5 Ways that ASJA Membership has Helped My Freelance Writing Career
I love the freedom of being a freelancer. I only have to work with people who are nice. I can write about different topics and learn about all different subjects instead of just one industry. If it’s a sunny day, I can spend the afternoon jet skiing on the lake if I don’t have any deadlines. And I am able to take way more than a 2 week vacation, which has given me many memories with my kids.
But for all of the upsides, there are times when it can be lonely as a freelancer. There is no one to bounce ideas off when you find yourself working for a challenging client. You are on your own for finding new markets and often find yourself wondering what a publication pays writers. And often you feel like you don’t quite fit in with your friends that work in an office because your challenges are different. Not to mention dealing with the many misconceptions that people have about the freelance life, especially at family gatherings.
But being a member of American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) has helped with many of these challenges as well as helped me increase my income. If you have been considering applying to ASJA now is a great time since if you are accepted, you will be able to attend members day at the 2015 Conference in New York City on April 30 to May 2 and meet with potential clients at Client Connections as well as attend members only sessions. And yes, many of ASJA members write content marketing materials.
Here are five ways that being a member has personally helped my writing career:
[Note: There are other benefits of membership than the ones I have listed, but these are the ones that have helped me the most.]
1. Writer Friends – This is the number one benefit of ASJA for me. Writers are typically unique people. And I often don’t quite fit in my real life because I am a bit quirky. But my first ASJA conference was the first time in many years that I felt like I had truly found “my people.” I have made invaluable friendship and made several fantastic writer buddies. I honestly feel that these friendships have decreased my stress, increased my income and all around helped me enjoy freelancing more.
While there are other ways to meet writers, ASJA is a fantastic way to build relationships and has been the easiest way for me to meet people who I email with daily. You can connect with others at conferences, make relationships through the online forum, meet writer friends at local chapter meetings and even reach out to a fellow member with similar niches. Even if you can’t attend any events, you can get involved with a volunteer committee which is a great way to make connections and friends.
2. ASJA Conference Members Day – Each year at the ASJA conference, members get to attend the first day of the conference to attend panels and events just for members. The sessions on Thursday are always top notch and geared towards established freelancers. And members can sign up to meet face to face with editors at the Client Connections event. I have recieved several lucrative assignments from Client Connections at the conferences and as co-chair am excited about the clients attending this year.
3. Access to Job Openings and Payment Information – As writers we are always looking for new clients and want to be paid fairly. ASJA members get notified of clients looking for writers as well as access to a database where other members share pay rates at common publications. I have gotten several gigs from both resources and also helped myself negotiate higher rates by knowing what other writers were paid.
4. Education and Advocacy – ASJA holds regular events such as the ShopTalk last week and members can attend for free. Even better, you can listen to the recordings of all past events on your own schedule. And each quarter, a fantastic print magazine shows up in my mailbox full of information to help me run my business better and continue to learn about the field. Local chapters also hold education sessions at meetings and peer mentors are also available. And there are experts you can ask both legal and contracts question to if you get into a pinch. ASJA also helps advocates for the rights and interests of writers as well in regards to current issues.
5. Leadership opportunities – I know, you are thinking that this is just a euphemism for volunteer work. But it’s not. I’ve volunteered with ASJA in several capacities, including being a current member of the Board of Directors, and each time I know that my efforts are helping to make a difference to my friends and colleagues. I’ve also learned valuable skills regarding strategic planning, budgets and leadership. And through my work volunteering with Client Connections committee and organizing panels for conferences, I have developed relationships with editors that would not have happened if I had not volunteered. While many organizations and groups who would be happy to have me as a volunteer, there are a very few where I can help directly impact the lives and careers of my friends and other writers. And every volunteer hour I spent with ASJA, I know is helping “my people” be able to continue to earn a living following their passions.
If you are a member, how has AJSA helped your career? If you are not, do you have any questions about ASJA that I can help answer?
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You’ve spoken highly of ASJA in the past, Jennifer, which prompted me to apply for membership last month. 🙂 I’m hoping to hear word of my status soon–do you recall how long it typically takes for them to evaluate one’s application? Thanks, as always, for sharing your knowledge of great resources.
It depends. It’s not super long. But I do know that there have been a record number of applications in recent months so the time may be slightly longer than typical. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Ok, I’ll sit tight. I don’t have a huge number of national clips either, but I’m hoping what I *do* have will suffice. If not, try, try and try again…. 🙂
Hi Lori!
I’m a full-time freelancer and president of the ASJA. Not as fancy as it sounds: The pay is $0 per year! The president job, that is, not the freelancing 🙂 …. I’ve asked our staff to let you know about your application. Thanks for your interest in ASJA! -Randy
Thx for the reply, Randy. The president of the organization responds to my query?! I’m impressed already….
This is good information. But, unfortunately, it’s not that easy to join the ASJA. I tried recently and was declined because I didn’t have the required national clips, even though I’ve written more than 200 stories for newspapers and magazines that are primarily regional. It’s the old what comes first, the chicken or the egg…how can one join and expand their career, if their career isn’t as expanded as requested.
Catherine, Thanks for sharing about your experience. Yes, there are requirements for joining that include national publications. It’s no reflection on your ability as writer at all. Many people I know didn’t get in on the first try and then reapplied once they got a few more national clips. I waited pretty long to apply and I know that if I had applied even six months before I did that I would have been rejected because my clips were very similar to yours for many years, regional newspaper and magazines.
Your application stays open and you don’t have to pay a fee again. Do you have stories you are working on now for larger circulation pubs?
I recently completed a story for Realtor Magazine. I have some pitches out there for larger pubs. But, as you know, it’s a waiting game. And because my regional work brings home most of the bacon, I need to continuously focus there. So, it’s a balancing act.
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for applying! We’ve designed our application requirements in order to guarantee that our members are professionals have been published widely. Many of our members had to try a few times to get in. (I remember being really nervous when I sent in my own application years ago.)
Try again as you gain more experience on the national level, and keep in mind that our national and regional conferences are open to the public. We hold our big annual conference in NYC every spring, and we held 3 regional conferences in Chicago and San Francisco in 2013 and 2014.
Drop me a line once you do get in and I’ll waive your initiation fee if I’m still ASJA president! And I’ll nag my successor if I’m not. I’m good at nagging!
-Randy Dotinga
Thanks Randy for stopping in! Randy is an amazing president and doing a fantastic job. If anyone else has any questions, I’m sure he will be happy to answer.
Hi Randy,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my comment. I’ll keep you in mind!
Catherine
i couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve been an ASJA member since 1995, and these are some of the most wonderful people I know. We help each other, we provide a water-cooler place to go on days when you don’t want to feel as if you’re working alone. The professional education through ASJA is outstanding, and I’ve made lifelong friends here. The conferences are a great motivator and a real way to push yourself to the next level with your writing business. I’m completely sold on this organization!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience Kathy. I am completely sold on this organization as well and am so excited about some of new programs and member services that will be rolled out in the future.
It was great to meet you at the regional conference in Chicago and am looking forward to hanging out in NYC in April.
Your article shares many of my own feelings about ASJA. I’ve attended conferences and learned so much from ASJA since 1995, even as a non-member. Attaining membership last year only added to the benefits for me, as member day at the conference was amazing. My own career path took a lot of time developing due to personal situations, and achieving the goal of membership was so affirming for me.
You make a great point! Even if a writer doesn’t quite have the clips for membership, the conferences are still a fantastic experience. I attended my first NYC conference as a non-member as well and learned so much.
In fact, it was sitting in one of the last sessions of the conference that I got the idea to start this blog. I had spent the weekend answering questions about content marketing writing and realized that my starting a blog that I could help other writers even more. During one of the sessions I had learned about SEO so I named the blog the Content Marketing Writer to increase my Google rating. Because my website is one of the top results for that term, I get a lot of emails from companies and editors who need content marketing writing. So that one nugget (picking the title tag of a blog strategically) ended up increasing my income and the conversations I had with other writers that weekend (about content marketing) helped me find my passion (helping other writers with content marketing writing).
Jennifer, I’ve thought about joining ASJA in the past and your post brings the idea to mind again.Thanks for sharing about your experience. I’m curious about the clips you provided — were they articles in national magazines or did you provide content marketing clips in your application? I’m more focused on content marketing these days, so my national magazine article clips are older and might not be as relevant in my application?
Hi, Liz. I’m ASJA’s vice president. If you have bylined content clips that are in nationally distributed magazines, please submit those with your application. They do not have to be in general circulation magazines.
When I applied several years ago, I submitted regional clips but also a juvenile biography that had been published by Chelsea House. That worked.
So, feel free to email our staff or me at PaprockiLtd@cs.com for more information. Thanks for all of the very kind comments posted here about ASJA. I can say from experience, it’s a game-changer for career.
Sherry Beck Paprocki
Co-Author, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Branding Yourself (Alpha, 2009)
Thanks so much for your response and insight, Sherry. I’ll be in touch.
Jennifer, thank you so much for this wonderful piece! What a lovely surprise. As ASJA’s Executive Director I am always talking up the value of membership and I’m going to be using this link a lot. 🙂
Prospective applicants should know it takes about 3-4 weeks for applications to be processed, so if you want to be a member in time to come to the April 30 Members’ Day you must apply by April 1. Write the ASJA office anytime at asjaoffice@asja.org if you have questions.
[…] I have spent a lot of time this year on this blog, compiling my blog posts into a free e-book and volunteering for ASJA. But while all of these activities probably played a small role, I realized that the reason was […]
[…] I have spent a lot of time this year on this blog, compiling my blog posts into a free e-book and volunteering for ASJA. But while all of these activities probably played a small role, I realized that the reason was […]
Hello Jennifer,
Love the info on ASJA! Is there a chapter in central NC? Also, are there similar writers’ organizations that accept freelancers with limited publication histories? Thank you so much!
Sincerely, B