RT vs. RWA
- “A ship is a ship is a ship, that’s what I be sayin’!” Chance eyed Terrio, who looked skeptical at the bartender.
- “There is a difference. A pirate ship isn’t the same as a merchant ship.” Terrio sipped her rum. “A Hooha isn’t a Mighty Mast!”
- Chance grinned and lifted a rum bottle. “Jus’ be a matter a’ which rum. They all be liquor. They all do the same thing, make one merry and ease the burdens a’ life. Nothin’ be different but the name and speed a’ which ya gets blurry. Same with ships. Same with writin’…”
- Terrio shook her head. “No. Don’t agree with you. There are rules…!”
- “Guidelines!”
- “Rules!”
- “Guidelines!”
The rest of the crew looked up as Terrio and Chance shouted at each other. Hellion rushed over just as the two collapsed in laughter. The debate was just beginning…but in merry spirits.
Conferences. How do you choose which ones to attend, which ones will provide the biggest bang for your buck. For your career. There are dozens of small ones. Most of us choose those by proximity. Either to our home, to our friends or to a vacation spot that will work into a convenient holiday. The bigger ones? Aw, harder to pick. So, which is it? RT Booklovers Convention or RWA Nationals?
I been ta both, twice. I’m not going to count my first RWA though. I live ‘bout sixty miles south of San Francisco, so I only visited last year’s RWA. I did a hit and run on that one. I missed a lot a’ things that were going on.
But…I did attend DC. So, thought I’d do an item by item comparison of the two events. (Purely unscientific, Q!) This be those a’ this year.
First – Hotties or Sequins. RT has a contest they run during the convention. A cover model competition. So, they have luscious cover models moving about during the convention, competing for votes from all attendees. Mmmm. Also, Ellora’s Cave, the erotica e-publisher, brings the cavemen. Double mmm mmm. RT raises money by offering chances to be photographed with these assorted hotties. (Great souvenir!) RWA has sequins. Lots of sequins during the RITA Awards. Worn by women.
I’d say RT wins with that one! (Lessen ya prefer women in sequins. Take yer pick!)
Second – Chocolate. RT, Wednesday night, Ellora’s Cave costume ball, various themes…big draw? (Other than the Cavemen…) Chocolate fountains with marshmallows, graham crackers and assorted fruit to dip. RWA? Chocolate buffet after the RITAS…not all that much chocolate. Tarts. They had some mini tarts and a few little bits of mousses.
I’d say RT wins that one!
Thirdly – Cost. OK…RT runs about $485, RWA runs, with membership, $425. But…! RT uses cheaper hotels and well…less glamorous locations. Average hotel cost at RT? $135 a night. The Marriott in DC? $238 a night. Both do a fair amount of feeding, RT has two dinners and 11 assorted opportunities for eating, from buffets to mixers. RWA has two lunches and two continental breakfast buffets. Small chapters offer chances to gnosh if you are a member.
We’ll call this one a draw, seeing as you do have sit through skits before you get dinner at RT. RWA’s luncheons feature very good speakers instead of questionable skits. (Fun skits but still…)
Fourthly – Panels … You know, a lot of this depends on what you write. RT has a great many e-pub panels, even an e-pub expo and signing…several erotica writing panels… RWA? More general panels, great business panels, lovely craft panels. Both have plenty of writers doing the panels. RT does have bookseller panels (12) and special events just for booksellers and librarians. Also 12 reader panels open to anyone, as well as author chats.
I broke this down as best I could. (Purely unscientific, counting on me fingers, ya gots?) RWA put on over 130 panels, most being general craft, career, media tilted. RT puts on 85, mostly defined by specific genre. Surprising results? RWA had no mystery, multicultural or e-book panels compared to 14 for RT. RT had over 20 paranormal, RWA had 3. RT had 3 historical to RWA’s 6. RT had 9 assorted mystery/thriller/suspense. RWA had 8. General craft? RWA had 75, RT had 18. Media and Marketing? RWA had 30, RT had 14.
This one be a draw, dependin’ on where yer interests lie. If ya want specific, RT has specific. Ya want more encompassing general? It be RWA. (If ya wants the specific chart I put together, let me know. I can e-mail it to ya.)
Fifthly – Extras…RT has the costume balls. RT has the RITAS. (One fancy dress vs multiple themed costume balls. Like to dress up? Ya vote yer likes.)
RT has a goodie room where free books are given away. RWA has the author signings where free books are given away (9 of these). RT has a massive freebie hallway, open the entire conference. (Lots of bookmarks and assorted bits a fun, along with Hershey kisses.) RWA has a small freebie room, open select hours.
Publisher Spotlights? RWA had 14, none from e-pubs. RT had 16, several from e-pubs.
RWA attracted over 500 authors to their Wednesday night event, selling books to benefit literacy programs. RT has a Saturday book event with over 300 authors attending and a Wednesday evening e-book event.
RT is a more casual conference. RWA is more professional attire. RWA appeared more about not dressing up so much as not being too casual. You see flip flops at RT. Not at RWA.
RT has 2 two day intensive writing workshops, one for beginners, one for advanced. They happen before the conference so the attendees don’t miss any of the actual conference. They do have an extra fee. They also have early bird sightseeing tours. RWA has special sessions for PRO authors and PAN authors. PRO (not sure what this stands for) having completed books with proof of submission, PAN (Published Author Network) having actually earned some bucks from said books.
Both have agent/editor appointments. RTs are one on one. I haven’t done the RWA ones, but I know some of them are the group pitch.
Locations? Well, RT does the ‘B’ list cities. I loved Pittsburgh. Orlando was fine. Compared to New York, Washington DC and Nashville? Well…when it comes to sightseeing, RWA has the edge. (Of course, this also means more expensive cities!)
In general, what is the difference between the two conferences? RT is not a non-profit organization. It is a magazine that celebrates the multifaceted gems of romance and erotica. But it’s a business, geared for profit. RWA is a non-profit organization with a goal of enhancing the reputation of the romance writer, and works to guarantee representation. It is a more prestigious organization, certainly. They hold a general membership business meeting and chapter meetings at their conference.
There are many controversies running through the world of RWA in regards to the entire situation regarding e-publishing and e-writers. Along with the role of erotica in the world of romance writing in general. (A controversy that does raise its head at RT, but at least it is addressed instead of ignored. Personal opinion here.)
So, aside from all the comparisons…it may be a matter of preference. It may be a matter of what you write…It may be a matter of eye candy, or chocolate candy. Or costs… I’m gonna do me best to attend both.
Anyone else out there attended both and have some opinions to chime in with? Questions? I do me best to answer or drag in me friends who can help out… (Ta learn about RT, go to www.rtconvention.com/ It’s pretty basic right now, but will be adding stuff as they go along. For RWA Nationals, go to www.rwanational.org/cs/conferences_and_events Again, pretty basic, but it will grow.)
Books by the Crew
31 comments:
Chance - great blog! :) I haven't been to either so it was great to see this broken down for me.
Personally, I'd love to go to both. But for right now I'm making do with the conference that's shorter and closer to me in NJ.
I do think your observations are interesting, particularly the focus on e-publishing and the focus on industry information/marketing.
Thanks!!
I'd definitely go for the hotties over the women in sequins :) I have a feeling if I went to either (and I hope to hit one or the other next year) it'll depend on which agents/editors are doing pitch appointments.
I'm really looking forward to the Jersey conference. I've heard good things about it, from it's small size to its proximity to NY -- easy trip for agents and editors.
Yeah, except the list of editors and agents isn't posted. I wonder if I have to register first to get their names? I don't think I did last year. I really need to get myself together to do that.... LOL!
Small flub here m'dear: RT has the RITAS.
The way I've always thought of it--RWA was more business oriented and schmoozing with top authors/editors etc while RT is all about schmoozing the readers & meeting any agent/ editors in attendance more casually.
Why do I always get the role of the stick in the mud? Are y'all trying to tell me something?
I've only done the big signing at RT and that was as a reader, not an attendee. I prefer RWA because I'm not interested in dressing up in costumes or all the para/erotica stuff they have at RT. And I admit I use RWA as my vacation so taking a vacation to Cleveland or Pittsburgh (where I used to live so not knocking it) is not quite the same. Without RWA, I would never get to places like San Fran.
But looking at this, there might be some panels at RT that I could really use. The craft workshops at RWA haven't been that great for me. Not that they aren't great for others, just not for me.
Well, I wasn't able to attend either conference this year due to a tight budget. But last year's RT is what put me on the path to being published. I loved the casual atmosphere. It was relaxing and gave me the chance to rub elbows with published authors rather than feel intimidated by them. From what I've heard of RWA it's a very business-like atmosphere, which is fine but not my scene. I loved being able to wear flip flops, hell I was on vacation! And the eye candy was definitely a plus. Also, as an e-author, all the controversy on psuedo being recognized by RWA kinda ticks me off. If it's supposed to be a non-profit to help authors, why those specific regulations to purposely exclude e-pubs? Of course there should be rules, there should ALWAYS be rules, but I don't like feeling excluded based on someone else's opinion of my publisher, know what I mean? So, once the purse strings loosen again I plan to attend RT as many years as possible, but will refrain from monetarily supporting RWA in any way until I feel a part of the family.
As much as I love RWA, I think it's smart to not support them financially until you feel they're advocating for you just as much as for print-pubbed authors. Though from reading their magazine and the things I'm hearing, they're slowly (very, very slowly) moving in the direction of honoring e-pubbed authors the same way they do print-pubbed authors.
Missy Jane - I know RWA comes across as business, and it is. But I still enjoy meeting, talking to, and hanging out with lots of pubbed authors. Lots of people wear jeans and I even wore tennis shoes on Saturday as my knees could take the walking in anything else. And one of my friends wore flip flops to the RITAs. LOL!
I totally understand the issues the e-pubbers have with RWA, but I also believe intentions are in the right place even if execution isn't coming off quite right. I do believe it'll work out eventually, and e-pubbed authors will benefit from the outcome.
At the same time, I'm glad that e-pubbers have RT to enjoy. That signing I attended was just as exciting and fun and enjoyable as the RWA ones. I even had my daughter (8 at the time) with me and authors were great about giving her promo stuff as presents. We just all had to make sure to take the adult cards and bookmarks out of them. LOL!
Morning everyone!
Gag! Barb! I said RT has the RITAs? I knew me eyesballs were gettin' all blurry goin' back and forth!
Marnee - I totally get stickin' ta the locals. I been lookin' at a big SanFran one...but wow! It's pricey! $500! Tho I think it be interestin' ta go ta one that ain't geared toward romance...be good fer me. Mayhaps the DH find a grand job and I can seriously think a' the money...
It's always the money, ain't it!?
Hal - the hotties are fun ta ogle. And they don't get all handsy wit' anyone. Tho some a' the attendees get handsy wit' them! Especially at the parties and balls.
I'd be happy ta send ya a list a' the editors/agents that were at last year's RT so ya can compare. RT lets ya book 3 in advance and then there be openin's at the conference.
I hope ta get ta New Jersey one a' these days. I be a Walt Whitman devotee and I b'lieve he was a son a' New Jersey, so's I could visit his birthplace...do the whole pilgrimage... I bet it be a good conference fer jus' the reasons ya listed.
Barb!? Ya been ta RWA also then... I do sense a more business oriented conference. Granted, me business was meetin' Terrio and seein' all the sights, but there be an energy that is more business, certainly!
Welcome aboard! Want one a' me special drinks? I recommends a glittery hooha...
Terrio - It jus' be another conference. Sorry ya don't likes ta dress up. Not all attendees go ta the balls, btw. And not all dress up ta the nines. They will let ya in if'n yer wearin' blue jeans and t-shirts.
I totally get lookin' at the RWAs as a way ta get ta places ya never gone afore. I was so excited 'bout goin' ta DC and loved the chance ta travel there. I do 'opes ta attend Nashville and maybe even New York.
Welcome Missy!
Miss were in me beginner's writer's class that first year I attended in Pittsburgh. She's since been published by Samhain and has a new book comin' out from another e-pub. So she knows the e-pub stuff.
So does Barb.
I been debatin' the whole e-pub issue wit' Terrio, tryin' ta understand where RWA is comin' from and the details a' the percieved prejudice 'gainst e-pubs. It bugs me, too.
Lots a' issues 'bout RWA bugs me, ta be truthful. But I use every resource available ta me. If'n me finances were badly strapped...it would be a hard decision ta make...
I do think Terrio 'ave a point, ya change from inside.
But I needs ta learn more 'bout e-pubs meself...
Terrio - Ya saw adult stuff at RT that ya 'ad ta hide from the munchkin? Hee, hee. It be true...but there do be lots a' chocolate and other stuff fer the kids ta enjoy...
I love me Ellora's Cave playing cards. ;)
Flip flops ta the RITAs? Who? Scandal!
I do enjoy both conferences, but admit ta findin' RT an easier venue to simple enjoyment.
One that that drives me batty 'bout RWA is the atmosphere a' exclusion. It's what bugs the e-pubbers. What bugs me, beyond that issue, be the inspirational guidelines...and the way they exclude Catholic fiction? When Terrio told me that, I just laughed and laughed...and was bugged. Makes me want ta write an inspirational where the heroine be inspired by 'er love a the God Thor ta change 'er life and let love in... :)
I love scandal. And it ain't like RT be an open book, crew. The entire erotica issue be a charged one, no matter which conference ya attend.
I have two of those EC card decks. And 2007 was a good year with that EC calendar as inspiration. *sigh*
Kiddo got a fanny pack (we had to empty!), a giant candy cane (which I'd rather not think about), and a light up ring all from Erotica authors. They were all so sweet. She loved the ring, but the tiara that Kathryn Caskie gave her was her favorite. She wore it in her school talent show shortly after the conference. LOL!
Yeah, the glitter and sparkle that is given away is sooooo fun! I could see a kid gettin' inta it, long as ya keep on eye on the odd 'suckers' that might show up in a bag or two...
Really, the balls are more 'bout goin' and seein' what everyone else puts tagether than dressin' up yerself. If'n yer not inta costumes. The first Fairy ball I went ta, had an undersea theme... I went as a shipwrecked sailor... Nothin' I wouldn't wear ta the RenFair or pirate festivals, tho a bit casual...
But ta see what some a' the other's wear? Fu-un!
I'm sorry I missed this today!
I hope that someday, I can make it to both conferences.
Do I win the prize for fasting dying blog?
I'm number one! I'm number one!
I doubt it. I had some tankers.
I really thought this might stir up some controversy. Nope. I didn't write enough sex into it, damn.
Oh yeah? No one said much of anything after noon. Your noon, not my noon.
Come on, you know I'm number one...!
12 comments, not counting mine?
Whoo hoo! I win!
Here's another comment for ya': aside from the whole e-pub issue I don't think I take myself seriously enough to attend RWA. I'd love to be a professional writer(author), however the budget won't allow it. Therefore my writing is something I do for fun more than money. I had tons of fun at RT and from what I've heard of RWA it's more "business" than I'm willing to tolerate on a week-long vacation from "work". Plus where else can I ogle hot men without my hubby around? And come home with a calender, playing cards and tons of photos of those hotties?
Heehee, I'll keep my money on RT, thank you very much.
Especially after the wonderful people I met there ;)
Ah, ain't ya sweet!
I am lookin' forward ta Columbus. Even if I don't know what there is ta see there...but I'm willin' ta sightsee most places I set an anchor.
Sure 'ope ya make it, Missy.
Great blog! I've never attended RT, and DC was my first RWA. And, yes, I did wear flip flops. Only because I decided to be sensible and only bring 3 pairs of shoes. Two made my feet hurt horribly.
While at DC, I attended the Pro-retreat which was fabulous. Then I attended the spotlight on Sourcebooks. What the hell did I do the rest of the time? Who knows. If RT comes to Kansas City again, I'll probably go, but I think I'll stick to RWA.
Renee - I missed the flip flops. I know I felt worfully underdressed most a' the time. But glad ya had a good time, mayhaps not rememberin' details means ya 'ad a very good time! ;)
I 'ope ta attend both of 'em...but fer fun, I do think RT has RWA beat. And I b'lieve fer what I write, RT be the better fit.
Glad ya liked the blog. It obviously weren't controversial 'nuff, but that's OK...some days we need simple peace on the Revenge.
Renee - I just want it noted that I DID NOT out you as the flip flop wearer. LOL! You outed yourself. I was happy to keep your identity a secret. ;)
I bet there were a pair a' those sparklee type...dressed up with jools and glitter... ;)
Unlike mine, flattened from bein' walked on, dirty and chewed on by me Bonnie dog...
Oh, hell, Terri, they'll bury me barefoot or with flip-flops. :) I don't care. I AM A FLIP FLOP WEARER.
Good fer ya ta claim it!
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