Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

Closed Shop

Recently I stepped above my permitted level in the literary world and requested to join the CWA. The Crime Writers Association is an association for people who write about crime. I figured it would be useful to share thoughts with my fellow genre writers. A £50 membership fee was requested for which I was prepared to pay to place myself in the world of fellow crime writers, given that I had now a properly published a novel with crime written into the genre.

I made a polite enquiry for which a polite rejection was quickly received. They had checked up on me and decided in their wisdom, that as I had contributed to the cost of my own publishing, I was not worthy of membership. I thought about swearing at this point. To be honest I thought about swearing a lot. What a bunch of elitist…fill in the blanks.

Are they really that scared of small publishers or even self publishers who can’t make their way in the mainstream market because God forbid, it’s more competition. There are millions of new writers in the market place, to be fair some are better than others, but the level of competition for a decent story to tell is impossible without a previous history within the closed shop of the literary clique.

Now I clearly might be burning my bridges with said CWA for the future, but what the f***, they have already declared their colours. New talent is the way of the world, it’s what makes things fresh and challenges each of us to do better at what we do. If these closed shops insist on existing, they will die out like the dinosaurs they are. Books may decrease in value, the reward for writing may be less and less as production increases, but surely more books in the world is a good thing. More people reading and expressing their thoughts in literature. The music industry is learning from it, time for the writing industry to do the same.

Revenge will be mine, that’s what I keep telling myself.

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Comment by Lisa Day on September 9, 2011 at 9:01pm: Shame on them.

Comment by Stacy Eaton on September 10, 2011 at 12:34pm: Steve - Gotta say WOW here.... "Because you contributed to the cost of your own publishing" they rejected you? I'm shaking my head here.... It will not be long before they will have to rethink that policy. With more and more author's going Indie - and yes - contributing to the costs of our publishing - then they are going to dry up.

I am not one for revenge - but I see it's merits on this one, for sure.

Comment by Steve Norris on September 11, 2011 at 3:19am: Thanks Stacy and Lisa for you comments and for reading.

the world will keep on changing

Comment by KIMBERLY on September 11, 2011 at 3:53am: Hi Steve. Revenge my not be necessary as this is the CWA's loss and you will move on a better person and likely do better things without them. "Off with their heads!!!!"

Comment by Catherine Green on September 15, 2011 at 12:29pm: Blimey I cannot believe these institutions still exist! Who are they to judge what is a 'good' writer or not? Must admit I don't usually read crime novels, but now I want to check yours out to see what they are missing!

Comment by Steve Norris on September 15, 2011 at 12:38pm: Hi Catherine - we share the same publisher :)

Comment by Nevada Drake on October 6, 2011 at 2:19pm: The mentality of the CWA is probably why there are so many formulaic books on retailers shelves. I actually stopped buying books because I became so bored with knowing the end of the book before barely beginning. It is the iron grip of the publishing power houses suppressing the ingenuity of newcomers that is having the worst effect on book sales. Indie authors/publishers are sorely needed by the consumer.

Comment by C. A. Lofton on October 7, 2011 at 9:36pm: I am no longer surprised at anything that happens in the book industry. We need to truly move forward with the ebook promo day and book review project. I am looking forward to broading my reading experience(s) and creating a more eclectic collection for a Kindle library. F.Y.I. amazon.com often removes 5star reviews that charge reading fees, i.e. ReadersFavorite. So, writers beware!!!