Wasn’t this the same kind of mentality that said black people had to use separate water fountains to get a drink, enter through the back doors, and take the worst seat in the house? Print published authors can come in the front, but epublished authors shouldn’t expect to sit next to them.

RWA needs to snap out of their “Us vs Them” mentality before they have ruined their reputation completely. Unlike the South of old, they are no one’s “massa.”

“If Amazon had acted like Merck, it would be announcing a big write-off, and resturcturing [sic], to deal with the horrible decline in book sales! But the decline in the old product (books) doesn’t mean people don’t have a thirst for information (just like people don’t have a desire for better disease management in Merck’s market). Google searches and articles read on the internet have skyrocketed. Increasingly, it appears people simply don’t want to pay for a printed book. The want to read things on on their computer, or phone, or listen to them on the treadmill while working out or commuting. The demand is still there, but the format or medium is changing. “

I’ve actually distanced myself from some groups who are major publishing house snobs. I do not believe being published by them means a book is any good. I read an ebook (no titles, please) a couple of years ago that was IMO the worst thing I’d ever picked up. It was just B-A-D… and last week I did a double take because it was on the best seller shelf at Kroger. I can’t believe it has been printed and bound.

Meanwhile, some of my favorite books ever are exclusively e-pub. I, too, have come to prefer ebooks when I can get them.

When I want to just shop for something totally new I go to Fictionwise and sort a category by reader rating and find ones with a lot of ratings counted. Then I read excerpts of the ones that look good from there. Awards couldn’t be farther from the process.

And, of course, when Sybil says “Alicia, you’d love this book” she’s usually right.

I honestly could care less about the accolades of the publishing industry because more often than not the book that wins the prestigious award is crap IMO (just like the big movie and tv awards already mentioned–how often does the public agree wholeheartedly in their judgment?).

Was it last year that RWA changed their requirements and knocked EC out? Well, anyway it just kind of seemed petty. They sure didn’t mind letting EC come in and sell books, promote the authors, and the lectures and parties. But the second that EC comes under fire RWA kicks them to the curb (along with a few other epubs). That’s just stupid. Its bad business ($ anyone???), bad press, and ultimately reflects RWA’s image to the public as petty, which only perpetuates the idea that romance books can’t be serious books because the governing body can’t even agree on what they term romance.

In the end, I think RWA did a huge disservice to the readers, authors and publishers, and it kind of makes their awards seem all the more frivolous.

My opinion about the RITA and Golden Heart, or any other similar award, is much the same as my opinion about the Oscars, or SAG, or Golden Globes: it’s an industry-driven award and is really most important to those in that industry.

Does it look spiffy on a résumé or a book jacket? No doubt. But does one award mean very much in the scheme of things, since each effort’s quality can be wildly different and should be judged on its own? No, it doesn’t.

Nevertheless, it’s important to recognize good work – no matter the media. And in this, the über-electronic age of iPhones and eReaders, to limit an award for PRINTED material to only ink-and-paper media is short-sighted at best, and just plain ignorant at worst. ePublishing is as much a “print” method as any – just ask Amazon.

The same Amazon who, if you’ll remember, didn’t post a profit until 2003 and who is now, five short years later, a powerhouse with a market-capitalization of nearly $21Billion (that’s Billion, with a “B”), thanks in no small part to their proprietary e-reader, the Kindle. The same Amazon that is still trading at nearly $50 per share even in this market, with minimal price fluctuations over the last year.

Shun e-publishers from an industry award? The RWA does that at their own peril. The wayside is full of awards, organizations, and individuals who have organized themselves out of a role in this day and age.

obsolescence (äb-s?-les-ns) (n)
1:a loss in the utility or value of property that results over time from intrinsic limitations (as outmoded facilities) or external circumstances Obsolescence is usu. distinguished from depreciation and physical deterioration.

economic obsolescence
2:obsolescence that results from external factors (as location) that render a property obsolete, no longer competitive, unattractive to purchasers or investors, or of decreasing usefulness claimed that the appraisal failed to account for economic obsolescence resulting from an adjacent waste facility.

What she said.

However, I never buy on awards alone. I read a book then if I like it buy the authors back list. I have whole wish lists of authors back lists LOL.

I also think that a lot of hype surrounds the RITA.. that is totally meaningless to the reader. No doubt it makes the authors feel good or does it?

I do think, though, that RWA is missing a golden marketing opportunity. For example, each year, Fictionwise holds a sale of Hugo nominees to encourage interest in the award. I’d love to see RWA partner with retailers to highlight their award-winning authors and raise the profile of the genre.

As to Nationals, I can’t afford a trip like that. But it would be great to see more regional events, like the sci-fi cons that spring up all over the place. Lori Foster’s event each June in Cincinnati springs to mind. Imagine reader events like that around the country. Again, you’d really raise the profile of the genre and perhaps in turn find ways to include ALL published romance authors, regardless of format.

Plus the sub genres that I like to read are not usually MMP, they are usually POD, or trade. So a lot of what I like to read isn’t even represented.

I don’t begrudge an author getting that award, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to read them just because of it.