RWA vs. SCBWI

Within two hours of arriving at my first ever Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators event, I was pretty sure someone wanted to punch me. Maybe the girl seated next to me, maybe the regional coordinator who overheard me saying I found it weird that there weren't more events in Nashville. The problem was I kept using the words "RWA," as in, RWA does this and RWA does that. I'm sure people were wondering, "If you like RWA so much, why don't you go back to them?"

Um...because I don't write romance.

For a little perspective, back in 1995, after attending one of the FEW writing groups in Nashville and finding none of them wrote romance, I decided we needed our own group. Romance writers can't just blend in with mainstream fiction writers. I'm sure it's the same with children's writers. We need to bond with people who get what we're going through, who know the intricacies of our particular markets.

So, being a PR rep at the time, I sent news releases to all the local papers to gather Nashville's romance novelists together. I was amazed at the response. In the meantime, a woman was trying to start Nashville's first RWA chapter (Memphis had one, but not Nashville) and someone told her about me. Since I had the people and she had the politics (which I most CERTAINLY did not want to deal with!) we joined forces. And I quickly learned what an altogether amazing network Romance Writers of America has.

There are chapters in almost every major city that meet once a month. There are also annual conferences in almost every major city, bringing big-time editors and agents from New York to meet with authors. Author-agent pitch session are FREE as part of the conference (at least they were back when I was a member?). Almost all chapters have annual contests, which any unpublished member of RWA is allowed to enter. Those aren't free but usually editors and agents agree to read the finalists and manuscripts HAVE been bought from this process. In fact, it seems to be a very common way into the business.

SCBWI...at least in the Nashville area...just doesn't offer these things. There are workshops, sure, but they are regional so they seem to be in a different state each time. Even those aren't monthly and I haven't seen one yet that offered a compelling reason to pay hundreds of dollars for fees, transportation costs, and lodging. In other words, they don't seem to be offering a five-minute pitch session with an editor or agent, as RWA's conferences do. There's a national conference, but I haven't had the funds to fly that far. RWA has a national conference, too, as we all know...and I had the same problem when I was a member of that organization. It's probably well worth it, if you have the money.

There's a big SCBWI conference in Nashville in September. I signed up. Agents and editors will be there and if you pay an extra $35, you can have an individual manuscript critique from an undisclosed agent or editor. Could be an e-publisher. Could be from a small press. Or it could be one from a major publishing house. In my case, being agented, I'm taking a big chance that I'll be getting a manuscript critique from an agent. Not that a manuscript critique from a professional is ever unwelcome but, let's face it. We go to these things in the hopes we'll be discovered. We'll make a connection. If you already have an agent, what a deflating thing to find out your $35 critique won't land you that "dream come true" moment you've hoped for.

Then there's the contest. I've marked my calendar because only TWENTY paid conference attendees can participate. The contest opens at 8 pm on July 18th and will likely last about thirty seconds because how many other attendees will be sitting there, e-mail completely formatted, ready to hit "Send" the second the clock reads "8:00?" And what if my clock is different from their clock? What if I send it at a time they think is 7:58? What if everyone else's clock is faster than mine and I miss out because I was ten seconds behind everyone?

I don't get it. Wouldn't you want to find the best work, regardless of whom is quickest with the "Send" key?

RWA is, of course, an option for those writing Young Adult, as long as they stick to YA romance. And for an unpublished author I'd tend to recommend that. I think I have to get all of my RWA predispositions out of my head and walk into SCBWI's conference with a fully open mind. No, it's not the same but maybe if I put those comparisons aside, I'll find ways that it's much better, even in Nashville.

Either that, or I just need to start sending news releases again!