October 18, 1998
2:15 p.m.
Thanks to Christopher and Jenn, I've learned that Wizards of the Coast is putting out a CD version of Dragon with everything on them from issues 1-250. The really spiffy thing--spiffy from the standpoint of the publisher, anyway--is that they don't intend to pay the authors anything for their work. This would seem to me to be outside anyting I've signed. I've looked at my contracts. I've dug around on the internet and on Compu$erve (or maybe I should say AOL$erve). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) is supposedly looking into it, and Rob Sawyer (SFWA president) has talked to the WotC folks about it. But I'm not holding my breath. SFWA appears to be a pretty ineffectual organization about such things, and I think there is precedent set in much larger arenas that tend to make me think that I'll never see a dime of the proceeds my work generates in that project. This is one reason why SFWA should have requal, folks. For those of you who don't know, the SFWA bylaws are, at this point, pretty much completely open around membership. Sell three stories and you're eligible for life (as long as you pony up your $50 a year). So the ranks are filled with a bunch of us newbies that don't understand much about the business, and a group of folks that sold a few stories or a novel or five twenty years ago and not much of anything since. Not to get into the blood-battles of SFWA, but some time ago a few big names looked around and found out that their organization (never one to have tons of weight in the first place, but once generally capable of some influence) had become pretty much meaningless in the business workings of the field. So they suggested that maybe it might make sense to have a membership of professional individuals only--at least within the voting ranks. Needless to say, those of the underpublished took general offense to this idea, and voted it down in a huff. Of course, there's tons more to it than that. I voted for Rob Sawyer as our SFWA president specifically because he said he would push for requalification--a sensible approach that basically says that if you're a professional writer you sell material. And if you don't sell material, you're not a professional writer. No offense intended. The only problem I had with Rob's proposal was that it was way too lenient. After all, under Rob's proposal, I requalify without even breathing hard. Don't get me wrong. I think I'm a pretty decent writer. And I know I'm going to sell eventually. Caroline Hazens even calls me a "Writer of the Present", and I like that! But I've seen my cash flow. I'm not a professional writer. Not even close. Someone like me should be struggling to keep my credentials as a voting member of the organization. I have this attitude because I want SFWA to be an organization that can help me in situations like this one with Wizards of the Coast. And while this is an issue SFWA can help me with right now, I'm really interested in the organization's help later in life. In the bigger picture, I want SFWA's help and "insurance" five years from now when I'm dealing with whether to become a full-time writer (trying to be confident, here) or not. Today, it's not that organization. Not even close. My opinion only here, but today SFWA has no clout--which is a quality that you can't really define, but you know it when you see it, and which can influence the legal process from the outside. And it has no clout because, among other things, its membership is watered down. Of course, Rob's proposal has no chance of being adopted. There are too many insecure writers out there who feel that being "demoted" from Active to Supporting classifications would be a shroud cast over their careers. They're afraid of the stigma attached to that indignity. They take the organization's goal of health as a personal affront on their success of lack there of. As if their cover letters don't pretty much tell the story as they stand. I mean, the SF community is pretty tight at the top, you know? People know who's doing okay and who isn't. Boy, was that catty, or what? But hey, it's no big deal. I'll probably never get paid by Wizards of the Coast for my two reprints, and (assuming this eventuallity plays out as I expect it will) maybe even a strong SFWA wouldn't have been able to leverage that payment. But we'll never know, will we? Regardless, I guess it's nice to know I'll be published again even if I can't ring the Accept-O-Meter.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"... if you had a story or an article in the first 250 issues of Dragon, it is worth your while -- and a prudent step in the care of your career -- to write to WoTC and express your concern." Sharon Lee Executive Director, SFWA |
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