This is an excerpt from our book, $uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book.

We stress the importance of belonging to writers’ associations and organizations. Each one has its strong points, but they are formed to assist writers in pursuing their goals in a professional manner. Whether conferences, blogs, online magazines, regional meetings or networking, they give you the opportunity to interface with others in your own genre.

Some may be more difficult to join, but not all. It is worth the time and effort to check them out to see which ones fill your personal needs.

Below is a list of a few organizations for your reference. There are many more that you can Google. We encourage you to join one or two, but not so many as to keep you from your writing:

• American Society of Journalists and Authors(ASJA). This is an organization of mainly newspaper and magazine writers who are seasoned professional journalists. They have strict qualifications for membership.

• Canadian Authors Association (CAA),offers support and development to Canadian writers.

• International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), is a resource base for professionals engaged in the food, wine and travel industries. Its writers report on all aspects of food, wine and travel. They are the oldest and only non-profit writers’ association that focuses on food, wine and travel. IFWTWA offers media trips for its members to discover destinations in depth as well as other benefits. We are both members of this organization and Maralyn is on the Board of Directors. Are we biased? Yes. It meets our needs.

• Mystery Writers of America (MWA), is an organization for mystery and crime writers, professionals, aspirants, and those who love to read crime fiction.

• National Press Club (NPC), its mission statement is The club shall provide people who gather and disseminate news a center for the advancement of their professional standards and skills, the promotion of free expression, mutual support and social fellowship.

• National Writers Union (NWU),is a writers’ union for freelance and contract writers.

• Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), promotes responsible journalism, provides support and development at annual conferences.

• Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), is a labor union for writers who write television shows, movies, news programs, documentaries, animation, CD-ROMs, and content for new media technologies.

We encourage you to join and become involved in a writers group or organization. For a workbook loaded with tips and resources, check out $uccess.

Maralyn D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill
Books By Hills
$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book
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