The SFWA is notoriously out-of-touch when it comes to this type of thing.

Out of touch or attempting to protect its territory?

I know I have, and see the small investment as having strengthened me for the coming battles ahead!

I’m curious why writers would object to opening up the field a bit?

The argument is that these people are potential victims for a snake oil salesman (Harlequin) and must be saved from themselves. It’s a bit broader and deeper than that, though.

the marketing acumen of the author will determine whether a book will sell, leaving books that are not market worthy to languish.

Now, more than ever.

Why would any writer be threatened by the creative actions of another?

No idea. I’m still scratching my head over that myself.

Their eligibility requirements lists the publishers to whom an author must have made a book or short story sale to. Of course, there are no self-publishing entities listed.

I’m curious why writers would object to opening up the field a bit? My take on Indie Publishing has always been that the market and the marketing acumen of the author will determine whether a book will sell, leaving books that are not market worthy to languish. Without the extensive market hype that a big, mainstream roll-out can give it, a book has to stand on its own merits. It seems to me that Indie Authors have a great deal of pressure on them to create really good books, otherwise, they are wasting their money, and who can afford that?

Let me pose a hypothetical here.

A sci-fi writer, whose unusual voice and subjects has had no luck when submitting to agents — the current book sales market is very restrictive — so they opt to self-publish (as many, many now revered sci-fi writers have done in the past) to get the stories out and let the books stand on their own.

How does this impact other published sci-fi writers? Why would any writer be threatened by the creative actions of another? Whay would a writer be threatened by a publisher needing to branch out to acquire additional markets and sales? Times are tough — they require new ideas and forms we haven’t seen before in order to survive.

Isn’t the goal to allow every form of good creative writing to find its market if it can? I guess not. Is being mainstream published the only thing which determines if writing is any good or a story worthy? I guess so.

That leaves thousands of good writers out in the cold, possibly forever.

“Last one in, make sure the gate’s closed!”

(I don’t know why you keep getting caught in my spam trap. Kismet doesn’t like you. *rimshot*)