With any luck, you'll start seeing this smiling mug all OVER the damn place.
A few weeks ago, I told all of you my big, fat master plan since deciding to drop permalancing from the mix. Part of that plan consisted of joining up with the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), thanks to some urging from Ryan Paugh (a fantastic community leader who, several years ago, brought me on board at Brazen Careerist).
Then, yesterday, this went up.
Behold, my very first time participating in a YEC post (well, that and 24 pretty fantastic tips for those who suck at networking). It was also my very first time on the aol jobs site and, for that, I have the YEC to thank.
Greater visibility was only one of the reasons I was excited about joining up with YEC. I’m also looking forward to connecting with the other entrepreneurs within the group. A cursory glance through the list of members shows that I’m in some damn fine company. (Um. I am intimidated by everyone else’s awesomeness.)
So what does this have to do with you?
Some of you have already joined up with professional organizations like Freelance Success and the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). (I know this because I’ve been jealously following your #ASJA2011 tweets all weekend long.) But there are others of you who have hesitated to join up with one of these groups.
Maybe you’re wondering if the high membership fees are worth it. Maybe you just can’t figure out how to choose one organization over another. Which have active forums? Is their newsletter useful? Do they have an annual conference? What about continuing education, discounts, and health benefits?
I don’t have all the answers, but I can give you the rundown on some of the most popular organizations out there:
American Copy Editors Society / ACES:
Annual Membership Dues: $55
Benefits: quarterly newsletter, inclusion in annual directory of members, access to discussion board, reduced fees for conferences, access to job listings, etc.
Testimonial from a Member:Â ACES membership opened up the whole community of copy editors to me. Before I joined, I really just knew the copy editors I worked with (and a few I went to school with). Sharing ideas and gaining another perspective on problems has been beneficial. And it’s just great to know people who think like me. Plus we’re a fun group at conferences. But from the start, I benefited from the online group interaction and resources as well.For the sake of transparency, I am a member of the board. I decided to run because I believe in the organization. – Gerri Berendzen
American Society of Journalists and Authors /Â ASJA:
Annual Membership Dues: $195 (plus a one-time, $75 initiation fee)
Benefits: professional legitimacy, inclusion in a member directory, annual conference, mentoring program, monthly newsletter, the Writers Emergency Assistance Fund, access to health and other insurance products, discounts on Lexis-Nexis, Publishers Weekly, PR Newswire, etc.
Testimonial from a Member: “Joining ASJA definitely boosted my bottom line. Connections I made as a result of being a member have led to a surging income stream I continue to feed off of year after year. However, while assignments and networking with people who might hire me are valuable, one of the most invaluable aspects of joining ASJA is the collegial atmosphere. As writers, we tend to be isolated. That’s why being able to connect with like-minded people, who get the elation of breaking in and the dejection of being rejected (and all points in between) is crucial. Having a place to land when you’re stressed, a friendly place to toot your own horn, and a group behind you working to fight for writers’ rights is as comforting as it is good for your bottom line. I’ve made life-long friends and beneficial professional contacts thanks to being a member of ASJA. In fact, one connection has paid for a lifetime of dues!” – Gina Roberts-Grey
The Association for Women in Communications / AWC:
Annual Membership Dues: $114 (plus a $50 application fee)
Benefits: inclusion in online membership directory, bimonthly newsletter, access to job board, annual conference, discounts on conference calling service, office supplies, etc.
Editorial Freelancers Association / EFA:
Annual Membership Dues: $145 (plus a $35 processing fee)
Benefits: inclusion in online membership directory, reduced tuition to EFA courses, access to a members-only blog, subscription to job listings, inclusion on email discussion list, participation in EFA’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn discussions, bimonthly newsletter, meetings and activities for regional chapters and networking groups, group health insurance, etc.
Testimonial from a Member: “I am a member of EFA and joined just because of the job board. There are frequent postings. I haven’t applied for many or landed one yet, but I joined just to access that and give it a thumbs up so far.” – Brette Sember
Annual Membership Dues: $99
Benefits: weekly newsletter, online forums, etc.
Testimonial from a Member: “I keep my FLX subscription because it’s affordable, because it gets me access to ‘inside’ information, and because it provides such a nice community of pro writers at a certain level.” – Roxanne Hawn
National Conference of Editorial Writers / NCEW:
Annual Membership Dues: $75 – $180
Benefits: inclusion in online membership directory, access to email list, quarterly journal, annual convention, continuing education, job bank, etc.
Annual Membership Dues: $120 – $340
Benefits: contract advice, grievance assistance, advocacy, continuing education, access to job listings, access to email discussion lists and events, health insurance, press passes, etc.
Society of Professional Journalists / SPJ:
Annual Membership Dues: $72
Benefits:Â national and regional conferences, continuing education, access to job listings, regional chapters, advocacy, various newsletters and publications, etc.
Testimonial from a Member: “Programming. Continuing education for pros and new lessons for college journos. I love doing it. I see membership as what I make of it. Some hand over their hard-earned $72 as a rite of passage. I choose to invest it. ” – Dori Zinn, on what she sees as the primary benefit of her SPJ membership
For links to even more organizations, check out this list over at mediabistro.
Related: Motivational Trick: Fear (of Letting Others Down), How To Market Yourself: Getting Out More
Great post, Steph! Congrats on your AOL jobs piece. I’ve been an ASJA member for two years and an FLX member for even longer. I’ve gotten so many assignments and professional advice from those two organizations that they’ve paid for themselves several times over. I make a small monthly contribution to the Writers Emergency Assistance Fund (WEAF) because I think it’s so important to help fellow writers who are down on their luck. I should point out, though, that WEAF also helps non-members in need as well.
Susan, you need to get on the boat my friend 🙂 Check your inbox from awhile back.
Wow, great rundown! I do love FLX and have made a great many friends there whom I know will be lifelong friends. I’m a member of ASJA, but should really spend more time on the forums and interacting with other members. These groups are really gold when you’re working in cyberspace 24/7. Love to network with like-minded writer-blogger-folks.
Thanks for joining me again as an early adopter in one of the communities I’m building. I’m glad that you’re already finding value in being a YEC member. While we continue to build media partnerships to help you guys gain outside exposure, we’re also going to start emphasizing access. We have a great invite-only community of smart people and it’s time to start focusing on creating new channels for you all to access one another. Stay tuned!
Excellent list of organizations. I’m an FLX member but don’t tend to spend as much time in the members forums as I should. I like the point that you get what you put in to your organization membership.
Thanks for this article. I’m new to this. I’m also an old “young professional” at 54 (I graduated with my BA in communications last summer). I’ve been writing for the last 45 years though.
I’ve debated with myself over whether or not to join an organization. My real problem is that I have a full-time job in retail, which doesn’t leave me as much time, or energy, to write as I’d like. I also have a blog on Live Journal, http://angiedub.livejournal.com. Needless to say, I’m not making much money from my writing yet. I AM writing though, something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s helped me make connection with other writers.
I’m attending your event on Brazen Careerist this evening.