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The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) does not endorse any company, product, or service sold by any corporation, institution or member supporting our organization. Corporate partnerships, advertisers and sponsors are not an endorsement of a product or service and may not be represented as such, in any way. The use of the ASJA name and/or logo, or representation of such, without the written consent of ASJA, is strictly prohibited.
.MEMBER-EXCLUSIVE NEWS
Never were ABC such nervewracking letters, at least for the many of us in ASJA who make our living as freelancers. As the PRO Act comes up for consideration starting on March 8, the ABC test within it is the same one that restricted and damaged the businesses of many independent contractors under California's AB5. ASJA is suing the State of California over AB5, and now it's time to contact your representatives and ask them not to repeat California's mistake at the federal level. They must vote no on the PRO Act as long as this same ABC Test is in it. Debbie Abrams Kaplan, Kim Kavin and Karon Warren have been vocal advocates and leaders via Fight For Freelancers USA. Please be sure to follow them for updated information and guidance on how you can help. In solidarity, Holly Leber Simmons, ASJA Weekly editor
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Britta Melton to Keynote Content Marketing Track at ASJA Virtual
ASJA
ASJA is thrilled to announce that Britta Melton, Group Creative Director at Pace, will be the keynote speaker for the Content Marketing Track at ASJA Virtual. Melton began at Pace in 1998 as part of the Delta Air Lines team. Since then, she has been a creative leader on campaigns and programs for AAA, Brighthouse Financial, Fidelity Charitable, STAINMASTER, Syngenta, Truist Leadership Institute and Wells Fargo. Britta graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her work has garnered national awards from the Content Marketing Institute and FOLIO. Don't miss Melton's talk or any of the fantastic sessions planned for this and other tracks. Register for ASJA Virtual today at https://na.eventscloud.com/website/20696/.
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Prospective New Members Listed
ASJA
Another new group of applicants for membership in ASJA has passed the Membership Application Committee's review and the list of prospective members has now been posted. Active members may review the list and send any comments to James Cafiero no later than this Friday. All comments will be sent to the Application Committee for consideration and will be kept confidential.
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Share Your Expertise: Be a SIG Leader!
ASJA
If you've been thinking to yourself, "Self, how do I get more involved in ASJA?" we've got your answer: sign up to lead a Special Interest Group (SIG). SIGs are small (up to 12 people) private groups that meet online to discuss a particular topic. Past SIGs have included six-figure freelancing, travel, content marketing, history writing, corporate writing and more. Future SIGs will include...well, that's where you come in! SIG wrangler Jennifer Billock is open to your ideas. To be a good SIG leader, you need to be willing to dedicate time, lead and contribute to discussions, and share your own expertise. To get involved, email Jen at jenniferjoanbillock@gmail.com.
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Give and Take: Volunteer With ASJA
ASJA
ASJA offers plenty of networking opportunities, Laura Laing writes in her monthly President's Report, from pitching to editors in a variety of settings to learning about a new market. But the more you put into ASJA, the more you get out of it. Current volunteer opportunities are available with the Grants Committee (Katie Navarra at asjaoffice@asja.org), the First Amendment Committee (JoBeth McDaniels at asjaoffice@asja.org), and at the upcoming ASJA Virtual Conference (Kristine Hansen at kristinehansenwriter@gmail.com). And learn about more ways you can give back to the organization at ASJA Confidential.
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Tele-Connections: Don't Miss Out!
ASJA
This year's Client Connections, which has been renamed for its virtual nature as Tele-Connections, is shaping up to be a great event. Our team of volunteers is just getting started recruiting editors, agents, and content marketing managers, and we already have more than 25 people signed up! Find out what to expect at ASJA Confidential.
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Writing Coach Mastermind Class — Just A Few Spots Left!
ASJA
Have you thought about sharing your writing expertise with others through coaching? Then our next event is for you. Whether you are looking to launch a writing coaching business or learn new skills to bring more to your existing clients, freelance journalist and writing coach Rebecca L. Weber is available to guide you in our next mastermind session on Thursday, March 18, from 1-2:30 ET. ASJA members register for $30, general public for $55. Learn more here.
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Member News
ASJA
Jennifer Nelson published an essay in AARP's The Girlfriend on one of her favorite food memories from childhood.
Ann Hoffner won a Certificate of Merit in the Boating Writers International 2020 contest in the category Gear, Electronics & Product Tests for "Non-Lethal Self Defense for Boaters," which was published in the 2020 edition of Ocean Voyager magazine.
Natalie Canavor's 3rd edition of Business Writing for Dummies is updated to spotlight effective writing for remote and independent workers. It covers profiles, email, proposals, reports, resumes, pitches, letters, websites, videoscripting and presentations.
Charlotte Libov's latest book, "Fight Back: Beat the Coronavirus," (Humanix Books), co-authored by Dr. Chauncey Crandall, was published in July and she is
currently very busy doing Zoom talks based on it. Her most recent talks have been to the Miami Beach Women's Commission, the Jewish Museum of South Florida|FIU, and to 100+the employees of a South American-based bank.
Karen Whiting's editors saved time commuting during the pandemic, so they had more time to send contracts. She has four books releasing this year: Growing a Mother's Heart, Devos for Brave Boys (a derivative product), 52 Weekly Family Devotions to Help Children Pray, and The Super Book of Kindness Crafts.
Kim Kavin took home top prizes in two writing competitions in February. Her Washington Post story about the pandemic halting service-dog training won first prize in the general news category from the Dog Writers Association of America, and her story for Passagemaker about the pandemic changing the way people buy boats earned first prize in the Business of Boating category from Boating Writers International. Kim also nearly swept the BWI contest's Issues, News and Analysis category, taking second place for an article in Soundings about the pandemic leading countless untrained new boaters onto U.S. waterways, and winning third place for an article in Yachting about 3D printing being used in boatbuilding.
Do you have professional news you'd like to share with the group? A new job, a story you've published (in article, blog post, book, cave painting, etc. form), a new project you've launched, an interview with someone fascinating, a speaking gig? Send your news (50 words or less) and a link if applicable to Holly Leber Simmons, ASJA Weekly editor at hello@redpeneditorial.co (that's .co like Coco Chanel).
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Did You Start Freelancing in 2020? Here's What You Need to Know for Tax Season
Poynter
There's one thing that's for certain when you go from full-time employee to freelancer: your taxes get a whole lot more complicated. This is especially true for anyone who lost a job and received unemployment benefits as millions of laid-off workers did in 2020. As an employee, taxes are automatically deducted from your checks. As a freelancer, you need to be proactive about figuring out how much you owe and making those payments on time.
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Addressing the War on Women Journalists, Online and Offline
Editor & Publisher Magazine
Women journalists work on the frontlines of online and offline violence. In the past three years, The Coalition For Women In Journalism has documented a significant rise of organized troll campaigns, as well as physical threats, targeting women journalists. This threat is one that should not just trigger anger and outrage; it must inspire political, structural and societal change.
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The Ongoing Fight Against Racism in Newsrooms
Columbia Journalism Review
Alex Goldman — a co-host of Reply All, a popular tech podcast produced by Gimlet — recently popped up in the show's feed with a brief programming announcement: "The Test Kitchen," Reply All's recent series about racism at the food magazine Bon Appétit, has been canceled; the show as a whole is going on hiatus; and two of its journalists — P.J. Vogt, a co-host alongside Goldman, and Sruthi Pinnamaneni, who reported the Test Kitchen series — won't be coming back.
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What Happens When a Publisher Becomes a Megapublisher?
The New York Times
When Penguin Random House said last year that it planned to buy Simon & Schuster for more than $2 billion, the entire publishing industry snapped to attention.
The merger of two of the largest publishers in the U.S. — Penguin Random House is already the biggest by almost any metric — has the potential to touch every piece of the book business, including how much writers get paid, which books get priority at printing plants and how independent bookshops are run.
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Golden Globes Group Acknowledges 'We Must Have Black Journalists in Our Organization'
The Week
The group that gives out the Golden Globes acknowledged having "work to do" amid heavy criticism over a lack of diversity in its membership.
At the 2021 Golden Globe Awards, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association came on stage early in the ceremony to address recent criticism after it was revealed that its organization, which consists of 87 people, has zero Black members.
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With the Loss of Physical Newsrooms, How Are Young Journalists Faring?
Nieman Reports
When the pandemic hit, Emily Brindley and Alex Putterman, two young journalists at the Hartford Courant, were taken off their usual beats to report on COVID-19. What was supposed to be just a few days of a pivot quickly turned into nearly a year of them becoming the paper's lead coronavirus reporters. "We learned a lot about COVID really quickly, and it was also a pretty intense crash course in how the state government operates," Brindley, 25, says.
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The Changing Face of Writing Conferences in a Pandemic
The Writer
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, event staff face a difficult decision: cancel and hope for better luck next year or move online. Luckily for writers around the country, more and more conferences are choosing the latter. Here's how conference directors are successfully adapting live events into virtual ones.
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6 Tools for Writing Nonfiction That Breathes
Writer's Digest
Liz Heinecke writes: Although I love good narrative nonfiction, if given the choice, I generally reach for the novel on my nightstand. From the moment I decided to write a book about the intersecting lives of Marie Curie and Loie Fuller, my head was filled with visions of Loie swirling on a stage and Marie waltzing through a radium-lit laboratory.
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