Romance Writers of America Membership

I finally joined Romance Writers of America. I’ve been meaning to for a while now, but I’m a stingy sort when it comes to certain purchases, and so I had to persuade myself to part with the $124 required to become a new member. Maybe it’s crass of me to mention the annual membership price and that I think it’s a tad too high, but there you have it. I work in social services and $124 is nothing to sneeze at from my point of view; nonetheless, I gritted my teeth and told myself that I’m investing in my writing career, and I would’ve just spent that money on food anyway. Or clothing. Or shelter. Who needs those things? Oh, wait…we all need those things, but hey! Now I’m a bonafide starving artist.

Okay, so I’m being a smidgen melodramatic, but being melodramatic is so much fun, wouldn’t you agree? Anyway, back to my recent membership to RWA and why I joined. For starters, I’m hoping it will help me stay focused on my writing career by providing some much-needed resources and networking, but my primary motivation are the contests and the publicity they can offer. I realize my chances are slim to none considering I’m self-published and thus far have zero name recognition from a marketing standpoint, but I want to enter Clingstone in the 2017 RITA competition. The contest opens November 1st; that leaves me three weeks to get my ducks in a row and order my copies through Amazon. RWA requires the paperback edition of a book for judging, and five copies total. And of course an entrance fee. Again, that’s more money invested for an outside chance at placing in the contest, but I’ve always liked the allure of impossible outcomes.
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After all, chances in a million are still chances.

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