Can We Talk?

Unless you’ve been completely disconnected for the last month, you’re probably aware that RMFW is considering changing its tax status from 501(c)6 (a professional trade organization) to 501(c)3 (an educational charity). If it happens, it will mean some changes.

But that’s not what I want to talk about.

Over the course of having these discussions in our various virtual smoke-filled cyber-rooms, I remembered something that I’d forgotten about my early days as an RMFW member.

When I joined RMFW, there was no IPAL. I joined anyway because I’ve learned over my various careers that having the kinds of opportunities that an organization like RMFW provides really does help. What I remembered was that there wasn’t really a forum for me as an RMFW member to talk with other members. Sure, I could email a board member, but I couldn’t find the kind of “can we talk?” channels that would let me converse with other RMFW members.

Which made me wonder about things. Things like how many members do we have? (Something around 700.) How many aren’t published yet? (Maybe as many as two thirds of us). How and where do the people who aren’t in one of the published author loops – like PAL and IPAL – congregate? How can we reach out to each other outside of our silos?

Recently I discovered that there is actually an RMFW Facebook group with only about 30 members where we can communicate with each other.

I understand that writing is a solitary effort, and that not everybody is on Facebook for one reason or another, but I’m looking at all those members who haven’t crossed that final hurdle to selling a book. Doesn’t matter to me if you’re trying to sell it to an agent or acquisitions editor or if you’re trying to find those first few readers on your own. We all have a common interest in writing, in becoming better writers, better storytellers, and more informed participants in a very old career. Not exactly the oldest – regardless of what some might think – but storytellers have been around since humans started huddling around campfires.

I’m looking for those people who need help, need advice, or just feel like they have no campfire to tell a story around. I’m urging you to join that RMFW group on Facebook. I’m asking you to step out of the darkness and pull up a log beside the RMFW campfire.

If nothing else, maybe we can tell each other stories.

RMFW group on Facebook