Message from the President

May 2023 RWR

I have a confession to make. I live in Northern New England, and my favorite season is not fall. I think fall is beautiful with the colors, and I do get that cozy cuddle in with a cup of tea and read a book vibe, but I don’t like the cold. So when winter comes, I hibernate; however, spring and summer have my heart. Spring and summer are all about renewal and action.

RWA, like the remodeling of the landscape outside my window, is growing and stretching and evolving, and I couldn’t be happier.

May has been a big membership push for us. We just had a free Zoom event open to anyone interested in writing romance. I am thrilled to say we had 500 people register for that event!

We have welcomed our new Mosaic chapter to the RWA family, and I am hopeful we will see more members interested in starting chapters in their local area or online in an area of interest. Not only that, but we also have new members joining weekly, and we are grateful to be welcoming back reinstating members on a regular basis. Our community continues to open itself to new members with new perspectives and experiences, but we also have some members with experience and wisdom.

As quarter four begins for the board of directors, we are looking forward to next year and what RWA holds in store for us all. I see a spark at conferences when the topic of RWA comes up, and we discuss our programming and new virtual mini-cons.

But here’s the thing: for RWA to continue evolving into the romance industry organization to speak for all romance writers, we need new ideas and insights. If your membership is up for renewal, don’t forget to login and renew so you don’t miss out on all that is happening. As a member, you know what RWA offers its members, so reach out to your writing friends and encourage them to consider joining. The more voices we have, the more impact we can make as an organization!

This is also the time for people to declare their intent to run for the national board of directors. Without new energy being infused into the national board, we will not have ideas and directions to take in offering our members value. Please consider stepping in and running for a position. It not only helps our organization to stay fresh and innovative, but it also extends yet another community to you filled with authors who have the same desire to give back as you do. I have made friends on this board. I have also made connections to writers who have stretched my ideas and impacted my own writing business, who I would not have met if not for being a board member.

Quarter four is also when we re-examine our committees and appoint chairs, co-chairs, and try to fill any volunteer positions so that when quarter one begins, the committees can get rolling. If you want to give back but aren’t ready for the board, I strongly recommend volunteering on a committee. The benefits of these committees are invaluable to the value we can bring to our membership, and it will allow you to become familiar with the romance industry and meet new people.

We should all take cues from spring. The animals are communing and making plans for the coming season. Trees, once again, are inviting leaves to branch out and help the entire ecosystem advance and increase its reach. What do you want to accomplish? How can working with RWA both help you make that next step in your career and, at the same time, how can you help this organization continue to evolve to support more authors trying to get on that next rung?

As my last quarter as president stands in front of me, I have never been prouder of the work this board of directors has done, and for the work our members do every day in their own writing worlds to bring value to all those people they interact with daily. I have said it before, and I will say it again, this organization is only as strong as its members. And our members are some of the most determined, career-minded, focused people I have ever met. They are people who understand that giving back to the industry is the only way to advance our goals and dreams of the future for where romance fiction can go and how many readers it can serve in doing so.

Continue to take time to look out your windows and marvel at the change going on in your environment, and consider being part of the advancement in the romance world as well.