Welcome to the Writing Gym!

While writing is generally not a collaborative art, there is no reason that you must constrain yourself to a dusty attic writing with the fluttering of bats around you. Making connections with like-minded people is usually a good thing, and networking (as much as I hate to do it personally) never hurts.

Additionally, professional organizations help in a way they don't often advertise: by joining them, you automatically feel more professional, which might be a psychological boost to being more productive or more effective. There is much to be said for the psychological aspects of professionalism.

Also, professional organizations are excellent sources of information about the profession: waxing and waning markets, new trends, conventions, etc.

Some believe that the politics involved in such an organization offsets any professional value, but that seems to happen only if you purposefully become involved with such politics. You can have a long, healthy relationship with our professional organization even if you don't run for office or chair committees. If you're the type of person who is easily embroiled in the issues of others, you might want to avoid becoming that involved.

Organizations of special interest to genre writers include:

Both organizations have levels of membership or involvement that even a beginning writer can enjoy; the SFWA Bulletin is rich with excellent information, and the HWA newsletters are always helpful.

Follow these guidelines when considering a professional organization:

Do your homework.
It is not imperative that you join a professional organization.
But it doesn't hurt, either.

Do your homework.

Make sure you're joining the right organization. There are many groups you can join with agendas similar to your own. There are smaller organizations within genre publishing that may be suited to your particular niche in the craft. If you're a science fiction poet, for instance, there is a Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Make sure that the organization is focused on your needs and delivers information that you need. Don't join an organization simply because all of your favorite authors are a member. Ask yourself what's in it for you, first.

It is not imperative that you join a professional organization.

Don't assume that membership in a professional organization will help you publish your work. Any advantage gained by mentioning your affiliation with a writer's association on your manuscript is the same you'd have by just formatting the manuscript correctly in the first place and writing a good story.

At best, you'll make your way one or two steps up in the pile. At worst, you'll look like a desperate poser trying to make your way one or two steps up in the pile.

Let your fiction speak for itself.

Besides, you don't want a freebee pity publication earned just because you're in a club, do you?

But it doesn't hurt, either.

On the other hand, for the purposes of networking at conventions or other gatherings, a membership in an organization can help you get information or contacts not ordinarily available to outsiders.

In its place, an organization is a helpful system of information and resources you can use to enhance your writing career. Beware the danger of becoming so involved with the club, though, that you're not doing your writing. It's easy to focus more on the political and "writerly" aspects of your craft than on the craft itself, and that isn't why you started writing in the first place, one hopes.