STATUS: Mondays. I wish we could have Tuesdays without the Mondays.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? PLEASE COME TO BOSTON BY Dave Loggins
For those of you who might not have seen the news, Romance Writers Of America (RWA) has declared that Dorchester cannot attend the 2010 RWA conference in Orlando next week because of past due contractual and financial obligations.
I won’t comment further except to say that I’m glad this is now “public” knowledge and that RWA has taken a stand on it.
Tags: romance, RWA
Wow, that is interesting news. And glad it is public!
Well Dorchester isn’t Harlequin, is it?
Pity. Hopefully romance writers can get other publishers; we would not want them to end up left out!
No, Dorchester is not Harlequin. Harlequin actually pays its authors within a few weeks of payment being due, instead of maybe within a few years.
So last year it was Harlequin and this year it’s Dorchester. This might be better than what they pulled with Harlequin, but it seems to me that RWA is becoming very heavy handed. Perhaps it was already and I just hadn’t noticed, but in this economic environment where publishers are struggling to stay afloat I think some degree of understanding is in order. I haven’t looked at the situation in detail, but what I’ve seen seems to indicate that Dorchester is making strides to pay their bills. If I were a romance author, it would certainly make me think twice about joining the RWA.
Tim, the economy is just as hard on the authors as it is on the publishers. I can’t imagine waiting a few years to get the money that’s owed to me. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, that’s completely unacceptable.
There are authors at Dorchester who haven’t gotten a check in two years–even advance checks. When RWA disinvited Dorchester, they didn’t say the editors couldn’t come on their own dime. They just said that RWA would not comp their editors, or provide RWA-sponsored events for the publishing house.
It’s hardly heavy-handed to refuse to sponsor a house that isn’t paying it’s authors. Why should RWA members have to pay to let a publisher who doesn’t give authors money try to attract more authors, who it still won’t pay?
Interesting points…
And you can never go wrong with “Please Come to Boston”.
It’s one of my favorite jams.
“Mondays. I wish we could have Tuesdays without the Mondays” So dang true. And I am liking this blog.
Glad RWA took a stand on the book division. Now it’s time for RWA to take a stand on behalf of the writers who produce for the Dorchester magazines. Most of us are not getting paid. Period. And those who are–report sporadica payments. Some have been waiting almost a year.