Just when I was considering rejoining Mystery Writers of America comes an action I will brand as one of the most arrogant from a truly arrogant organization. Following in the footsteps of Romance Writers of America which took the respected Harlequin Publishing off their "approved list," Publisher's Weekly reports MWA now has done the same thing. Reason being: Harlequin had the audacity to start a self-published imprint.
According to PW, "By de-listing Harlequin, MWA is barring all Harlequin authors from using their Harlequin books as a basis for active status membership. No Harlequin book will be eligible for Edgar Award consideration, although books published by Harlequin under contracts signed before December 2, 2009 may still be the basis for membership and will still be eligible for Edgar consideration."
Unfortunately, MWA and RWA seem to believe that they are protectors of the traditionally published novel and that, by their actions, they will defeat the self-publishing movement.
It's shameful to see two wrtiters' organizations that have done so much for their genres in the past, not to mention for aspiring authors, fall victim to fear of the self-published.
No comments:
Post a Comment