PAN, SCHMAN

So, I finally got around to applying for RWA PAN (Published Authors Network) status last week and received the congratulatory email yesterday. And I felt completely blah about it. Champagne didn't fall from the heavens. Doors didn't open. Velvet ropes didn't part. (I'm a Nicolas Cage fan.) Why? I don't see the tangible benefits of PAN. Seriously, what does the following statement mean:

The purpose of PAN is to establish within the RWA framework a network of communication and support to effectively promote and protect the interests of published romance authors; to open channels of communication between those romance authors and other publishing industry professionals; and to encourage professionalism on all levels and in all relationships within the publishing industry.

Very vague, isn't it? And, um, shouldn't RWA being doing this for ALL members?

The only thing I've heard about PAN is you get first pick at editors and agents at conferences. Unfortunately, I don't attend conferences. My Clark Kent-job schedule is hectic and even though I have 4 weeks of vacation, I have to schedule them around monthly closes, quarterly closes, and plan time, which stretches from May to September. My local RWA chapter organizes a conference every two years, but I've been snubbed by these people. (I contacted them three times about joining and they never replied. Since their 6 published authors are NY-pubbed, they might not want an e-pubbed author in their midst.)

And...um...I think that's the only benefit.

Oh, wait! I now get a link on the RWA Authors page. Woopee. Somehow, I don't think that's going to bring me the same amount of traffic as an ad on the Smart Bitches site.

Anyone care to correct me?

EDITED TO ADD: Coincidentally, JA Konrath is discussing writing organizations and their relevance.

Come vs. Cum

To me, cum (pronounced 'kūm) is a Latin conjunction meaning "with" or "and." For instance, magna cum laude means "with high praise" and office cum library is another way of saying "office/library."

Cum used as another word for orgasm or semen was something I only saw in poorly written free fiction. In my opinion, come is the correct spelling for both verb and noun. However, this topic was brought up in an on-line author group and apparently cum as both verb and noun is acceptable for some publishing houses.

Color me scandalized!

I had published authors telling me they used cum and cumming in their writings ALL THE TIME! And their editors accepted it!

Now, I can go on and on about why I believe this is wrong, but I have insufficient time to rant properly.

So, here's the question I posed to these authors: What's the past tense of cum?

Their answer: came.

Not cumed or cummed but came.

So, uh, shouldn't the present tense be come?

(Yes, I'm anal retentive. Did you catch my rant about ménage? How about the rant about poor research? And the one about TSTL heroines?)