As a writer, pseudo professional anyway, I’m a member of certain organizations. I pay these organizations to be affiliated with them. At this point, I’m not sure what I get out of them. The national membership to Romance Writers of America hinges all the local chapter affiliations. At the moment, I’m sitting at the point of renewal for the chapter affiliations and I’m not sure what to do. Do I give them my money and never go to a meeting, never have any promo come out of them, never attend an event. Some of this is my fault. Ross works retail and is rarely off on a Saturday to watch Scarlett so I can attend these meetings. Yes, I could make arrangements for him to be home or get a babysitter, etc. But the crux of the matter is, the topics covered don’t really apply to me. Because in the end, I’m not really a romance writer.

The romance writer thing…my work doesn’t really fit. I write from a first person POV. I don’t have an HEA in each book. And, the most offensive of all, the relationship isn’t the focus of my books. I don’t write romance. I write urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and sometimes, straight up fantasy. But I don’t qualify for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization because I haven’t made enough money off of one book. Horror Writers of America is pretty much the same. They at least have an affiliate level membership that is for sad people who don’t have advances.

So, the reality is that I’m stuck being a member of organizations that don’t really fit because those are the only ones that will accept me. That’s both frustrating and annoying. I’m a proven “joiner”. I will give you my money. LET ME IN!