The Resignation Joke

 

Do you belong to any writing organizations for crime writers or general writing groups—MWA? Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers? If not, why not? If so, what value have they been for you? 

 

This question makes me think of Groucho Marx and his famous ‘Resignation Joke.’

 

“I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”

 

It’s classic Groucho for self-disparagement, barbed wit, and a clever tactical maneuver to extricate himself from something he disliked. His submission is a Penrose Triangle for logic, in that you’re taken aback, perhaps smile, and wonder why you’re laughing.

 

I’m a Lifetime Member of Sisters in Crime, and I belong to the other two aforementioned groups.

 

I am, by disposition, suspicious of groups. As organizations evolve, they bear certain connotations. Say Teamsters, and what do you think? Declare yourself a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, and there’s the whole baggage train of class interest, less government interference, blah, blah, and etc. Organizations like country club memberships could be elitist, or they are created in response to an unfulfilled need.

 

Sisters in Crime was formed as a response to the lack of reviews for women writers of crime fiction in the late Eighties. There were also other troubling concerns and trends within the publishing industry, and you can read about it here. The mystery writing organizations experienced several seismic events, and the turbulence is concurrent with the rise of conferences and awards: MWA started the Anthony Awards in 1986, and Malice Domestic awarded its first Agatha Awards in 1989. Left Coast Crime held its first gathering in 1991. You can read about the early days of Malice here and Left Coast Crime here. ITW came into existence in 2004.

 

I came to the writing gig later in life, so I had to educate myself. I saw Sisters in the title but didn’t know Misters were allowed. I looked at what I wrote, and I didn’t think I qualified for ITW. I became aware that SIC had local chapters, but I thought I could only belong to the local chapter. I live in New England but belong to the Chessie Chapter. Last article of evidence as proof of my myopic brain: I had thought Left Coast Crime awarded its Lefties to writers west of the Mississippi.

 

Yeah, I’m about as bright as dull paint.

 

I admit that I have not taken advantage of all the workshops and funding opportunities. I had a horrible experience with a writers group in college, and you couldn’t pay me to attend a workshop or MFA program.

 

I hate to use the word networking because I dislike the inference that interactions are transactional. Belonging to organizations and attending conferences do help. Putting a face to a name does help you, whether it's meeting an agent or another writer at a panel. Connections matter, if not professionally, then consider it as a safe way to leave your comfort cell. Most writers live the equivalent of monastic solitude minus the pesky vows.

 

If I had a wish, it would be to see a writers’ organization that is a true guild, a legal entity that goes beyond the current Author’s Guild, which focuses on free speech and copyright protection. I’d like to see the day when writers could rise above meager subsistence, enjoy a pension, arbitrate as a group for affordable health insurance, and enjoy extensive legal services.

 

I’d belong to that club and be happy to pay those membership dues…if they’d have me.