled in my life and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have done it.

Will I come back? Not anytime in the next few years, but I will continue to do volunteer work with the organization. =) However, I’ve been putting my own writing on the backburner a bit while doing this, so I’m looking forward to putting that back into my work. Look for lots of new words in 2019, including a new Tabat book, at least one collection, more on the space opera series, and the launch of a self-pub effort I’m excited about!

sfwapro #sfwapro