Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Are you a PAL? What that term means for you

Are you a PAL? Go check! You might need to act.

In recent years, SCBWI has created a new membership level known as PAL, which stands for Published and Listed. It signifies that your work has been (or soon will be) published by a publisher or magazine that appears on one of SCBWI’s Market Survey lists, and you therefore have professional standing.

PAL membership level determines whether you can be included in the organization’s speaker directory, and it’s also one of the criteria our Western Washington region uses to determine eligibility for certain events and opportunities. Self-published authors and illustrators do not qualify.

If you are an SCBWI member, GO NOW to www.scbwi.org, log in (remember that your password is all uppercase now), and check your profile. If it doesn’t have you listed at PAL status--and you won’t be by default--complete the fields required to claim it (which involves indicating the publisher of your last book or magazine piece). If your publisher doesn’t appear in the list, there’s an appeal process--you can initiate it simply by entering your publisher’s name and completing the form.

Considerations include whether the products are available in brick & mortar stores or just online, as well as whether the publisher has been in business for more than a year. Educational and work-for-hire publishers ARE included, although they are not yet listed online. You can always download the PDF version of the appropriate Market Survey and check there.

We are planning future events geared specifically to the needs of our seasoned pros, and one important way we’ll know whom to invite and accept is by the status in your profile. So, if you’re one of our PALs, please make sure we know it!

No comments: