Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
It's not a matter of what the publishing format is, but if someone calls himself or herself an author, I would expect that person to be earning money from writing.
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Fair enough.
In fact, that is the criterion that professional author associations use to vet their membership.
So far, the Canadian Authors Union and the Romance Writers of America both accept indie published authors as members and the Science Fiction Writers of America is currently drafting guidelines to do the same.
In all three cases the requirement is to have earned 'x' amount of money over a single calendar year, where the specified amount for indie publishers is a *multiple* of the requirement for traditionally-published authors minimum income, because it is easier to make money by going indie.
Edit:
From the RWA guidelines:
http://www.rainbowromancewriters.com/node/544
Quote:
The purpose of the Published Authors Network (PAN) is to establish within the RWA framework a network of communication and support to effectively promote and protect the interests of published romance authors; to open channels of communication between those romance authors and other publishing industry professionals; and to encourage professionalism on all levels and in all relationships within the publishing industry. PAN membership is available to any RWA General or Honorary member in good standing who has earned at least:
$1,000 in the form of an advance on a single Eligible Novel or Novella
$1,000 in the form of royalties or a combination of advance plus royalties on a single published Eligible Novel or Novella
$5,000 in the form of earnings for a Self-Published novel or novella that meets the definition of Romance Fiction shall be eligible for membership in PAN.
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