Being chosen to head an ASJA chapter is easy. Just head for the ladies’ room. When you return, you’ve been elected president (for life). The challenge is keeping the group active and relevant. It all depends on member participation.
“Atlanta has been called the most active chapter in ASJA,” says long-time member Maxine Rock. “Yet we don’t have a huge number of members here, and all of us are super-busy. So, what’s the secret? We stay on target, focusing on the business of making money from writing.”
Rock, the author of 10 books and numerous magazine articles, adds that constant interaction motivates members to help one another. “We refer clients, suggest titles and ledes when a pal is stuck, edit one another’s work, and open up about fees and contracts so others can judge what to charge or how to extract payment from deadbeat editors. This generosity brews good chemistry: we like and respect one another, and have become good friends.”
Our meetings, which take place monthly at the same time and place, are well attended. Phone calls, e-mail, and Facebook notices on our private ASJA-SE page are frequent. When members don’t show up for two or more meetings, someone will usually call or mail—out of genuine concern—to find out why. We hope no one feels neglected or alone.
We have plenty of editors and publishers in Atlanta, but we often ask members to share their expertise. Beverly Harzog, author of Confessions of a Credit Junkie, recently talked on networking, and Jennifer Maciekewski taught us how to develop a successful website like hers, AtlantaontheCheap. Rock brought in her co-author, a local physician, to explain what a busy professional needs in a collaborator. But we don’t always have speakers. Sometimes, we just eat lunch and network, have fun and strengthen emotional bonds.
In 2014, we’ve already heard from a CPA talking about tax deductions for journalists, a program arranged by Karon Warren, and we’re planning a discussion on journalism ethics using the best-seller Five Days at Memorial as our guide. A talk by a literary attorney is also in the works, as well as a hands-on workshop with developers of Publisheze, a hybrid of Print on Demand and traditional publishing.
We also plan to connect with the Atlanta Press Club for another jointly-sponsored panel with successful authors, like a former collaboration featuring our own Janine Latus and Pulitzer Prize winner, Hank Klibanoff.
All this goes to show it isn’t hard to have a successful chapter. It takes a little energy, some perseverance, and the determination to stay on-track by avoiding discussions that are not related to our work. Most of all, success means that members are willing to contribute something big or small…even if it means just showing up.