Re: GWA Award Musings

**D* G* <g*@gmail.com>**

 Do people get more freelance gigs or better book deals or see

> a bump in sales after winning an award?
>

I won the best writing award a few years ago for my book "Garden Wisdom"  -
and the impact of that win was a dull thud heard as far away as next door.
The p.r. people thanked me for entering, thanked me for winning and that was
that - ah no, they were very busy so they couldn't promote a book not on
this season's list..  I sent out a news release to a completely
underwhelming response.

I entered the contest once - in the hopes of winning anything so I could put
"award-winning" before my name (as in award-winning garden author) -
happened to win a big one.  Haven't entered since nor will I for any part of
what I'm doing - I don't see the point now (got my "award-winning") :-)  and
I measure my success against other variables.

Impact - hard to measure.  Did it help with other books because it's in the
bio?  Maybe.  But my guess is that other things (like selling out of print
runs and marketing) count more.  So it's one small thing in the overall
measurement of the writer's life and output - like having a M.A. or ??

> Could those funds be better spent on something else that would accomplish
> the same goal?

Ah, you open a full can of worms (and thanks for doing it).   The fact that
GWA is still asking about whether they should go electronic in the
newsletter (as if any writer now doesn't have email) - that the website
doesn't promote member-to-member discussions, that much of what is being
implemented is still "old tech" , that they think doing a "gardening survey"
and spending large amounts of money on it (anybody ever hear of the free
Google Trends?) is important, etc means they are doing things the way
they've always done them.  I find myself constantly having to ask myself if
what I'm doing makes sense - why shouldn't an organization like GWA do the
same thing?  That's a leadership issue.

Do awards make sense?  I guess if there are enough members willing to shell
out the bucks to be judged, they make sense to those members.  But let's
make it a cost-recovery basis.

Can the judging/meeting be done electronically - it can but GWA doesn't have
the tech-experience to do it.   Give it a year and it can be done easily
that way.

Should GWA get into the business of actively promoting and helping one
segment of its membership over another? (promoting print people over
speakers over Net members etc)  Or, should GWA put membership money into
advertising in one media and not others? (into magazines instead of Net or
radio)   My answer to both is no.  While I see there are areas that GWA
could, and probably should, promote garden writing in general, I'm not sure
I'd want to see it aimed at one segment over another.

But those questions are all for active members of the board to figure out.

My .02

Doug

>
>
-- 
Doug Green
Editor-in-Chief,
SGF Publishing
http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters