professional writers associations

professional writers associations

The Importance of Professional Writers Associations

1. Benefits of Joining a Professional Writers Association

The importance of joining a professional organization was echoed by findings of a study of writers, described in a book edited by sociologist of the professions Robert Perrucci. The study found that “of those who belonged to professional organizations, 66% were satisfied with their income as compared to only 44% of those who did not belong.” This study was not about writers and their organizations specifically, but the evidence is strong that writers too can benefit financially from a sense of professional identity and community. Successful writers often say that the most helpful thing in their career was knowing other writers, and writers’ organizations are ideal places to make such connections.

For many writers, membership in a professional writers group brings an unaccustomed sense of being taken seriously, and that can be a major impetus toward greater professionalism in their work. Editors and agents are not the only ones to whom professional identity is important. What a group of romance writers found when their organization, Romance Writers of America, took a survey of its members is that the most successful ones were those who had changed their self-image from “I’m not really a writer; I’m just somebody who writes” to “I’m a professional writer.” They went on to specify that “professionalism is defined as consistency of writing and application directed towards the successful commercial sale of the manuscript. High income is not a critical factor.” This attempt to define professionalism operationally is significant because it affects what writers do and how they evaluate it. High income is a possible result of writing professionally, but financial success often eludes the best of writers, and making money the sole criterion of success has the paradoxical effect of making it harder to achieve.

While most of the benefits of professional writers’ associations are intrinsic and intangible, they are critical to a writer’s success. Knowing that they are part of a community of people who share their values reduces the sense of isolation that many writers feel, and it helps them to understand that their problems are not only personal failings but also part of a writer’s normal experience. Equally important is the sense of professional identity that membership in a writers’ association can bring. As one author told us, “what I find from Mystery Writers of America most of all is a sense of legitimacy. When I got my first book published, much to my amazement and gratitude, into the last two sentences of an obituary in the New York Times, they both mentioned that I was a member of MWA. And I thought ‘Great. Now it’s in stone.'”

2. Networking Opportunities within Professional Writers Associations

Connections. Associations offer authors the opportunity to associate with different writers. This association can bring together writers from various literary fields, with various levels of experience. There is a wealth of information and knowledge that can be shared among writers. The opportunity to talk with others who have faced similar writing experiences can be extremely beneficial. Authors may connect at local, regional, national, and international levels. These connections can prompt enduring friendships and mentor relationships. Meeting diverse writers can prompt new writing methodologies, thoughts for genres, and empower joint effort on writing ventures. Associations regularly include member search capacities. Individuals may look for experts with comparable writing interests or to organize writers in their own particular genre and style. This can open ways to future joint activities amongst writers and other joint composition and critique opportunities.

3. Resources and Support Offered by Professional Writers Associations

In today’s society, the variety of genres and writing forms is huge, and it is vital that a writer continues to develop skills and knowledge. With this support, the writer will have an increased chance of employment and success in their chosen path. This support can also come in the form of advice and information provided by publishing opportunities in the way of newspapers, magazines, and letters. This resource is invaluable to a new writer, especially one who has recently or is about to embark upon tertiary study. Published work is hard to come by and often poorly paid; however, it is a vital step in building a career, and the advice and information supplied by associations can increase the chance of securing such work.

Professional skill development is an important focus for a writer looking to further their career. A professional writing association will generally offer workshops, seminars, and conferences that specialize in various areas of writing. These are often carried out by well-established writers who have experience in the writer’s chosen area of work. This can be a great learning experience for a writer, one that will provide valuable advice, criticism, and encouragement.

Professional writers associations are helpful in providing resources and support to writers as they work to enhance their career in writing. According to “The Writer’s Legal Companion,” these resources and support come in the form of professional skills, industry information, job opportunities, advice, support, and a community of writers. These are important factors in career development and they can be attained with minimal effort through a professional writing association.

4. Professional Development and Continuing Education Programs

CWU provides two methods of professional development for writers. First, an ongoing education program that includes workshops in various writing skills and techniques, and second, special programs designed for professional writers and journalists. The workshops cover the gambit of writing and writing-related skills, including writing effective beginnings and endings, feature writing, column writing, non-fiction, interviewing, business writing, and web writing. The special programs bring professional writers together for talks and workshops on particular themes, sharing experiences and networking. CWU believes that this type of professional growth is best fostered through communication with other writers and facilitators with a wealth of experience in the topic at hand.

At the bottom of the skill building need is the essential. Professional writers require continuous or ongoing education and development of their skills (Anderson, 1993). A career in writing is dynamic and constantly changing. Successful professional writers have to be adaptable and flexible while cultivating existing skills and learning new ones. They recognize that the job market is being redefined, and keen competition exists for interesting and well-paying assignments. To succeed, they need to be more effective communicators, versatile in meeting the needs of their clients, and thoroughly professional in their approach to researching and writing stories. They must also develop a broad range of marketable skills.

5. Advocacy and Representation for Writers’ Rights

A few examples show that professional writers associations are essential in speaking out on behalf of writers’ rights. In New Zealand, it was the NZSA that made a case in the 1960s for the need for a public lending right for authors, where they receive a small amount of money every time their book is taken out of a library. This became law in 1973 and has since been a vital and much-valued income for writers who otherwise live off little, if any, from their writing. This right is now under threat from the lending of electronic books, and the NZSA is pushing for technology to be included in the provision.

In an age when the written word has been made relatively cheap, in which publishers are mostly corporate, and when the population of writers has grown so large, it is hard for the individual writer to gain the attention of government, the public, or even of his or her publishers to protect rights as basic as the right to fair payment. Yet such organizations as the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) are recognized as the professional associations for writers and are able to get universities, historians, and those in the community associated with the word to understand the importance of writing to society and culture. This is because professional writers associations are frequently asked to be the representatives of all writers in matters of cultural or governmental policy and legislation affecting literature.