The SFWA Want's You!

The SFWA is asking for the opinions of their members. They don't care what I or most people think.

My personal opinion, as a future self published fantasy writer, is that I have no desire to join an organization that is so rife with political bias and so slavish to political correctness. The recent "scandals" that have been rocking the organization have led me to believe that it is a pointless and outdated elitist club. I wouldn't join if they begged me.

 

Would it be breaching the forum's moratorium against political discussions if I asked exactly what kind of issues people have with SFWA?

 

Hmm...

closed forums - even to viewing.

repeated claims of infighting.

hints of intolerance.

enough to raise some flags with me. seems almost like an internal squabble that boiled over.

 

Here's a handy timeline of what went down: A Timeline of the 2013 SFWA Controversies | SL Huang

For the record, I don't come down on any side in the controversies. My opinion is that none of this stuff has a place in an organization of fiction writers. And when drama like this starts within a group, it's next to impossible to stamp out the biases that cause it.

 

I was once curious about the SFWA but now I'm thinking that they're basically broken in terms of credibility - OF COURSE I don't know how they operate now, after being (rightly) beaten around a bit online, and I'm sure there are lots of folks who still find the group beneficial.

They musts still have positive aspects, but personally I don't feel the need to seek them out. Cool that they're opening the doors to self-publishing thought.

 

Well, they're asking the members whether they should. Considering that, as I understand, they've asked before and the members said no, I'm not holding my breath.

 

Ah, I see. I imagine they'll vote it down then, assuming their membership is as conservative as the values they'd been taken to task for of late?

 

I don't think it's a matter of political correctness or conservativeness. It's a matter of being an old school male. When I worked at Avon, a legendary sf writer (like Willie Mays-level legend) came in to celebrate our repub of one of his books. During the little fete he made some ridiculously offensive remarks regarding women in the course of his little thank you speech. Not long after, we had a fete for another legend, the guy whose books got me into fantasy when I was 12. Same story. I'm not apologizing for them. I'm just saying that ironically these fantasists, these most forward thinking sf writers, were themselves trapped in 50s attitudes. It was sad.

 

That's true - I think I'm also questioning whether an organisation which seems so broken and full of strife, is really forward thinking enough to embrace self publishing. Interesting point about the hard swing too, I hadn't looked at it like that.

I wonder what writers who aren't members think about the group now? Whether they still see any value there? The SFWA must provide some useful services?

 

That does sound very disappointing - I remember reading some of Ray Feist's e-mails that were a bit revealing, a shame.

 

I hadn't heard about nomination hand-wringing, cripes - the group really does seem like it's lost its way, huh?

 

Well, given how the SFWA just came out strongly anti-Amazon in a misguided effort to support authors, many of the indie authors over at The Passive Voice have said they now have no interest in the SFWA since clearly the SFWA doesn't have any interest in supporting their way of doing business.

Also, as far as I can tell, the organization doesn't provide much of anything other than a social club.

 

My fear is exactly what Myth says - that the SFWA might not actually be more than a club?
I agree with Greg, love to hear from some SFWA members as to the benefits they get from being in the org.

 

The fact that it is just a club doesn't put me off so much as the fact that it is a club that doesn't seem to offer any of the benefits of a club, not even a good dinner.

Acapes, How SFWA holds up against similar groups | T.L. Knighton this link here provides a decent starting point for what the SFWA offers versus similar writer's associations.