WOOT! My comment wouldn’t save right so being, you know, like the blog owner and, oh yeah, lazy, I just made a new post. Go team me! Aren’t you glad I am posting again? I know… I missed you guys too.
The heart of my issue is INTERNET MEDIA does matter. RWA really needs to contact the writers on Strike and let them know there is no promotion, money or worth in the internet because they are costing a ton of people a shitload of money saying the ‘net matters.
Yes, there are special badge for press and a room for press that you can’t get into without the badge.
But that is neither here nor there. What I am trying to say, and I guess doing it badly, isn’t that bloggers should be treated differently, or get freebies, but that if a blog is there to report on the conference – not as a fangirl/boy, not as a wannabe writer – then they should not be discounted for a press pass JUST because they are internet media.
There are ways to gauge print publications: subscriptions, syndication, etc. There are ways to do the same thing for websites. So saying there is no way to turn down ‘teh kitten blog luvs romance’ with two readers and accept Dear Author or All About Romance, doesn’t make sense to me. I understand it could be a lack of knowledge on RWA’s part in the ways of ‘how’ to qualify websites and web traffic.
But it has been a year… so the answer being keep press passes only for ‘print’ press and throw out internet media… to me reeks of agenda. It is stated in such a way that keeps Barbara Vey and Michelle, both who state repeatedly they only focus on the positive. Michelle even has posts about women can only be supportive of other women if we only tell them the nice stuff. And PW and Lifetime.com both get a large amount of traffic – that does NOT automatically mean Vey’s blog does or Michelle’s page does. That doesn’t mean their visitors = what the main page of PW or Lifetime.com is…
Vey gets a shitload of comments from authors who gravitate to happy shiney things. Michelle can get a nice amount of comments – she also repeatedly posts in her comments to engage with the author-heavy commenter’s. Are the press passes meant to promote the romance genre to romance authors? Because, uh, you guys are already there and sort of on board.
The point “I” would think is to promote it to readers. Readers who will be buying the books. Readers who may love Nora Roberts but never heard of Chrsitine Merrill. So being here, in this thread and after the OMFG is that REALLY NORA ROBERTS (which happens alot, it is rather funnah) many of those people will click on Merrill’s name (which should link to her site and girlfriend if it doesn’t make sure in the future you do that!). Word spreads and new fans are made.
That is what DA and TGTBTU do for romance. I have always made it point to mix genre’s to help crossovers, and to present more than one side of an issue. And I admit I do it for readers not the authors. BUT if I CAN help – in whatever little way – to promote [again authors I enjoy reading because my blog, me me me] than I WANT to. Because you guys work really hard, for little pay and a serious lack of respect.
So RWA is telling me they have no respect for me. They want to keep out the meangrrls. And I am sorry but I would bet AAR, DA, SBTB have done a hell of a lot more to promote the Print Romance genre than Lifetime.com.
And if you wanted to get really technical, they state national affiliation. So where you may only find Dear Author or TGTBTU on Reuters and IBS, which means over 70+ newspapers (be it their websites) from New York to CA, 2 to 4 times a week… and where the only place that reprints just about every TGTBTU post is San Antonio Express News (only a ‘local’ print affiliation, even if it is the 7th largest city in the US, before San Diego and Dallas)… USA Today syndicates TGTBTU about once a week – maybe – but you will find Dear Author there just about every day.
That is national, no? So if the fear is lawsuit and those bloggers (again, a possible thing but I am cynical) not even responding to the question seems a touch… wrong.
Of course I have no idea if Jane even questioned it. I know I asked about it because, even though I am not going, it reeks of agenda and I hate being told ‘no.’ But once Jane’s Dear Author Post went up communication with RWA, an org I have always been on very good terms with, has stopped. Now I haven’t really pushed. There is that li’l thing called a phone…
Yes, it makes me pissy. Yes, authors volunteer at RWA, although really Nora you are a special kind of animal. There are a few of you, as in bestselling authors who do give of your time. TONS! That, to me, is what makes you NFR (that’s Nora F’g Roberts to the uninitiated), not how awesome your books are, not how much you sell, but the fact you give back to a genre that MANY authors, who don’t even reach your level of success, turn around and abandon. And not in a way as they change genres as much as to say repeatedly how much they hate the “shallowness” of romance.
And really out of the three plus hours we were setting up, there were quite a few volunteers. Not enough, but many (hell I called Kristie J and she came down to help) but honestly Nora… there wasn’t one ‘name’ there. Just about everyone I spoke to was a hopefully, one day, to be published author. And I think I remember one Harlequin author in the medical line.
BUT, again neither here nor there… my point, which was lost, was while I had fun and got to go to some nifty things, the reason I went to RWA last year was not to become a writer or to meet my favorite authors evah (I suck as a fan and don’t do well with the awe thing). I went because of things I wanted to do with the TGTBTU, things which promote the industry, the authors, the books and the publishers, and I wanted to see what other people – authors, readers, bloggers – thought of those things.
So if I were to go again – for those reasons – and there were press passes, I would expect to be considered. If I didn’t meet the guidelines, ok I don’t get one. BUT to say no, I am not even allowed to ask because I am internet media and don’t matter, isn’t true.
**I think I sound seriously pissed off and annoyed and really I am not. It is much more a passionate belief that internet media deserves some respect. And the fact I am not a professional writer so I don’t express myself as well as I should. ok fine and I am lazy and not gonna edit this shit. 🙂
::heart you gwen:: [You better – g]
Just a quick one. This isn’t about Vey, but PW. PW is an industry giant. It’s one of the bibles in the publishing world.
It really, REALLY isn’t about keeping out the mean girls. It’s not agenda, but dollars and cents.
Pubbed or unpubbed, volunteers pay full freight. Speakers get a waiver, I think it’s 100 bucks off.
As far as I know anyone with a conference badge can get into the press room–unless an interview is going on and the doors are closed.
Oh I am not disputing that at all. PW should be there and for all I know maybe they have two or so people going, Vey’s write ups are in the print addition not just online or best yet they are highlighted and linked from the front page of PW.
So, where I wouldn’t agree with the way the message was presented, it would at least get the genre out to more readers.
Of course that is still only one or two passes and doesn’t account for why RWA can take ‘national print affiliations’ but not even look at websites or know how to weigh their traffic or readers. If they take any and all ‘national media’ that must mean they aren’t banging down the door to come to nationals. And if they are why can RWA figure out how to say no to print but not net?
Or maybe they are wanting to only do five this year vs however many they have in the past? But they don’t seem to have the need to answer ‘internet’ people since the blog post went up at DA. And I can sort of understand that because I don’t think there was that many people who even knew it was a possible thing much less something that RWA was restricting, so maybe everyone and their dog is emailing them?
Of course if that is the case than why the no net rule if there weren’t that many people requesting or knowing about it in the first place?
It is the one sided view of romance they have protected, lack of answers, lack of real reason other than a vague gosh this could happen and the complete removal of internet media that makes me suspect. I mean this isn’t new. The conference has been going on for how long? AAR has been going since 90something, I do believe The Romance Reader use to go. Along with a few other net folks. I would assume then they just said yes to any and all response for fear of lawsuit but they had no problems saying no to requests last year in Wendy’s case. As well as had no issue with it (as in Wendy understood and didn’t throw a fit, cuz that would have made her look like an ass not RWA). So one would ‘think’ they would have guidelines that would allow people like AAR, DA and the like to at least apply and show they have reason as ‘press’ to be there. But how many print jobs are being lost due to people being moved online? How many people are screaming about omg they are losing the print review section, and yet saying nothing about ones replacing them online? Part of that I would assume is cost but if the paper was getting more attention in print than it was online…. well. It all comes down to money right?
Of course I tend to over think things *g*. And unless Nicole was wrong last year, Jane’s pass was screwed up and not the ‘press pass’ it was suppose to be. So her name was put down or something so she would be ‘allowed’ in the press room. And if I recall correctly there was at least one time she was told to leave, because of her pass, but Nicole walked in and was able to verify she was ‘press’.
Then again maybe that was all new last year… hell if I know 😉
I’d be surprised if the folks at RWA don’t know that the Internet matters as a news resource. This latest move strikes me as taking time and giving themselves some breathing room so that they can establish guidelines of some sort, in order to determine how to differentiate between bloggers/AAR/whoever whose sites do generate a high enough readership to justify the comped pass.
This year, they might not just have had enough time to sort through the requests, so they had to make a blanket decision. Next year, though, I’d be really surprised if there wasn’t another change, and passes depended on #of unique visitors, whether they are syndicated, and so on.
If the “no internet” rule extends another year or two, then that’s probably time to say, “WTF?” But this time, I don’t see it as saying the Internet isn’t valuable, but a “Holy crap, what do we do now that all of these Internet bloggers/sites want a pass?”
And I really do hate looking like an ass. It goes against my easy going nature.
The way it was presented to me, they cut press passes to cut down on comps, since they spent over $5000 on that last year.
I know that conference budgets are going to vary, based on venue, membership, and the economy. But my initial response on hearing that was WTF? You spent HOW MUCH?????????
So, if this is about cutting freebees, I stand behind the RWA.
But…
If all you want is access to whatever resources the press is getting, and are willing to buy a ticket to get that? Then I stand with you as well. While it costs a butt load of money to give a group of people free tickets, it does not cost that much to print up extra press packets, or to put a sticker on a badge that will give people access to the coffee set-up and copy machine, in the press room.
If we’re talking about spending a couple hundred dollars on printing, beverages, and a room that they have to book no matter how many passes are given, then I’m thinking we can probably afford to include even “I heart romance and kitties.com” and the Podunk Picayune Newspaper. If they can afford to come, then they can be treated as press.
Actually, what did they have in the press room, last year? What, specifically, did you have access to, that the average member didn’t get to see? Does RWA set up interviews for you, or are you left on your own? Are there special seats at the Ritas? Any special receptions or face time with writers? What’s the advantage of being a member of the press, instead of an average Joe?
Because it’s generally easier to get a cup of coffee then respect. Give me concretes.
And I suspect, although it may seem like it, if they’ve just stiffed you on something, the board doesn’t automatically have an agenda, other than cutting costs. Decisions sometimes get made because they’ve talked something into the ground, and need an answer so they can move on to the next item on the agenda before everyone goes insane. And sometimes they screw up, and have to go back and tweak the decision. But that takes time. So silence isn’t necessarily stone-walling so much as it is regrouping a bunch of volunteers that are scattered across the country, who are working on other jobs. You can’t turn on a dime, even if you want to.
So although we get the occasional under-medicated wack job with a Napoleon complex and an axe to grind, there are a tons of people in RWA who are doing the best they can. It’s not a unit. It’s individuals.
And sometimes you get volunteers like me in at Atlanta. I was working the information desk and sending people to the ladies room instead of the 10:00 panels, because I didn’t realize I had the hotel map upside down.
It takes a while to get people like me straightened out and pointing in the right direction, even when we are trying to help you.
Awww, c’mon Wendy! No reason we should be alone in this! 🙂
So, you going to RWA or not?
LOL I wasn’t going to begin with but if I was going I wouldn’t be now. I would be fine with being told no, I would not be fine with being told I wasn’t even worth applying.
Once again I missed something *sigh*