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ASJA
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (second only to Halloween) but this year it’s going to be bittersweet. Throughout my entire life, it’s been with and about family but for the first time in 33 years, my son Alex will not be there. He passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 1.
Last Thanksgiving, he and I went out to dinner, alone, at a local restaurant. There was no way I was going to wrestle a 20 pound turkey into submission, abandoning 90 percent of it to freezer oblivion, periodically reminding me of my wastefulness as I pawed through a dozen individual-sized containers of leftovers in search of sugar-free Fudgsicles.
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ASJA
Preview the regional ASJA conference taking place in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 3 with conference co-chairs Deborah Blumberg and Susan Johnston Taylor. Learn why you can’t afford to miss this Texas-style event with its emphasis on how to thrive as a freelance writer. Get the scoop on what makes the Texas writing scene special, get a few pre-conference tips on mindfulness for writers, and discover how each session will enhance and support your career. Learn more about editors attending Client Connections and get tips for making the most of those appointments and your time at this one-of-a-kind event.
That’s what we’ll talk about in this month’s “Shop Talk” event.
Join us:
Wednesday, Dec. 20
1 p.m. Eastern (calculate for your time zone)
Register here.
About our guest experts:
Deborah Lynn Blumberg (@dlblumberg) is a health and wellness and business and finance writer and editor with more than 15 years’ experience writing for publications including The Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and Barron’s. Her content marketing clients include the New York YMCA, Keller Williams, and JPMorgan Chase, where she previously worked in marketing and communications. She tells the stories of the people and companies that are changing our world for the better, and has a special interest in functional medicine. She's also working on her first novel, based on the true story of how her great grandparents saved a group of Austrian Jews from the Holocaust with the help of a world leader.
Susan Johnston Taylor (@UrbanMuseWriter) joined ASJA in 2009 and has written about personal finance, business, and lifestyle topics for The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and U.S. News & World Report, among other publications. She's drawn to stories that offer readers new insights and practical ways to save money, advance their careers, or improve their lives.
ASJA
As you’ve no doubt heard, ASJA has established an exciting new category: associate membership. We’ve done this for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to help younger writers get a much-needed foothold into the professional world of freelancing. But we’re also reaching out to people you know: staff editors. We are offering a waived initiation fee for staff editors who apply by Dec. 31 and use the code MI-CCE.
Why? Because we frequently hear from many editorial colleagues who want to make the leap into freelancing, whether as a part-time or a full-time proposition. But we also want a way to help members like you develop stronger relationships with editors like them.
The associate membership category for staff editors is a win-win scenario. Members like you get closer contact with staff editors. Staff editors have a way to augment their income or make the transition into freelancing. And let’s face it — when editors get laid off, what’s the first thing they do in the interim? Hang out a freelancing shingle. We’re going to help them do that. And if they apply by Dec. 31, they can have their initiation fee waived by using the code MI-JGG.
We’d like you to help us spread the word of this new membership option among your editors. What’s in it for you? You receive 25 percent off your ASJA dues for each new member who writes your name on the application. So spread the word! Your colleagues can find details on the new associate membership qualifications here.
ASJA
Do you have a topic aimed at professional writers and building their skills and their businesses? GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators has opened their call for speaker proposals for their 70th Annual Conference & Expo (#GWA2018) in Chicago, IL, August 13-16, and is looking for informative and interesting topics covering writing, business, publishing, social media and much more. Whether you are a garden communicator or just a professional writer, all proposals are welcome from GWA members and non-members alike. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2018. Learn more here.
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ASJA
Looking to connect with another peer within ASJA? Need a mentor to offer you some tips or perhaps you want to mentor others? Maybe you want a buddy to help you stay accountable for your goals?
Check out the ASJA Peer-to-Peer program! In this informal program, you’ll be matched with another ASJA member based on common writing interests. For more information or to sign up, please contact Pamela DeLoatch at pamela@b2bstorytelling.com, using subject line: ASJA Peer to Peer.
ASJA
ASJA is currently holding its Fall Membership Drive during the months of October and November. We are waiving the $50 initiation fee for writers who apply for either Professional or Associate membership before Nov. 30 and join by Dec. 31, 2017. After you apply and are accepted, use the code MI-JGG to waive the initiation fee. Note that the code is for the initiation fee due after you are accepted not the $25 application fee due when you apply.
ASJA now offers two levels of membership:
- Associate – Provides mid-level freelance writers with the resources, mentoring and support to become national level writers. Writers working on staff at a media company can join ASJA at this membership level.
- Professional – Provides national level writers with education, networking opportunities with other top freelancers and advocacy for independent writers. Professional members can participate in programs to meet with potential clients either in-person, telephone or Skype.
To grow your career through ASJA resources and benefits, determine which level of membership you qualify for and then start your application today. We look forward to getting to know you and help you increase your income and client base.
ASJA
Don't you find fall a great time for digging back into your writing and professional goals? If you haven't already renewed your membership, our annual renewal drive is underway. Pay your 2018 ASJA dues between now and Nov. 30 to be entered into a drawing for great prizes, including:
- a two-night resort stay at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains
- a free registration for Members Day at ASJA's New York conference, May 18, 2018
- the 2018 New York conference recordings
- free registration to the regional conference of your choice over the next two years
- a guaranteed Virtual Client Connections meeting with the offered editor of your choice in 2018
Click here to renew your membership for 2018*
We are also holding our Fall Membership Drive between now and Nov. 30. For each new member that you refer during the drive (either Associate or Professional), you get one entry into the raffle and also receive a 25% discount on your ASJA dues. We are waiving the $50 initiation fee during the Fall Membership Drive — pass on the code MI-JGG to fellow writers.
Thank you for sustaining your commitment to the American Society of Journalists and Authors — both for your own career and for the careers of your fellow writers! Together we're strong.
*Please remember that you have to be logged into the ASJA Store in order to see the correct product. If you have any issues, click here first.
ASJA
Your chance to pitch Boston Globe Magazine’s Michael Fitzgerald
Virtual Pitch Slams (VPS) are one-hour interactive phone conference calls during which a moderator hosts a client, who outlines what his/her outlet is looking for from freelance writers. Then, ASJA members give live pitches by telephone, followed by constructive feedback on each story idea.
ASJA members can sign up on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Tuesday, Nov. 28 at noon Eastern to get one of the pitching slots. We will provide instructions on how to sign up soon. Members may also register just to listen in on the event, as they would for a Shop Talk. VPS will also be recorded and accessible via ASJA’s website shortly after the event.
Be sure to read the FAQs here for more information.
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Poynter
While fact-checking organizations around the world are tackling online misinformation in new and innovative ways, typical American newsrooms are lagging behind.
A new report released recently by the American Press Institute highlights some of the challenges facing American newsrooms online — and it doesn’t look pretty. The report, which focuses on how publications are using social media to address misinformation and declining trust, found that most newsrooms are woefully unprepared to tackle those challenges.
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The WRITER
You’ve seen the headlines: “Staff Writer Fired Over Plagiarism.” You’ve heard of writers’ reputations forever muddied because their initially well-received work contained other writers’ lines, unquoted and unacknowledged. You wonder: What were they thinking?
While occasional unscrupulous writers risk everything by claiming others’ work as their own, plagiarizing is the last thing on most of our minds. Sure, we enjoy seeing our names in print, but we write because we love words.
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The Content Standard by Skyword
Long before I was a freelance writer, I wrote fiction. One of the key things I learned from my writing mentor, the late novelist Les Plesko, was the importance of writing daily. “Write every day, even on your birthday,” he would say with a toothless grin. Maintaining such a practice is crucial in your success as a writer.
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Columbia Journalism Review
Given lawsuits can be part of the job in this media landscape, what should independent contractors do to protect their personal assets? Specialized liability insurance may be one of the best options, but the marketplace for these policies is small. Here’s a guide for what to look for in these policies — and how to find them in the first place.
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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.
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