RM Prioleau said:
That's very sad that it has come to that. I hate cliques with a passion.
Heh. It came out sounding bitter but that wasn't my intention. I have been in the RWA since 1998. I have seen plenty of changes and I do love my RWA roots because the organization supported and taught writers like me who didn't have a clue about the business. Let me try to explain again.
I've also been a judge for both contests for a decade and know all the ins and outs. The Golden Heart was the best, the finalists the cream of the crop which were then judged by buying/interested editors. I sold my first book by winning many RWA contests.
RITA is an entirely different animal. I'm given 9-12 books to judge, with varying instructions through the years. Yes, it is subjective, but it is also personal too because after 10 years, don't you think I know quite a number of them personally? So, sometimes, I feel there is a clique involved.
Also, many of the judges are still from the "old" era, using many romance rules to judge the book. If, for instance, you have a cheating hero in your book, don't expect to win, unless it is in the single title with romantic elements category. Oh, ooops, that one is gone

. Or, another example, for many years, there was a huge internal struggle of judging erotic romance (not erotica). Some of the old school authors didn't feel it has a place in the romance genre because they think it's all erotica.
I've been through it all, since when the organization was just 2000 members big. It's 9000 members now. It can't help but be chaotic sometimes, with so many to whom to cater. I respect the organization for what it's done, but sometimes, the individual moves so faster than a behemoth.
Sylvia Day (note, a very good friend) is insightful, experienced and far-seeing. She'll steer the organization right, but again, it's a giant and changes take two years to implement. How she finds time to write so much AND still do all the organization work (meetings, traveling, talking), I don't know.