News from the Front: "Amity"
by Kevin Garrison

ASJA members enjoy quite a few perks, goodies, great deals, and privileges.

The most important one of these, at least to me, is the easy contact I have had with, and the great advice I have gotten from, my fellow members. I have received top quality, first-hand information almost every time by simply calling or emailing another member with my question. It is like having hundreds of mentors at my beck and call at all times.

Of course, Amity is a small, shark-infested town with two-way streets.

Without stretching this metaphor to the breaking point, let's just say that, in order to get what you need, you have to be willing to give something back. We members of ASJA belong to a highly-informed, highly-successful network and we all benefit when we play nice and are generous with our help.

That said, we must acknowledge that some etiquette must be in place for ASJA's Amity to remain a quiet, predator-free, albeit fictional, beach town.

First, when you call another member, especially one you haven't met yet, please make sure you aren't intruding. I usually email ahead, asking if and when they will have time for a chat. If they don't want my call (which hasn't happened yet), no harm, no foul. Arranging a contact time is common practice for writers eager to do an important interview.

Next, be careful what you ask for. General advice on markets and techniques is one thing; asking someone out of the blue for personal referrals or editor phone numbers is another kettle of sharks.

If the member you are asking for help wants to give you that important "inside baseball" information, fine, but please don't put your new ASJA friend in an uncomfortable position by asking for something they are loath to give.

Sometimes a member may be on deadline and not have time to help you or may simply be grumpy that week. Don't push it and please don't carp and complain to the rest of the membership about your experience. As journalists, we know that it is impossible to know the whole story, and your bad experience in getting advice from another member may have absolutely nothing to do with you.

We all want our ASJA memberships to blossom into continuing successful writing careers. We want our professional waters free of chum, and by now most of you are desperately hoping that I stop using the stupid "Jaws" metaphor.

If we play nice—helping each other when we can and being polite when we cannot, we all can look forward to a successful writing year—and many sequels to come.

Kevin Garrison is an aviation and humor writer who lives with his dog and the most patient woman in the world on a small farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He finished college, but still thinks that eighth grade typing was the most profitable class he has ever taken.