By Gary Young
Thanks to Flo Selfman, I started with Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) about one million years ago, not sure if it was the right organization for me. I quickly found out the camaraderie and the always up-to-date information were a great fit.
Being an organizer by genetic trait, I headed up the San Fernando Valley satellite. I began the journey into the inner workings of IWOSC by becoming the program director. I did that for quite a while, changed things, added marketing, and did what I could to enhance our ability to answer questions, especially those questions people don’t know to ask.
The decision to merge IWOSC with other organizations was not taken lightly. It was discussed and implemented over several months. This change was precipitated by the possibility of either losing IWOSC entirely or making it many times as powerful as it ever was—not really a difficult choice. Just complicated. We were challenged by various leadership changes, necessitated for personal reasons, that were inescapable (nothing nasty at all) and the chaos that could ensue if we weren’t careful. We found a great remedy for all the issues.
Fortunately, Kathleen Kaiser, the president of WPN, was on the board of directors for IWOSC. We were always friendly with Kathleen and were more than impressed with her skills and what she had already achieved with WPN. We went about joining WPN along with the Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA) and one additional organization (which will soon be formally announced). Our association with UCLA Extension continues as before. This melding of riches was done carefully and over very many months. We wanted to keep IWOSC intact, which we were able to do, as well as add the pluses from the other organizations, again without any loss of any kind. So, the whole is much more powerful than each organization. We have everything from IWOSC, everything from WPN, everything from PALA and the others, at no increase in price or loss of convenience.
We’re happy to continue our monthly Green Room where everybody can discuss their concerns with writing, publishing, or just the organization. We’re also happy to continue doing Brainstorming twice a year and all the other programs we’ve done over the years, including our IWOSC Satellite groups. IWOSC is completely up to date with all the newest information about publishing and writing, as well as the ongoing drama of AI. The resources we now have with the combined organizations are more powerful and user friendly.
I’m excited about these developments. Some of our legacy members, many of whom are lifetime IWOSC members and will continue to be lifers with the WPN umbrella organization, had a hard time adjusting to the change. Understandable. The realities of change bring about the embarrassment of riches, the win-win, and the additional camaraderie to reassure our members they lost nothing and gained a tremendous amount of power.
Another win-win has come to light with the merger. We can now more easily coax guest experts from all over the world to speak for us, including representatives from major programs writers use, such as Scrivener. We have always worked hard to secure the best speakers on topics related to writing and publishing. Now we have an even wider net. We have been able to host guests from Australia and England, the US, Canada, and South America.
I hope to see everybody in our Green Room, Brainstorming, and Satellites, and enjoying our monthly informational presentations. Within everything we offer, including our Satellites, which still exist, it’s not uncommon for us to have five events every month, sometimes more. Your membership fee goes much further than it never did. We’re working on bringing it even further.
The more directly involved you are in these programs, the stronger you make the organization, and of course they all present educational and potential collaborative opportunities. As many programs are either free or inexpensive for members, it’s worth the expenditure of time.
As always, we will strive to bring the most up-to-date information to you, including ways to simplify your work and find affordable solutions to your writing and publishing issues, and continued access to the community of writers and publishers for support, education, and stimulation.
About the Author
Gary Young’s theatrical plays deal with social issues and have been produced and performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the White House, the Smithsonian, and venues throughout the US and Europe. His new novel, Glimmer the Bright Moonlight, and the sequel, Slingshot, will release soon. With his wife, Kathy, Gary co-authored Loss and Found: Surviving the Loss of a Young Partner, and presented seminars and support groups throughout the United States.
His play Interruptions—A Life, a Death, Pizza, Dancing and Murphy’s Law premiered at the Kennedy Center, with its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles, June through September 2000, at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood.
Gary served as president of PALA, president of IWOSC, vice-chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, and executive director of the Lifetime Achievement Foundation.
