I have been sharing the publishing journey with you as Gods of IMAGO has entered the land of the living, and you have been gracious with your support and your questions. Several readers have asked about the importance of Writing Organizations and if they should become members (pay dues) and what is the benefit of such things. Can’t I do the same thing with social media?
Well, the answer is complicated (as always), but I think straight forward. Writing Organizations (Authors Guild, International Thriller Writers, Horror Writers Association, and others) are an important resource for writers. They, like the publishing industry itself, is a gated community where you need access. Once through that gate, however, unexpected opportunities appear around each corner. The gate/entrance to the most helpful ORGs have criterion you must prove, but once you do, they are incredible opportunities for writers. Let me discuss several I belong to.
I have been a member of The Authors Guild for over 23 years. When I joined one needed to have published a novel in the last three years of your membership application. The Authors Guild provides fantastic legal, publishing, contract advice. In fact, I use them to review all my publishing contracts before I sign them. They are fast, very knowledgeable, and willing. The Authors Guild also is an advocacy group that consistently pushes back in an ever changing industry. Recently they began a class action lawsuit against Google and the Large Language Learning “hoovering” up our novels without recompense.
The Horror Writers Association is a fantastic group that primarily deals with exactly what you would think: Horror. They define horror in broad sweeps from gritty to classic genre based concepts. This is a highly professional organization with highly professional interests. The bar is high for this group because they are diligent about helping the serious writer. To enter you must have published a novel, collection of short stories, or poetry in the field AND have been paid over $2000 as an advance or royalties. This is serious for them, and they ask for copies of your publisher statements. But, once you are in… you have access to the coveted entry into the Bram Stoker Awards (only members can nominate your work and only members can vote on the entries). You also have access to all the members of HWA and especially those who are interested in reading your ARCs. It is a great networking opportunity and incredibly helpful as a promotional tool to help get the word out for your novel.
The International Thrillers Writers is a great organization with wonderful networking opportunities and eager promotional teams that really do an excellent job of getting your new novel out there. To become a member, your publishing house must be listed on the “acceptable publishers list.” Whatever you think of the gatekeeper idea, it is a way to separate the serious writers from those who are not. They put on ThrillerFest, Pitchfest, ITW Awards every year. It is a great opportunity to network and get your novel out into the world.
And there are many, many others. Check out the links above. Let me know of others you may be involved with. Organizations are all about like-minded people with like-minded interests trying to help each other along the way to success.
Some cool links where the above ORGs have helped me:
Greg Belliveau 