#thiswritinglife
Dana here–The Authors Guild is unquestionably the biggest bang you can get for your writing buck. Doug Preston tells us why.
[reprinted by permission]
In talking to some of you, I’ve discovered that not everyone is aware
of the extensive benefits that come with Guild membership. Please
take a moment to look through the list, because there are some truly
excellent Guild benefits that you may not be aware of.
–AG President Douglas Preston,
Authors Guild‘s 2022 Winter/Spring Bulletin
Authors Guild Membership Benefits
1. Free legal advice. Our staff attorneys will review all your contracts for free: publishing, film and television contracts, agency agreements, and others. Our attorneys will also give you free legal advice on other publishing concerns. If we determine that a company or entity has acted toward you in legal bad faith, we will go to bat for you by writing legal letters and by publicizing unfair and illegitimate practices. Being a member of the Authors Guild is like having a lawyer on retainer—for only $135 per year.
2. Authors Guild regional chapters. In many parts of the country we maintain chapters where local authors can meet in person, connect, network, get to know each other—and have fun.
3. Seminars, webinars, and events. Authors Guild members have access to a vast range of special programs, seminars, and webinars focusing on all aspects of publishing, including finding an agent, getting published, building a social media platform, and understanding the business side of writing. We offer information on virtual marketing, legal vetting of manuscripts, libel insurance, tax advice, publicity and promotion, career building, and much more.
4. Grants and fellowships. Members have access to comprehensive information on grants, fellowships, scholarships, awards and prizes, workshops and retreats, sources of financial support and emergency relief.
5. Access to the online community bulletin board. The Guild’s “All Member Discussion Board” is a place where writers connect with fellow authors, ask questions, discuss their books, provide mutual support, seek advice, report scams, and complain.
6. Websites. Through the Guild website building program, members can create a website and have access to website hosting, web services, domain name registration, and personalized email accounts.
7. Press credentials and cards. Working journalists who are Guild members can receive press credentials and cards through the International Federation of Journalists.
8. Health insurance. The Guild offers concierge services through LIG Solutions to help members locate the best health insurance, as well as supplemental dental, vision, critical care, and RX.
9. Media liability insurance. Our partnership with Dingy/NSM Insurance Group allows members access to affordable media liability insurance.
10. Self-publishing support. The Guild provides comprehensive information on choosing an e-publishing platform, hiring editors, designers, and publicists, working with retailers, registering ISBN’s, and more.
11. Problems with Amazon? The Guild has direct, high-level access to Amazon executives. If you have a problem with Amazon’s marketing or promotion of your books in any way, we take your problem to the top.
12. Copyright registration. The Guild staff will assist you in registering your copyrights with the Library of Congress.
13. Guides to literary agents and agreements. Members have access to comprehensive guides to finding an agent, understanding agency agreements, writing query letters, pitching, and much more.
14. Back in print services. The Guild has partnered with the Independent Publishers Group to offer ebook conversion and print-on-demand formatting and publication services, with distribution to all online retailers—Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo.
15. Member profiles. Members can join the Guild’s member profile list, an important resource consulted by industry professionals. Your listing can include a biography, list of works, pictures of book covers, services you offer, social media and contact information, and more.
16. We do good in this crazy world. Perhaps the most important benefit is what the Guild does to support and defend American literary culture. Since our founding, we have served as the collective voice of American authors and have long supported the rich and diverse literary culture of our country. We promote the rights of all authors to write without interference or threat and to receive fair compensation. We advocate for authors on issues of copyright—a right enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution. We fight for fair contracts. We work with Congress to make sure authors are treated fairly in tax law. We fight piracy. We push back against big tech companies like Google and the Internet Archive that expropriate content from authors and deliver it to consumers under the “information wants to be free” banner. We vigorously represent authors’ concerns in Washington with a full-time lobbyist. When necessary, the Guild takes to court those corporations and other malefactors who have trampled on the rights of authors or taken their work without permission, and we have won winning millions in compensation for authors. The Guild is a remarkably effective organization, and we accomplish a great deal with tight but well-deployed finances.
By being a member of the Authors Guild, we have come together to create an influential and respected coalition of the country’s authors and journalists that is 12,000 strong. That is real power. When we speak as one through the Authors Guild, our voice is heard, and we can accomplish great things.
Dana again. Join the Authors Guild here.
