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What SFWA Offers Game Writers

graphic of membership benefitsIn light of recent discussions, I wanted to jot down a few things that come to mind when what I think about SFWA has to offer game writers, because there’s actually quite a bit.

  • Access to SFWA promotional resources includes a number of venues quite suitable for publicizing games. Our curated Kickstarter page, the New Release Newsletter (which can easily be expanded to include games), the SFWA blog, SFWA’s presences on Facebook and Twitter. It’d be easy to make the Featured Book section a Featured Work section to go with Authors section on the SFWA website.
  • Even the book-specific promotional features, such as the NetGalley program, may be of use to game writers who are doing books or stories as well, as is often the case.
  • SFWA has been working at relationships with a number of companies that will be of interest to game writers. Our Outreach Committee has monthly checkins with representatives at Amazon, Audible, Draft to Digital, Kickstarter, Kobo, Patreon, and more.
  • The Nebula Weekend is SFWA’s main event, but we also maintain a suite for members at Worldcon each year where they can find food, drink, and a quiet space. SFWA has tables at numerous events each year, and is currently working to partner with several Comic Cons to facilitate members appearing on programming.
  • Fellowship with other creators is an intangible thing, but it’s one of the organization’s main benefit. On the discussion forums, in the Chat Room, via the Singularity or Bulletin: there are plenty of ways to find fellow professional creatives to exchange tips, techniques, and sometimes just pet photos.
  • The Emergency Medical Fund and Legal Fund are available to active members to make no-interest loans or grants as needed for medical or legal emergencies.
  • A voice in what SFWA does is another intangible but important benefit. Members looking for interesting and engaging volunteer work can find it among the group of 200+ volunteers and staff that keep the 51 year old organization running.
  • A ton of reading material put up on the SFWA discussion forums for member evaluation for awards, as well as an opportunity to recommend terrific work on the Nebula Recommended Reading List and help determine the winners of each year’s Nebula Award.
  • Recognition that game writing can be an art form, as much as any movie, book, or story. We’re discussing a Nebula Award for game writing – if they want a voice in what that looks like, SFWA is listening.

SFWA’s got plenty of other efforts in the works, but I’ll wait till they’re tangible before beginning to toot those horns. When they manifest, there’ll be even more reason to join. For now, this actually seems like quite a bit to me, and as I noted, for those game writers who dabble in fiction, there’s even more compelling reasons to join.

I’ll be at Gen Con at the beginning of next month and will be hosting a town hall open session for questions about SFWA and game writers there.

#sfwapro

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What SFWA Membership Offers You

Photo of Cat Rambo with Dark Vader and stormtrooper
A chance to hang out with interesting people is one perk of SFWA membership.
I’m in the process of assembling a SFWA resource that lists what, exactly, SFWA provides its members, which to my mind is a pretty substantial list. I tried to break it down according to the SFWA Mission, “SFWA informs, supports, promotes, defends and advocates for its members.” That’s a broad umbrella but the organization’s been around for fifty years, and it lives up to that mission.

It seemed to me it’d be useful to have something that people can point to. I’ve added a couple of things suggested on the SFWA discussion forums, but I know I’m overlooking some. If you have suggestions, glad to hear them.

What SFWA Membership Offers

Informs you by:

  • Hosting the website and discussion forums
  • Distributing the Forum, SFWA’s members-only publication
  • Publishing The Bulletin, SFWA’s public publication
  • Providing model contracts and other useful information on the SFWA blog
  • Providing sample contracts for SFWA qualifying and other markets in the members-only section of the website
  • Maintaining the SFWA Member directory
  • Supplying a wealth of reading in the SFWA Fiction forums, as well as some guidance from fellow members in the Nebula Recommended Reading List.

Supports you by:

  • Administering the The Emergency Medical Fund
  • Providing networking opportunities, like the annual NY reception, events at conventions, and the Nebula Weekend
  • Working to support diversity and anti-harassment efforts
  • Supplying and stocking the SWFA suite at Worldcon
  • Providing a SFWA table or booth at events like the Baltimore Booth Festival where members can distribute promotional material, sell and sign books, and participate in programming
  • Letting you recommend, nominate, and vote for the Nebula and Norton Awards
  • Providing a community of fellow professional genre writers
  • Presenting an opportunity for interesting and useful volunteer work

Promotes you by:

Defends you by:

Advocates for you by:

  • Making recommendations to government on copyright and other publishing issues
  • Providing a presence at STEM events
  • Raising the profile of the genre with the yearly Nebula, Norton, Solstice, and Grandmaster Awards

...

More on The First Chapters Project

If you don’t know what the SFWA First Chapters project is, it’s an effort to collect first chapters from F&SF novels published throughout the year in a single compendium. This should help with reading for awards in that you have a chance to sample books before figuring out what you want to read in its entirety. For writers, it should be a chance to get that first chapter in front of reader eyes in order to convince them they want to keep going. In 2018 the focus is getting indie writers up and running with the program, but if you’re a small publisher interested in participating, let me know.

As part of that project, I asked the group working on it to make sure that people uploading first chapters can keyword their work so, for example, if you just wanted to see chapters eligible for a specific award, like the Sideways, Prometheus, or Andre Norton Awards.

Here’s the list I just gave them. Any other awards you’d add? I didn’t include ones that are restricted by geographical area like the Aurora or Endeavour Awards.

List of all keywords:
Alternative history novel
Anthropomorphic novel
Fantasy novel
First novel
Game-related novel
Horror novel
Libertarian
Media tie-in novel
MG novel
Military SF novel
PKD eligible
SF novel
Urban fantasy novel
YA novel

Bram Stoker Award
http://www.horror.org/awards/stokers.htm#about

Keywords: First novel, horror novel, YA novel

————————————————————

British Fantasy Awards
http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/british-fantasy-awards/

Keywords: fantasy novel, horror novel

————————————————————

British Science Fiction Awards
https://www.bsfa.co.uk/

Keywords: SF novel

————————————————————

Compton Crook Award
http://www.bsfs.org/CCA/bsfsccnu2014.htm

Keywords: First novel

————————————————————

David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy
http://www.gemmellawards.com/award-voting-2017/

Keywords: fantasy novel, first novel

————————————————————
Dragon Awards
http://awards.dragoncon.org/

Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel, YA novel, MG novel, military SF novel, alternative history novel, media tie-in novel, horror novel
————————————————————

Ennie Awards
http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/

Keywords: game-related novel

————————————————————

Hugo Awards
http://www.thehugoawards.org/
Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel

————————————————————

Keystroke Medium Awards
http://www.keystrokemedium.com/ksm-awards.html

Keywords: SF novel, military SF novel, post-apocalyptic novel, fantasy novel, epic fantasy novel, urban fantasy novel, horror novel
————————————————————

Locus Awards
https://locusmag.com/

Keywords: SF novel, fantasy novel, first novel, YA novel

————————————————————

Nebula Awards/Norton
http://nebulas.sfwa.org

Keywords: Fantasy novel, SF novel, YA novel, MG novel

————————————————————

Philip K. Dick Award
http://www.philipkdickaward.org/

Keywords: PKD eligible (appeared in paperback rather than HB first)

————————————————————

Prometheus Award
http://www.lfs.org/

Keywords: libertarian novel

————————————————————

Sideways Awards
http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/
Keywords: alternative history novel
————————————————————

Ursa Major Awards
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/

Keywords: anthropomorphic novel

————————————————————

World Fantasy Awards
http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/

Keywords: fantasy novel

...

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