The Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for writers in the United States, aiding and protecting authors’ interests in copyright, fair contracts, and free expression since 1912. It supports working writers, advocates for author rights, and provides a community for its members.
Until recently you needed to be a published author before you met eligibility requirements for membership. This past year the Authors Guild recognized the value of their services to those dedicated writers who actively seek publication or whose income from professional writing did not meet their income threshold for full membership.
The Emerging Writer Membership is designed to provide resources, information, and community to writers before they have been published. The Authors Guild provides support as you move through the early stages of your author career—make a decision whether to self-publish, find an agent/publisher, review contracts, negotiate royalties, search for contests, residencies, grants, and fellowships. The Emerging Writer Membership fee is $100 per year and you can JOIN HERE.
The benefits of the Emerging Writer Membership include seminars, workshops and events around the country, free website-building platform, discount on media liability insurance, and starting this month, marketing and social media resources and advice.
The Authors Guild exists to support working writers and their ability to earn a living from their professional writing. They work to protect free speech, honor copyright, and ensure fair compensation practices. They recently received final approval of their $18 million class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of thousands of freelance journalists who had been paid by major newspapers and magazines for one-time use of their articles, only to see their work swept into electronic databases without further compensation.
One of the many benefits of becoming a full member ($125 per year) is access to experienced lawyers who will review your publishing contracts and advise you on copyright, trademark, First Amendment, and piracy matters. All members receive a copy of their Model Trade Book Contract and Guide, which clearly explains the terms and conditions you’ll find in a typical contract and what’s fair and what’s not. The updated fourth edition of their handbook, Writer’s Legal Guide, is a great resource on registering copyrights, tax planning, obtaining copyright permissions to use others’ work in yours, self-publishing advice, and more.
When you join the Authors Guild you’re entitled to access to all of their seminars and member events, the member director, the Back in Print program, the quarterly Bulletin, writer’s resource library, exclusive member discounts, and access to private Facebook groups for member writers. Only members have access to Lit Mag Submissions 101 which answers your questions about how to submit to a literary magazine, why submissions are rejected, how to prepare your manuscript, and finding the right venues for your work.
Perhaps the greatest benefit to joining The Authors Guild is the tremendous advocacy work they do on behalf of authors everywhere. Join more than 9,000 writers who rely on The Authors Guild to protect copyright, develop a more comprehensive solution to Internet piracy, modernize the Copyright Office, analyze the publishing industry, sue Google for copyright infringement for wholesale copying of millions of copyrighted books, oppose Amazon’s more ruthless tactics, and advocate on behalf of authors for a fair return on their contributions to book publication.
To learn more about The Authors Guild, where they stand, and who they are, visit AuthorsGuild.org