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RWA Candidate Questions ::

1. Why did you choose to run for the board?

I chose to run for the board as a way to give back to the many individuals that have helped me in my own writing career, or as one of my colleagues has stated, “to pay it forward.”  A writer is touched by so many in the crafting of each story, it is impossible to say “thank you” enough.  With my strengths encompassing a diverse business background (multiple degrees) and numerous years experience as a consultant (guiding others through change, networking, marketing and using technology), the position of RWA PRO Liaison, which focuses on the business side of a writer’s career, seemed a natural place to volunteer my participation.

2.  Unpublished candidates:

a.  How many manuscripts have you completed?

I have completed three single-title length manuscripts with four others in various stages of planning and plotting.  

b.  Where would you describe yourself along the publishing path, i.e. rank beginner, moving along, getting fabulous rejection letters, on the cusp?

I think it’s difficult for any yet-to-be-published writer to tell where along the path he or she actually is; each journey can be so very different.  As many, I dream that whatever story I am currently working with is “the story” that will break me through, winning all kinds of awards and topping all kinds of lists.  And you never know, it just might be -- dreams do happen!  J  That said, I have been told by several local RWA chaptermates that I “get the nicest rejection letters;” they are usually personal, detailed with what needs to be changed to make the submission stronger, and often include an invitation to either re-submit or submit something else.  

c.  How do you intend to juggle the time commitments arising from being on the board with your pursuit of publication?

I am currently blessed with having the luxury to pursue my writing career full-time.  While it would seem that with this advantage I could race through writing story after story in record time, I have found there are only a certain number of hours and a certain number of pages I can pour out of me on any given day without needing to “recharge.”  And for me, recharging often comes from sharing with and helping others in areas of business I am familiar with.  To this point, I have focused this time by volunteering in several RWA chapters that I currently belong to -- writing newsletter articles and editing the chapter newsletter; coordinating and helping judge contests; coordinating, creating and teaching online courses; serving on committees like membership, publicity, and book-in-a-week/month (BIAW/BIAM); and helping organize retreats and conferences for writers.  If elected to the RWA PRO Liaison position, I wouldn’t abandon these various activities, but I would shift into a “coaching” rather than “doing” role in order to make time for new responsibilities of the PRO Liaison position.      

3.  Which RWA chapter(s) do you belong to and have been active in?  If you do not belong to a chapter, please explain why.

I am a member of the Calgary Association of RWA (CaRWA), of the Mystery and Suspense Chapter of RWA (Kiss of Death, or KOD), and the new Elements Chapter of RWA, in addition to several non-RWA writers groups.  For CaRWA, I have written numerous newsletter articles, edited the newsletter, taught online courses (raising funds for the chapter), helped coordinate and judge a contest, served as part of the conference committee, and participated in numerous BIAW/BIAM/Novel in 90 sessions.  For KOD, I have helped with contest judging, helped coordinate and teach online courses (COFFIN courses), helped coordinate the first KOD writers’ retreat in Canada, served on the membership committee for multiple years, helped facilitate the BIAW sessions, and chair the publicity committee.  For Elements, being a young chapter currently going through formation, I have not yet been in a position to volunteer or serve, but have been involved in early discussions around teaching online courses for the group.   For all three chapters, I participate in numerous online email loops, on an almost daily basis.

4.  Have you volunteered for RWA in any capacity?  If so, please describe.

For RWA, in addition to my work with individual chapters, I have helped with judging both the RWA website contest and the Golden Heart contest. As well, I have presented multiple workshops and helped with the authors’ literary signing session at the RWA National Conference.

5. What is the best RWA-related or other non-profit project you have completed as a volunteer?  Why do you consider it to be your best project? 

I think perhaps the most visible volunteer project I have undertaken that is RWA-related would be the first online course I taught in website design for writers.  My local RWA chapter has a policy mandating that members who teach an online course for them do not receive any type of payment for teaching; all funds collected in course fees go directly to the chapter.  The first offering of my course, “Everything You’ve Always Wanted To Know About Having A Website But Were Afraid To Ask,” fell under this policy, and was very successful in generating funds for the chapter as well as triggering requests for another, more advanced offering of the same course.  In addition to knowing that I supported our chapter financially through both sessions of the course I taught, I was personally rewarded watching the other writers grow in their knowledge and comfort of technology as a marketing tool.      

6.  Do you vote consistently on RWA issues either in person at the annual AGM or by proxy?  If not, why?

No, to this point I have not voted consistently at the AGM.  The key reason is that until very recently, I had the mistaken belief that because I was not yet published, the decisions being made by RWA didn’t directly impact me.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m alone in that erroneous and misinformed belief.  With the recent changes to the RITA and Golden Heart contests, and the large amount of discussion taking place over these topics on various email loops, I became very aware of how decisions made now impact me not only today, but even more in the future (once published).  A part of what I would focus on if elected as PRO Liaison is to work at facilitating these types of discussions on all topics that are on the agenda for future AGM’s, urging all members of RWA to exercise their voices by voting.  

7.  How would you improve communication between the national board and members? (please keep in mind policy and bylaws.)

It would be easy to say “do this” or “do that” to change current communication channels, yet having worked with other non-profit boards, I know from personal experience that it is very easy to have one’s words taken out of context, misquoted, or misinterpreted.  Human nature being what it is, informal communication reaches farther, and often faster, than formal communication lines and there are some compelling reasons to want to capture that.  But when this type of communication comes from a member of the board, the room for confusion is high – did she say that as an individual, as an author, or as a representative of the board?  Where does one person’s opinion stop and the role of a board member begin?  I think the communication tools currently in place to get information out are sound, with perhaps opportunity lying in creating additional avenues for expressing questions and ideas. 

8.  Which RWA programs are most important to you? Why?

For me, this is very difficult to answer.  During the three years I have been a member of RWA my career has changed and grown in so many ways, and as it evolved, it has been strengthened by different programs at different points along that path.  For me, picking just one or two programs is like asking to freeze time, like trying to pick the one or two best days of your life – if you’re really growing and changing with each day, you are building on the previous and putting a foundation in place for the next one.  You really can’t have one without all of the others.      

9. If you could enact just one new project, what would it be and how would it benefit RWA?  This year the board set new publisher eligibility standards.  How do you view this decisions?

Change is almost always triggered by need and is rarely easy.  The new publisher eligibility standards are an excellent example of this.  Some members will be thrilled by them; some will be deeply frustrated.  Some will remain neutral, not yet directly impacted by them.  I think it is important to keep focus on the fact that the new standards bring with them clarity and clarity is always good.  If I could add one new project or program, I would like to look at different ways technology could be further used to help writers interact with each other.  Many writers are limited in their ability to travel to conferences, perhaps because of financial restraints, time restrictions, or even family obligations.  Technology today, such as pod casts, chat rooms, blogs and other options could very realistically be used to allow more interactive workshops and conference sessions – virtual conferences – without anyone actually having to leave the comfort of their own home (or office).  While I fully appreciate and enjoy the recordings now available from the RWA National conference, the opportunity to actually ask questions during the session is long over by the time an individual hears the recordings.  I believe the ability to participate during a session, asking questions and interacting with others would deeply enrich the experience. 

10. Strategic planning:  Board members are not expected to handle day-to-day management tasks, but are responsible for developing a future vision for the association and identifying what the association needs to do today to achieve that vision.  With this focus on strategic planning, what personal strengths do you bring to the board to help RWA achieve its future vision? 

I have numerous years of consulting experience (15+) with some of the largest and most influential companies in the world focusing on just this – helping groups of individuals look at where they are today, where they want to be tomorrow, and determining how to get from here to there.  I am well versed in business management, strategic planning, marketing, managing change, communication techniques, and using technology. 

11.  What do you think are the most important "professional interests of career-focused romance writers?"  

If I were to pick one key topic all romance writers should focus on, regardless of what stage of their career they are in, it would be career sustainability.  Very few writers want to be a “one book wonder,” publishing only one novel and then disappearing from the shelves.  Career sustainability involves continuous moving one’s writing career forward, and being able to sustain or even grow, your career with each step you take.  It’s more than getting that first sale, it’s getting the second one, and the thirteenth one, and the forty-eighth one, and more.  It’s about growing a readership that doesn’t dip with an aging population, but blossoms with new readers joining in.  It’s about using today’s technology to reach new audiences (cell phones, eBooks, websites, etc.), not losing readership to them.  It’s about building something that you can at least maintain, but preferably grow with.

12. What do you view as the board's or RWA's role in negotiating with publishers? What are the three most important advocacy issues you'd like to see RWA addressing with the industry? 

I think of huge importance is RWA’s role as an information conduit for writers.  A request for information from one or even a small group of authors simply doesn’t hold the same ability to command attention and action as does the request of a group having over nine thousand members.  One key area of advocacy, beginning with information sharing and moving into subsequent action as warranted, would be the recent definition change of “out of publication” being used by one publisher in its author contracts and how it impacts our authors.  Another would be the usage of technology and its impact on the piracy and distribution of authors’ work without payment of proper royalties.    

13. What projects and tasks have you undertaken that exemplify your leadership skills?  What are examples of your success while working within a team structure?  Use local chapter, work, or other organizational experiences. 

The nature of my previous work in consulting was almost exclusively in leadership and teaching roles.  I have managed multi-million dollar technology projects with multi-cultural teams, completing them on time and within the budget.  I have led teams in changing work habits and procedures, and in embracing new technology.  I teach multiple online courses and workshops and focus on helping the student move forward from their learning starting point regardless of how different it might be from others in the same course.  In addition, I currently chair the publicity committee for the Mystery and Suspense RWA Chapter (Kiss of Death, or KOD).   

14.  Have you ever served on a volunteer governing board before? Please  describe any board experience. 

I have served directly on multiple volunteer boards, in addition to working indirectly with volunteer boards through committee participation.  Most recently the direct participation has been with the Glenora Community league (representing 1200+ area families), the Glenora Preschool Board (representing 45+ families), and the St. Vincent’s School Parent-Teacher School Council (representing 80+ families).  With the Glenora Community League, I have held the roles of secretary, assistant treasurer, newsletter editor and communications director, as well as helping with the coordination of several soccer teams.  With the Glenora Preschool Board, I held the roles of treasurer and cleaning-bee coordinator, as well as working with the fund raising committee.   With the St. Vincent’s School Parent-Teacher Council, I was a class room parent representative.  As mentioned in another previous question, my indirect board participation with various RWA chapters includes the Calgary Association of RWA (CaRWA), and the Mystery and Suspense Chapter of RWA (Kiss of Death, or KOD).  For CaRWA, I was the newsletter editor, as well as a member of multiple committees.  For KOD, I am the current publicity committee chair, as well as a member of multiple committees.

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