SFWA opens doors to small press- and self-published authors

The voting has ended in January, with the striking count of 6:1, in favor of admitting small press- and self-published authors as full members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). These coveted memberships have previously been open only to traditionally published authors with sales to a particular and rather small list of book and magazine publishers.

By the new rules, the list is far more open, and anyone can be considered for membership with one very big stipulation: this person has to earn $3000 or more per single title within a 12 month period. From what I know, this number is fairly steep for most small presses and self-published authors. Still, this is a huge step in the recognition of the current publishing trends.

I have seen many discussions about the exclusiveness of SFWA. Unlike the Romance Writers of America, who accept everyone interested in the…