Romance Writers of America (RWA), founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas, has long been an advocacy group for their published members.  It has persuaded Harlequin books to register copyrights for authors’ works and to allow writers to own their own pseudonyms.  Previously, authors were forced to leave their pseudonym behind if they switched publishing houses, making it more difficult for their fans to follow.

In 2000, the RWA had an operating budget of over $1 million, the largest of any professional genre writers’ organization.  The organization had over 10,000 members and over 150 chapters.  One of chapters in Washington is Seattle Romance Writers of America.  These include chapters arranged geographically as well as special-interest online chapters that focus on themes such as medical romance.   Approximately 2,000 of the members have had books published.

The RWA was formed to assist authors of romance novels.  General Membership in RWA is open to those actively pursuing a career in romance fiction regardless of publishing status. A writer does not need to be published to join but must be working toward that goal.  Associate Membership is available to publishers, editors, agents and other industry professionals who work in the romance publishing field. Associate members do not have the right to vote and are ineligible to hold office.  Affiliate Membership is available to librarians and booksellers.

Every summer, the RWA holds a national conference.  Each year, some of the workshops are business-oriented, focusing on how to pitch a novel or write for multiple publishers.  Other workshops focus on creative pursuits, including how to use swords and sword fights in a story line, how to use firefighter lingo, or how to pick the cover art for your book. The annual conference features a literacy signing, where the public is invited to meet close to 500 authors and gain autographs. The RWA funds several scholarships for members to attend the national conference. The scholarships pay for travel, lodging, and registration fees. The event also raises funds for literacy charities.  The conference ends with the RITA and Golden Heart awards ceremony.   Future conference sites include New York City (2011), San Diego (2012), and Atlanta (2013).

According to Romance Writers of America (RWA), the main plot of a romance novel must revolve around two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship together.  Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, although the novel can also contain subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters’ romantic love.  Furthermore, a romance novel must have an “emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.”

Some romance novel authors and readers believe the genre has additional restrictions, from plot considerations such as the protagonists meeting early on in the story, to avoiding themes such as adultery.  Disagreements have centered on the firm requirement for a happy ending, or the place of same-sex relationships within the genre.  Some readers admit stories without a happy ending, if the focus of the story is on the romantic love between the two main characters (e.g. Romeo and Juliet). Others believe the definition should be more strictly worded to include only heterosexual pairing. While the majority of romance novels meet the stricter criteria, there are also many books that are widely considered to be romance novels that deviate from these rules. Therefore, the general definition, as embraced by the RWA and publishers, includes only the focus on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending.

As long as a romance novel meets that twin criteria, it can be set in any time period and in any location. There are no specific restrictions on what can or cannot be included in a romance novel.  Even very controversial subjects are addressed in romance novels, including topics such as date rape, domestic violence, addiction, and disability.  The combination of time frame, location, and plot elements does, however, help a novel to fit into one of several romance sub-genres.   Despite the numerous possibilities this framework allows, many people in the mainstream press claim that “all [romance novels] seem to read alike.”

The Emerald City Writers’ Conference, which is sponsored by the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America (GSRWA), will be held in Bellevue, Washington, October 1 – 3.  I am preparing to attend this conference, and I look forward to seeing fellow writers there.

GSRWA is a chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA), a national non-profit genre writers association.  RWA provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.

Founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas, the RWA has long been an advocacy group for their published members. Their current mission statement indicates that the purpose of the RWA is to “advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy.”  There are now more than 10,000 romance writers and related industry professionals that are members of this organization.

The Emerald City Writers’ Conference is held each year in the fall, and is currently the largest conference on the West Coast for romance writers.  This year’s conference offers more than 50 workshops to choose from.  The list includes:

• Legal Issues for Writers
• Blogs & More: Building Name Recognition Inside and Outside the Box
• My Stupid Word List or How to De-Clutter Your Prose
• Weird & Wacky, Wild & Wondrous, Wordbuilding 101
• Researching Historicals & Bringing Them to Life
• Talk to the Press & Get the Press to Listen
• Writing Killer Back-Cover Copy
• Sympathy for the Devil – Dark Heroes & Heroines
• How to Dress the Medieval Knight and His
• Fling Factor – An Insider’s Guide to Making Law Enforcement Characters Real

• Reinventing Yourself in a Dynamic if Depressed Market

With so many wonderful workshops offered, it is going to be difficult to choose which ones to attend!  I am excited about this conference, and I am looking forward to learning and networking with other writers.