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Are you or is someone you know a leader? ASJA is looking for member volunteers to join its strong Board of Directors. We’re looking for folks with vision, energy, and a willingness to invest in ASJA as a board member. Contact Janine Latus, chair of the nominating committee, at janine@janinelatus.com, to nominate yourself or someone else. Tell us what this person’s priorities would be as a board member, what they/you in particular would bring to the organization and how they/you have volunteered in the past, preferably within ASJA. We are looking for leaders with ideas and follow-through who can help ASJA navigate into the future.
Long-term veteran ASJA Board of Directors member Minda Zetlin shares some under-the-hood thoughts about serving on the board. Zetlin is a past president of ASJA and has served on the board since 2002. She’s also co-author of The Geek Gap, and writes a daily column on Inc.com, the Inc. magazine website.
What exactly does the ASJA Board do?
It’s more of a question of what we don’t do. Rather than rubber stamping things like some boards, we actively work towards finding solutions. Along with setting policies and managing ASJA’s finances, we address topics via statements and press releases and statements issued jointly with the ASJA’s First Amendment Committee. These include, among other things, journalist’s rights, banned books, restrictions on freedom of speech, onerous visa requirements for foreign reporters and risks journalists face while reporting in danger zones. We have also been involved in landmark lawsuits, including the Author’s Guild/Google Book Search settlement which contested Google’s right to scan author’s books as copyright infringement. ASJA was also one of the original litigants in the landmark New York Times Co. vs Tasini which means writers must be paid when their work is included in a database.
We regulate and administer programs within ASJA, such as the Educational Foundation and the Writers Emergency Assistance Fund (WEAF). Launched in 2010, the ASJA Educational Foundation was formed as ASJA’s non-profit arm to empower all independent writers now and in the future and work to make sure freelance writing remains a viable career. Along with regional conferences which prior to the Foundation’s formation had been organized by local chapters, the Foundation’s largest event, the annual national ASJA Writers Conference, is held each spring. Since 1982, WEAF has been helping established freelance writers who, because of illness, disability, a natural disaster or an extraordinary professional crisis are unable to work.
Additionally, we work on projects relating to attendance and membership goals, advertising on the newsletter and website as well as getting and maintaining sponsors and development of regional chapters, among other things.
Whew! That sounds like a huge time commitment. How do you juggle that with your writing career? It is a commitment. You are expected to participate in a monthly phone call and attend two in-person board meetings a year. And you also need to be conversant in all board-related issues. That said, once people get on board so to speak, they usually find their niche and comfort zone in terms of an ASJA-related issue that interests them and they focus on that. And people understand that it may take a new board member a while to figure out how everything works. You will, however, need to be able to organize and manage your time around board responsibilities and your own writing deadlines.
But it is also immensely rewarding. For example, about ten years ago when Jack El-Hai was president and technology was changing rapidly, we put together a task force to look at macro trends affecting writers and how to prepare for them. This resulted in a 35-page report, with some 22 specific suggestions, some of which we are still addressing today. For example, one ongoing discussion is whether the national conference should continue to be in New York City, when frankly, the internet is now the center of the publishing universe.
How did you get involved in the ASJA Board? What makes an effective board member?
I joined the board in 2002 and have probably been one of the longest-serving members. A former ASJA support staff person nominated me—but it’s not necessary to be invited to join. And obviously you need to be an ASJA member, with a fair amount of writing experience. You should also be willing to take a leadership role. Board members tend to be confident leaders who are not only afraid to expression their opinions but also willing to listen to others. It’s also useful to have other ASJA volunteer or mentoring experience under your belt so you are familiar with the organization and how it works.
What did you get out of the experience?
It has become a part of my life; I have formed deep friendships and working relationships with colleagues that I might not have otherwise gotten to know. Board members tend to be successful ASJA members and that in turn can help your own writing efforts and goals. It’s a great group to be in; everyone is congenial and cooperative, even though we come from a variety of writing and cultural perspectives, from corporate content to long form, narrative journalism and everything in between. And it’s incredibly rewarding because you are helping to shape an organization that does a lot of good. As second past president, my time on the board will be over in July and I’m really going to miss it.
It’s like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it.
Boost your career a notch (or several) at Write in the Heart of Texas on Saturday, Feb. 3, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Joe C. Thompson Center in Austin. Sessions include mindfulness for writers, interview techniques, content marketing, self-editing and landing your first national story. Boost your business savvy with panels on personal branding and money management for freelancers, handling sticky situations with editors and more. Click here to register. Interested in volunteering or discussing sponsorship opportunities? Email asjatx@gmail.com.