Refreshing...
Several weeks ago I made a comment about my local RWA group. In the resent years I have become less than enthusiastic in attending meetings. Some of the reasons were personal (health, work, and family issues), while others were the content of the meetings.
Last night I attend my local RWA meeting and I have to admit that I really enjoyed myself. Why? Because I had the opportunity to speak to several aspiring writers whose enthusiasm was simply a breath of fresh air. I loved their excitement, the twinkle in their eyes, and listening to their hope and fears.
There is so much to be said about networking. A local writing group can provide the friendship, support and education a writer needs to advance his/her personal and career goals. A good writer's group is invaluable, while a bad one can sour a person's desire and creative flow (but only if you allow it).
Another thing I noticed last night were so many different faces. As much as I enjoy meeting new people, I do have to say that I was sadden so many familiar faces were not in attendance. There appears to be an undercurrent that I'm trying to understand, because this chapter is filled with exceptional individuals who have a lot to offer in both friendship and support. Of course, summer time does play a part as many individuals are off on vacations.
If any of you have experienced a shift lately in your writing groups I'd be curious to hear about it. Is it the economy? Is it the time of year? Is it the weather? *g*
Putting that aside, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to meet the two woman I did last night. Their excitement rubbed off on me. I'll be attending each meeting with a brand new attitude, because I love seeing people achieve their goals.
Mac
Last night I attend my local RWA meeting and I have to admit that I really enjoyed myself. Why? Because I had the opportunity to speak to several aspiring writers whose enthusiasm was simply a breath of fresh air. I loved their excitement, the twinkle in their eyes, and listening to their hope and fears.
There is so much to be said about networking. A local writing group can provide the friendship, support and education a writer needs to advance his/her personal and career goals. A good writer's group is invaluable, while a bad one can sour a person's desire and creative flow (but only if you allow it).
Another thing I noticed last night were so many different faces. As much as I enjoy meeting new people, I do have to say that I was sadden so many familiar faces were not in attendance. There appears to be an undercurrent that I'm trying to understand, because this chapter is filled with exceptional individuals who have a lot to offer in both friendship and support. Of course, summer time does play a part as many individuals are off on vacations.
If any of you have experienced a shift lately in your writing groups I'd be curious to hear about it. Is it the economy? Is it the time of year? Is it the weather? *g*
Putting that aside, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to meet the two woman I did last night. Their excitement rubbed off on me. I'll be attending each meeting with a brand new attitude, because I love seeing people achieve their goals.
Mac
posted by Mackenzie McKade at 6:27 PM
7 Comments:
Mac,
I don't belong to a land chapter. I don't have the time to go out to a meeting. Besides, I don't think I'd fit in really well as I've met some of the women, and I'm certain I'd rub them the wrong way.
But even in my online chapters I've noticed something of a shift. I don't know it people don't have as much time to spend networking or just being online. I do know we've lost some members due to their disenchantment with RWA. But some have also left because they feel the chapter doesn't do as much learning as it once did.
So I think a lot of people just are cutting back and making sacrifices that they feel best meets their needs. But how cool that met some new people!
Our chapter has had a surge of new membership and outside interest that might lead to additional new members. The thing that I find interesting is that they aren't the usual newbies, just starting out in the industry, that we tend to get. One guy is multi-pubbed, one is a majorly pubbed author who came to speak and ended up joining (she recently relocated to the area), and a few are fairly new writers who nevertheless have been doing research and learning either chapterless or outside RWA completely.
And I can't say we've had any corresponding fall-off this time, either! We've had the same five-member range (i.e. 30-35 members) since I joined 13 years ago, with an occasional spike or drop, but we've had less attrition lately.
Hmmm... It sounds like something is in the air. Perhaps I'll stop breathing now. *g*
Mac
Hey Mac,
I totally hear ya and posted a similar blog some weeks ago.
Not to start a debate here but I think some of the problems RWA is experiencing on a National level have trickled down to the local level (or was it the other way around?).
In my opinion, the chapter you are referring to (same one I belong to) doesn't provide enough for the well-published author to make it worth attending on a regular basis. This is because the newbies or pre-pub'd authors are the ones volunteering for positions.
The other local chapter I belong to has two well-published authors on the board and made it their 2009 mission to provide programs that would appeal to a broader level of writing experiences. The result, higher attendance at meetings and a much friendlier atmosphere(fewer cliques, thank goodness)
Cathy Mc
doesn't provide enough for the well-published author to make it worth attending on a regular basis
I think that's a problem all chapters have, attrition at the top levels. It's a combination of things, I think. The greater the publishing success, the busier the author, so they need to weigh the return on time investment, even for just attending a meeting. It's extremely hard to get high-level speakers that are beneficial to successful published authors, and to run programs that focus on them. Who's available to offer those programs and workshops? Only them! And for a chapter like mine, in Central Pennsylvania, not very close to other chapters or sources of speakers, it's even harder.
I don't know what the solution is.
Well, since we opened the can, LOL. I wonder if the real issue is an issue we tend to dance around all the time. And I'm only throwing this out as a thought, no debate intended, and no solution.
RWA survives off the backs of volunteers. If the volunteers were eliminated due to a membership structure change, then we'd have no one to do the meaty things to help the org run, and we'd see prices go up for conferences, membership, etc.
I think it's more like having to take the good with the bad. I'm awfully glad RWA gave me the opportunity to network (the education for the most part I got elsewhere). But the network alone has been worth every single penny I've paid in dues. That and the GH. I LOVE that contest. I think it can open doors for unpubs. I know it did for me. But then I've always considered myself lucky in the overall scheme of things.
RWA survives off the backs of volunteers. If the volunteers were eliminated due to a membership structure change, then we'd have no one to do the meaty things to help the org run, and we'd see prices go up for conferences, membership, etc.
That's definitely AN issue, though I'm not sure what the ratio of pubbed to unpubbed volunteers is, so I don't know how big it is. Even greater is the massive loss of revenue if we became, for example, a published-author-only organization or something similar.
What each person gets from something like RWA is unique. I believe most of my education came from RWA, either directly or indirectly.
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