It’s all about credibility …

I had some new business cards printed the other day.

The printer looked at my old card and asked me if I wanted the same wording on the new ones as I had on the old.

The Society of Authors (SoA) had recently accepted me as a member, so I wanted to add this information to the card.  I had also never mentioned my membership of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), so I wondered if there was room on the card for that, too.

When I mentioned these, the printer looked at me with different eyes and was instantly interested, asking me questions about my writing – in particular about where he could buy copies of my books.

This incident got me thinking. Just why do we writers join such organised groups?

I worked abroad for a number of years, freelancing in the Caribbean for magazines there and also in the USA. When I came back to the UK in 2008 I was desperate to meet up and talk face to face with my peers. I set about looking for groups to join.

I was already a member of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists (SWWJ), having joined them while I was living on Anguilla, and this gave me a good starting point.  Joseph Snell Wood, a forward-thinking newspaper tycoon, started the society as the Society of Women Journalists in 1894.  Most of the female journalists of the time joined up as it is was the only such organisation open to them in a traditionally male dominated profession.  Then, as now, membership of such an organisation gave credibility to the writer.  Nowadays, the society also offers a press card and associate membership of a London club, which is useful for meetings or stays overnight in the capital. It was through a member of this organisation that I was introduced to my current publisher.

Now I write books.

Although I have been eligible to join the SoA for some years due to my journalistic writing, I felt that it was about time to join this society as it is well connected and offers a range of outstanding benefits to its members.

The Society of Authors offers contract vetting advice as well as a range of writer-friendly insurance and other products with well-known companies. It too offers membership of a London club but not the press card, which for me is not a problem as I am a member of the NUJ and I receive one through that organisation.

In short, not only does the SoA offer the credibility of belonging to an organisation with set entrance criteria, as the SWWJ, but it also offers more practical assistance to its members.

This practical assistance includes campaigning on behalf of its membership.  On the SoA website, it proclaims the society is, ‘Protecting the rights and furthering the interests of authors’.  Currently, this includes campaigning for reform of the Libel Law and lobbying for a change of heart at BBC Radio 4 after the recent announcement that short stories being broadcast by the station will fall from three a week to one.  I can see my society actively working on my behalf.

As a member of the National Union of Journalists I receive the normal benefits of a trade union.  At present it is deeply worried about compulsory redundancies at the BBC. This organisation offers a press card.  There is debate as to whether this is useful or not.  I have found that holding a press card has opened doors to me though and I would recommend having one, even if it is carried ‘just in case’.

Being a part of a professional organisation says something valuable about the member.

There are usually membership criteria to fulfill and a panel or board to pass before membership is granted.  That you have passed this hurdle says that you are the professional you claim to be.  It also opens up doors that might otherwise have stayed shut, sometimes purely because of the networking opportunities that come your way through your membership.

The old adage of ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ holds good for most things and membership of a professional organisation is no different to anything else. There is also security in numbers and by banding together into organised groups, writers have a louder voice in times of adversity or change.

So, I proclaim my participation in these organisations on my business cards and enjoy the benefits I have earned, including enhanced credibility.

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Have you joined any professional writers’ organizations? What value have you received from them?

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Follow Penny Legg, @PennyLegg on Twitter. Like Penny Legg on Facebook. Subscribe to my blog. Visit Penny Legg’s website.

Society of Authors: www.societyofauthors.org

National Union of Journalists: www.nuj.org.uk

Society of Women Writers & Journalists: www.swwj.co.uk

 

 

Tags: joining unions for writers, joining writer's organizations, women in journalism, writers' societies

Category: British Women Writers, Contemporary Women Writers