When I was growing up one of the women’s magazines my mother got each month had a “can this marriage be saved?” column. I don’t remember the specific issues that brought each of the couples to such a turning point, but I do remember that the answer to the question was always, “yes it can be saved.” Probably not a surprise; happy endings mean happy readers who are likely to keep buying magazines. What I also remember (vaguely) is that saving the marriage more often than not meant that the woman made changes to be more appealing or more attractive or more accommodating. Or, heaven forbid, not so sensitive.
Sounds a lot like some of the posts I’ve been reading in the RWA forums.
As we’ve been talking about on the blog recently, the RWA is at a crucial turning point after its spectacular implosion at the end of year. (See last week’s post for details.) The majority of the board has resigned, sponsors have withdrawn, and contests have been cancelled. There is an independent audit in progress, trust in the organization has taken a tremendous hit, and it’s hard to see a clear path forward.
Things have definitely reached the “can this organization be saved?” stage. Continue reading
The annual email reminding me to renew my RWA membership arrived sometime in March and I promptly forgot all about it. RWA is persistent, however, so a reminder arrived in the beginning of April, and then the next week, and again the next week. The last reminder listed all the benefits I’d be losing out on if I neglected to renew.
