Western Writers of America - Ideas for the Future

Greetings All,

As some of you may know, this past summer I attended the annual Western Writers of America convention in Springfield, Missouri. I had a great deal of fun and it was marvelous getting to meet in person so many of the people that are writing, editing and making a difference for the future of our genre.

While I was there, the Board of Directors graciously allowed me to spend a few minutes with them to share some of my ideas about WWA as an organization and also about the future of the Western genre. At the conclusion of our meeting, I was asked to consider writing an article for possible inclusion in Round Up Magazine touching on the points I had made. To be honest, after an extensive amount of consideration, I feel like that wouldn't be in the best interests of the organization. After all, I'm not a member of WWA, I'm not on the Board, and if those who are active in WWA agree with my thoughts, the impetus for change should come from them, not from someone who is a relative outsider. And, of course, there will undoubtedly be those who disagree, and who might feel quite strongly about who says what in their official magazine.

All that being said, I believe very strongly in what I shared with the Board, and I wanted to share it here, since I know that at least some of the people who visit my blog are members and may (or may not) want to take these ideas and run with them. So, without further ado, I present my comments, modified a bit to suit this format...

How the West was Lost & How We Can Find it Again

There are those who believe the Western genre is dead... or, at best, in a creepy state of decay that resembles the final twitches of a dying body. The number of original western novels is shrinking, western movies are few and far between, the shelf space more limited each year. "We're doomed!" some people will say. "Switch genres!" say others. "Self-publish!" say those with deep pockets.

The first (and maybe the biggest) problem with this outlook is that it becomes self-fulfilling. If the writers of the genre widely proclaim that it is dead, who hears them? The answer is that our readers hear this. The editors hear this. The publishers hear this. The agents hear this. In short, the very people who can make a difference in producing more westerns are the ones who hear - over and over again in some quarters - that the genre is dead or dying, and anyone who believes otherwise is a fool. What a horrible mistake to make. To proclaim our genre dead or dying to the very people who can save it.

Publishing is an industry with a lot of history to it, and if history tells us anything, it's that the popularity of a given genre rises and falls over time. This is as true with the western as with any other form of genre fiction. If you don't believe me, I invite you to take a long look at the number of western books and/or movies made from year to year. I promise, you'll see highs and lows and everything in between. Now, in general, yes - fewer westerns are being published. All that doomsaying certainly hasn't helped our cause, but there's a few other things that have contributed to this decline and what might be done about them:

• Western fiction tends to elaborate and celebrate the past, while western writers and organizations and publishers have focused a ridiculously large amount of attention on DEAD PEOPLE. If we want more readers, we need writers who can reach out to them. I love the work of Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey and Max Brand... but they are dead. They aren't doing book signings. They aren't writing any new novels. They don't blog or have an active website that they are participating in. Yet... look at how much shelf space in a given store is granted to them. If the West has been lost and we want to find it again, we absolutely must find ways to highlight LIVING authors who are actively publishing books through commercial houses. The WWA can and should be a big part of that, encouraging bookstores, national chains and publishers to focus on living authors, rather than continuing to reprint those who have moved on to that great publishing ranch in the sky.
  
  
• Apathy. For authors who want people to be excited about their books, apathy is just another form of slow death. How are authors apathetic? Well, how many of them have a website? A blog? A book signing schedule in their local area? How many are doing interviews on local radio stations or NPR? Talks at their schools? Visits to the local library or book clubs? Apathy is a LACK of action. Too many western authors have failed to take action, when free publicity is a simple mouse click away. The WWA can and should develop a program of author tools that includes help on building a basic, nice website, how to set up a blog, how to conduct an Internet-based marketing campaign, and more. Not only would this help the membership, but it would give the members a concrete set of ideas and action steps to take, as well as reaffirm that their dues money is well spent.
  
  
• Resistance to change. People will say that the Western is dead, yet fail to recognize that like any genre, there will always be change. If we are to find the strength of the Western again, it is vital that we embrace the changes occurring in our genre and validate that there are science fiction westerns and mystery westerns and fantasy westerns and non-traditional westerns and so on and so forth. As writers, we should be in the forefront of pointing out where western tropes are surfacing in other genres and in films. The WWA can and should be active in this arena, too, helping publishers and film studios understand that THE SHOOTIST was a western... and so is BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN... and the television series FIREFLY... and many, many books published. Titles by Ed Gorman, who excels with combining elements of mystery and western... by Steve Hockensmith, who does the same thing, but with humor, too... and on it goes.
  

If the WWA wants to be the voice for western writers, then it must also consider some other avenues of building the audience and bridging the gaps between their members and those who publish books, read books and make movies and television shows. The question is how can they accomplish this? I would say that it's not an easy task, or even a task that will be accomplished quickly, but a good start might be the following:

• Develop a program of regional, multi-author book signings in both independent and chaint bookstores, as well as large library systems. Utilize co-sponsoring opportunities with related corporate entities such as Wrangler, Levi, Wells Fargo Bank, etc., to ensure exposure and participation.
  
  
• Move the annual convention to places easily accessible to working professionals in publishing and/or film making, such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Make it easy for them to attend, and then send out invitations to the editors, publishers, booksellers, chain store buyers, movie producers, etc., and pay for their costs to attend. This may mean raising dues, increasing the cost of the convention or developing additional income streams into the organization, but it will also mean that the people who can BUY our books, scripts and ideas are present.
  
  
• Modify the Spur Awards to give them inherent value again. Quite simply, there are far too many awards and too many categories for any of them to stand out. Find better ways to highlight those who have won a Spur, such as author profiles on the WWA website, coordinated interviews with major western-related magazines, etc.
  
  
• Re-launch the WWA website and include newsgroups where members, authors and fans can interact with each other. Make the website more interactive, with a nod toward both the history of the genre, a solid look at the present, and a glimpse of its future.
  
  
• Continue working towards the creation of READ THE WEST. The entire purpose of this program is to reach out to our FUTURE audience, and it's necessary to reach them. Our current, core audience is not (unfortunately) getting any younger. To keep the genre alive and growing, we will need the young people of today to be engaged in the stories of the West.
  
  
• Finally, WWA should take the lead in beginning conversations with major publishing houses and film studios to explore ideas and opportunities to reinvigorate the Western. WWA should take the lead in ASKING what it can do, and what possibilities might exist. In other words, be proactive in promoting the notion that the Western is alive and well, instead of waiting for someone else to do something or a publisher to launch a new imprint.

In the end, if the Western is dying or dead, it is up to us to save it. No one else will do it for us. The Western Writers of America is a wonderful organization with a proud history. We need them to take the lead, and those of us who are involved in the genre must provide them with the manpower, ideas, energy and even financial resources when possible, to help in this battle.

I submit to you that the Western is not lost, but has been here all along. Our job IS to find it again, to bring it out of the dusky shadows and into the light... to hold it up high, in all its forms, so that the stories we have enjoyed so much can be enjoyed by others in the years to come, so that we can tell new stories to new generations, and so that this critical part of the American literary landscape is shared and expanded in the years to come.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Regards,
Russell Davis

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