Topic: Why join SCBWI?

[anonymous]

Are conferences and query credentials pretty much the only reason to join SCBWI?  No disrespect for this fine institution, but $ is tight .

[Anne Marie]

There are a number of similar threads on SCBWI if you want to look for them.

Conferences, events, education--yeah.  Friendships, but that doesn't come guaranteed.  

I really don't see that it adds much to your query.  Agents/eds know that all you have to do to belong is pay the dues.

If you don't have the money, I would not worry about it for a second.  Join later, just because it's fun. Well, depending on where you live it's fun.

[Mike Jung]

What Anne Marie said. Here are some of the old threads:

http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=35748.0
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=9189.0
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=3697.0
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=31149.0
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=51603.0

[anonymous]

Thanks for the threads, and reassurance!  I look forward to schmoozing at a conference someday -- and learning new stuff too -- but not this year. 

[RosettaStone]

Also adding my thanks! I was just thinking about this...

[Lill]

I want to add that the difference in conference fees for members/non-members is usually pretty nominal ... average about $25 from what I've seen.

So if you are really limited in your budget .. wait on becoming a full member ... and maybe attend a conference.

[Anne Marie]

I'd like to say now, because I didn't really say it earlier, and people who don't know me might misinterpret that earlier post, that I LOVE SCBWI.  I have gotten great benefit from it and enjoy every event I attend.  I just don't think if money is tight that you should worry about it.

[Abracabarbara]

The cost of SCBWI membership is the difference for the the NJ chapter conference non-member rate. I rejoined SCBWI last year, am attending the conference again this year at the SCBWI rate which is pretty much the only one I go to because it is close and offers a lot for the cost.

So now I am a member of the SCBWI and going to the conference for the same rate I would pay for just going to the conference. Perhaps what I mean is if I weren't going to my conference I may not join. Does that make sense?

I also think it is a great organization, and our Kathy puts on quite the event!! Barb

[writerjenn]

The other benefit I appreciated when I first joined was the big packet of reference materials they provided, which covered publishers, agents, and the business in general. (More of that info is now available on the internet, but it was very nice to have it all in one place.) The newsletter is pretty good. I found it to be the best value when I was querying and learning about querying, but now that I have an agent and a couple of books in the pipeline, I've still maintained my membership.

SCBWI also offers some grants (though you have to compete for them), and I think you have to be a member to apply for them? So if you're in the market for grants, that might be something else to look at.

[Lill]

In some chapters, you cannot be on the mailing list unless you are a member. That might be all of them now, I don't know.

I think you have to weigh what you will get out of it and how much you can be involved against the cost.

Check out to see what your closest chapter offers. Maybe you are lucky and will have more than one chapter within an easy driving distance.

There is more to it than conferences and credentials. It's a wonderful organization but if you absolutely, positively cannot afford it ... don't sweat it.

[Mike Jung]

Another thing to think about with SCBWI is that once your career as a published author begins to move forward, you can entertain the possibility of participating in events as faculty. I've only done one iddle biddy event so far, but I have some prospects for others in the future, and it definitely has the potential to play a significant role in an author's career arc. If you're interested in doing that kind of thing, anyway.

[macdibble]

I've been a member for years in AUSTRALIA! So, as you can imagine, the summer/winter conferences (how non-global is the summer/winter tag?) are too difficult to contemplate, grants seem like too much effort given the US slant on the judging panel and the price of postage, and I've never even been to an Australian conference because they are in Sydney and at really inconvenient times of the year. But the local meetings are brilliant and I can get to those. Well worth the expense.

Especially when the US $ drops. This year it's downright cheap!  Maybe we could pay a few years in advance right now... and save hundreds!

[Owl]

I think it is of more benefit at certain phases of one's career. It's especially good for beginners, people who are ready to query agents or editors, and people whose first book is about to be published.

Beginners can learn a lot about craft and the basics of publishing.

People looking for an agent or ready to submit to an editor can sometimes get access to otherwise closed houses or agents by attending a conference where the agent or editor is speaking.

If your first book is about to be published or was recently published, the big conferences are an opportunity to network and spread the word about your book.

I'm at an intermediate stage, pre-book-published, agented. I continue to belong to SCBWI, but it isn't as useful to me. I did apply for a grant last year.