Saturday, May 9, 2009

How Star Trek convinced me to stay in the RWA

It's true. I'm a member of the Romance Writers of America, and it's membership renewal time again. I don't think they know I'm a member since you sign up under your real name. Since I started my career using a different nom de plume, KC Kendricks isn't listed on their website.

To what I suspect is their horror, my alter ego is, as I have PAN status. Make no mistake, the epublished author is a second class citizen in the eyes of the RWA, and for us to have a listing on the website makes a lot of people cringe.

The last several years has seen the RWA maneuvering to oust the epublished author. Rule after rule is approved to thwart our progress, and yet we persist, and continue to sell books. At one time, the RWA didn't want to consider us to be published authors.

Sorry. Legions of readers buy our epublished stories and we get checks. That makes us published. I begin to suspect we make more than some print only authors - witness the influx of those writers to epublishing along with some big name publishers going e-book.

What's really down and dirty is how the RWA waits until after the renewal period is up and then they slap down the new rules.

As if we don't notice. Tsk. Tsk.

Well, $85 is a lot to shell out for a yearly membership, but I guess I'll do it again. Why? I like the punishment. Just kidding. It's because of Star Trek.

I've been a fan of Star Trek since episode one, which first aired in September 1966. I was nine. I've seen every episode of every series, and every movie. (Yep. Saw the newest Star Trek today and you won’t get spoilers here but you should see it..) And back in the 1980's, I read every book fandom produced. One thing about Trek - you never know what might happen.

The only thing that is carved in stone in Star Trek, is if you're wearing that red security shirt on screen with Captain Kirk, you're gonna die, and probably horribly. Other than that, all bets are off, and you never know. All things are fluid, even space. Even the Borg. Crisis and solutions alike morph out from under you. You never know.

And you never know about the RWA. One day, it may morph into an organization that truly represents its total constituency. I want to still be there when that happens.

What will I have to say then? Well, you never know.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthe keys
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

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