ASJA Is Evolving Membership Requirements to Meet the Current Publishing Landscape

To say that the world of freelance writing has changed dramatically is a huge understatement.  

Even a decade ago, many more glossy magazines lined the supermarket checkout shelves and issues were much thicker. Traditional book publishers published more books a year. It was simply easier to get national clips or a book contract because more opportunities existed.

As a result, it has become significantly harder than it was even a few years ago for a freelance writer to achieve the six national level clips of over 1,000 words each or two traditionally published books required for ASJA membership. In recent times, writers who should have qualified – and would have qualified in the not-so-distant past – were not able to get the needed clips simply because of the decline in national opportunities and book contracts.

As freelancers, we are still in business because we’ve adapted to the changes.

Now it’s time for ASJA to do the same with membership eligibility requirements.

Revised Requirements for ASJA Professional and Associate Membership

The ASJA membership approval committee and ASJA board of directors recently passed the following changes to the membership eligibility requirements:

• Professional Membership – Writers are now eligible to become a member at the professional level with four national level clips instead of the previously required six articles.
• Associate Membership – Writers are now eligible to become member at the associate level with three clips from regional level publication instead of four.
• Article length – Because assigned articles are often shorter, we’ve also adjusted the length requirement for clips to 700 words from 1,000 words.
• Books – In response to the changes in book publishing, writers are now eligible to become a member of AJSA if you have published one or more books with a traditional or hybrid publisher. As it’s always been, we do not consider self-published books as fulfilling this requirement, except in the very rare case of exceptional sales numbers.

Helping More Writers Navigate Our Changing Industry

As chair of the membership application committee, I want to be very clear that we are not lowering the membership requirements. Instead, we are adjusting the old requirements to the freelancing landscape of today. The goal is to attract the same level and stature of freelance writer into membership as we’ve always invited.

One of the common misconceptions about the ASJA membership consideration process is how we determine eligibility once a prospective member submits their clips. Because quality is subjective, we depend on publication stature and reputation as a measure. For example, a clip for the New York Times must meet specific quality standards for the editor to accept it.

However, very few of our members submit clips from the New York Times. See above about shrinking pages and budgets. We also accept niche level national clips. For example, if you are a top writer in the horse industry, then you can apply to join with national level clips that are respected and lead your industry. The same goes for any niche, from health to technology to marketing.

The change that I’m most excited about affects requirements for writers and editors who work or have worked at major media companies and want to become ASJA members. Every time I see a LinkedIn post from a client or friend who got laid off from a full-time position, I want to help them. In the past, they had to wait until they had four freelance clips to apply to join. Effective immediately, newly independent former staff writers and editors from established media companies are eligible to apply for professional membership based on their full-time job credentials, with no waiting period. So next time you see one of those heartbreaking LinkedIn posts, you can share the link to the ASJA membership application page  with them

ASJA has changed my career in more ways than I can put into words. I’ve gained lifelong friends and landed clients that paid my dues many times over. With so many freelancers struggling right now, ASJA can help even more writers figure out how to do journalism, content marketing writing, and nonfiction book authoring that matters while also gaining the clients that they need to pay their bills.

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Jennifer Goforth Gregory is a content marketing writer, long-time ASJA member, and chair of the membership approval committee. She hosts the popular Facebook group, The Freelance Content Marketing Writer. Her clients include IBM, Dell, Microsoft, Salesforce, AT&T and Verizon.