Nope. The owners came and got him–eight days after he’d been put in the pound. A little investigating on my part (doesn’t that sound so much better than a nosey butting-in?) and it turns out the owners were on vacation and that’s why it took so long for them to claim him. I feel better now. In a way, I’m really glad I didn’t get him because I was never really comfortable with the idea that the poor little guy had spent the first six months of his life with idiots.
In other news, gah, still no writing. Lots of editing and I guess that should count for something.
And in still other news, RWA (Romance Writers of America) announced: Effective July 15, 2007, in order to officially participate in RWA’s National Conference, a publisher must meet the following criteria: (1) it is not a Subsidy Publisher or Vanity Publisher; (2) it has been releasing romance novels via national distribution for no fewer than three years, with no fewer than two full-length novels or novel-length romance anthologies published in each of three consecutive years; (3) it provides advances of at least $1,000 for all books; and (4) it pays all authors participating in an anthology an advance of at least $500.
I’m curious as to how other writers feel about this.
According to these standards, only writers who are published with the big names (Avon, Harlequin, Random House, etc.) will see their publishers at the National Conference. And the vibe I’m getting from authors with the smaller presses (i.e. Ellora’s Cave, Samhain) are no longer recognized as true writers. I’m not sure about this, so if anyone can clear this up, please do. I don’t want to speak out of turn.
Also, this is the National Conference. As I understand it, the individual RWA chapters are free to invite whomever they choose. Again, I’m not sure if my information is correct, so if you know better, please educate me.
But now, the question is posed: are you not considered a writer until you publish with the big boys? I know of one agent whose policy is that if you’re published through e-press, she doesn’t consider you published. Then again, there are people like Piers Anthony who are staunch supporters of e-publishing and indie presses.
What do you think? And is this just a North American phenomenon–what do the romance chapters/organizations in other countries think about small presses/e-publishers?
My opinion: writing is writing. I don’t care if you are published or not. If you’re writing, then you’re a writer. And if you get royalties, God bless! And least now you can justify all the money spent on printer ink!
