Writers, who work hard on a daily basis to craft content for clients, may often work from home, local cafes or libraries, where they can get easy access to resources and references. And while this lifestyle may sound tempting, the reality is that writing for a living can be a very lonely profession.
The Professional Writers Association of Canada, also known as PWAC, provides the piece of the puzzle that is missing. The President of the Saskatchewan chapter, Ashleigh Mattern, particularly enjoys the supportive network that comes from PWAC. She sees the association as a great tool to brainstorm with other like-minded professionals.
“As a full-time freelance writer, having a support networking is incredibly important. Working from home, you often don't have people around you who you can bounce ideas off of, or go to for help or advice,” Mattern explains. “Joining groups like the Professional Writers Association of Canada give me a sense of having coworkers who I can reach out to, for whatever reason.”
Other than the networking opportunities, new members can also explore marketing and promotional opportunities offered by PWAC. As a professional member, you get a press card on behalf of PWAC that can help you get access to industry events, museums, and research for related projects.
Professional members will also have the ability to access career and development opportunities at low or no cost at all, which is beneficial to new writers who are looking to turn their passion of writing into a full-time career.
The Professional Writers Association of Canada has chapters all over the country, including Saskatchewan. Our chapter President, Ashleigh Mattern, and our Vice President, Malene Jorgensen, are both located in Saskatoon. But there are members in Regina, White City, Weyburn, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Martensville, and Kelvington. Even though members are spread out, the chapter maintains dedicated to serving the needs of all members.
“As the Vice President of the Saskatchewan chapter, I’m constantly on the look-out for new ideas and online courses that our members can benefit from since we are spread out,” says Jorgensen, who just joined the executive this year. “We want our members to know that we are here to help and support them in their writing careers, no matter what their individual needs are.”
Saskatchewan member, Bonnie Zink, has shared her thoughts on PWAC on her website, bonniezink.com. She thanks PWAC for helping her turn her dreams of being a professional writer for a living into a reality.
“Five years ago I held dear the hope of becoming a working professional writer,” Zink writes in a blog post, where she highlights some of the features she has enjoyed. “As I look back on these past five years, I believe that my success as a working writer is directly due to my professional PWAC membership.”
PWAC Saskatchewan will be present at this year’s Word on the Street festival in Saskatoon. The Word on the Street festival, or WOTS, takes place on Sept. 21 near Saskatoon’s City Hall. Our chapter President and Vice President will be on location in the PWAC booth to answer any questions you may have about becoming a member. Since the WOTS festival is all about booksellers, publishers, authors and retailers, some of our members will also be selling their books at our stand.
So, if you have a lingering dream about becoming a professional writer, come down to our booth at the WOTS festival and talk to us. We look forward to seeing you there and hear about your big writing dreams.
I have asked PWAC National office to send a bulletin to Prairies Region members, but that can't be sent until after the weekend. I have contacted several people individually but I was also asked to post this here to help inform regional members, and the bulletin will follow up next week.
I have come to a difficult decision. I am resigning from the PWAC board of directors, effective immediately. I have enjoyed my short time as Regional Director of Prairies and the North, and I believe I have come to know many members better during this time. I will continue to be involved at the Saskatchewan chapter level, and I would be pleased to share my experience with the new RD and others as needed. I hope you will continue to contact me to discuss freelance business issues and ideas. I also hope I will still hear from you on writers.ca or social media, and see you at regional and national events. I wish you all the best in 2014 and the years to come.
Last week, the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario (Western) announced they would no longer pay an annual collective royalty fee to creators through Access Copyright, the copyright licensing agency. The creators affected include professional writers and photographers who qualify, based on their published work, to receive annual Payback royalties from Access Copyright.
Here are some links to press releases and articles outlining the news and reactions from various writers' organizations:
I learned from my previous book, Before You Say Yes … A Guide
to the Pleasures and Pitfalls of Volunteer Boards, that finding speaking
engagements to promote myself as an expert on volunteering for non-profit
associations would net me more of an income than the royalties I was earning
from book sales.
As I’m an extrovert and love interacting with people, I find the
speaking engagements to be more fun than the solitary task of writing.
With my current book, Chocolatour, A Quest for the World’s Best
Chocolate, it’s even easier to line up events where I can talk about chocolate
and sell my books at the same time. Everyone loves chocolate, and so, in the
short time since I published my book, I’ve been able to create a nice variety
of events that will augment my earnings from book sales.
Thanks to a suggestion from Manitoba member, Irene Gordon, I
made contact with the person in charge of the Community Classroom program at
McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg and have a Nov 2nd event at which I
will first have a traditional book signing in the store, followed by a
chocolate dinner in the Community Classroom at which I will give a talk about
chocolate. The event sold out so quickly that Mc Nally’s has scheduled a second
similar event for April 12th.
The events at McNally’s are great in raising my public profile and connecting with readers, but they are small small, at a capacity of 24 paying attendees. They have, however, opened up the
door to larger, more lucrative events. I'm now booked to give a chocolate talk
at a 100-person chocolate dinner at Rembrandt's Bistro in Lockport, Manitoba on
Feb 6th. There will be a chocolate art show by WAVE artists, in
combination with an exotic chocolate dinner prepared by the Rembrandt's chef
with a brief chocolate talk by yours truly in between courses.
For both the McNally and Rembrandt’s events, I am being paid $10
per attendee. I’d have to sell a lot of books to match the $1000 speaker’s fee
I’ll receive from Rembrandt’s! So the key is to write about something for which
you can establish yourself as an expert. Carve yourself a unique niche so that
people search you out when they think of that given topic.
I’m also leading a group Chocolatour to Switzerland
from March 20-April 8th with the Worldly Women Travel Club,
sponsored by Journeys Travel of Winnipeg. I will receive a free trip in
exchange for helping them devise a taste-tempting itinerary and encouraging a
group of women to enjoy chocolate. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do
it!
I have also taken my speaking abilities on the high seas and
obtained a free cruise (and very inexpensive passage for my husband) in
exchange for giving a series of talks on a cruise ship. My topic at that time
was feng shui – not because I am an expert on the subject, but because I had
written numerous articles about it and possessed a high level of
enthusiasm.
While reading this, did you think to yourself … I can do
that! You bet you can! Just come up with a topic that you’re
passionate and knowledgeable about. And if your speaking abilities could use
fine-tuning, join Toastmasters International. I’ve been a Toastmaster for a dozen years and
absolutely love it. And it has helped take my speaking abilities to the next
level.
Good luck in developing your own marketing plan. I hope it helps
you sell books, earn some incredible speaking fees, and have a lot of fun while
you’re doing it.
Please visit my writer’s blog at http://doreenpendgracs.com/social-media-surviving-or-thriving/ and connect
with me on any social media platforms you’re on. Social media has definitely
helped me make global connections that have gotten Chocolatour into chocolate
and book shops around the world. But that’s for another post!
Thanks to Marie Powell for asking me to share this post with you. I've been a member of PWAC since 1997 and definitely credit past and present members of PWAC for inspiring and educating me on how to advance my career as a freelance writer and author.
On Sept. 21 and 22, writers, readers, booksellers, and professional organizations gathered in five cities across the country for Word on the Street events.
Described as a national celebration of literacy and the written word, the event features readings, signings, children’s activities, and a marketplace.
In Saskatoon, the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada Saskatchewan Chapter shared a booth in the marketplace with the Saskatchewan branch of the Editors’ Association of Canada. Our tables were set up by 9:30 a.m., and volunteers from each organization manned them all day until 5 p.m.
PWAC-SK member Darrell Noakes at The Word on the Street in Saskatoon.photo: Ashleigh Mattern. Was it worth the effort?
PWAC Sask didn’t gain any immediate new members from participating in the event, but then again, we didn’t expect to. This is an event mostly for readers, and while some readers are also writers, most people weren’t heading to the event looking for professional support.
But by the end of the day, we had spoken to dozens of people who hadn’t heard of PWAC before. Our name was in the promotional material, and who knows how many people took note as they walked past, without talking to us. As a way to advertise the PWAC brand, it was a pretty affordable venture.
Also, sharing the booth with the EAC gave members of both groups a chance to chat with one another. We even hatched plans to do more collaborative work together since our organizations have such similar aims.
Organizing the event did not take too much effort. A form mailed, a cheque sent, a few emails, promotional materials ordered, and we were good to go. And now we have leftover promotional materials that could be used at our next event.
To booth or not to booth?
When the discussion comes up about whether we should do it again, I’ll vote that we do. Word on the Street is a fun event, so I certainly didn’t mind spending the day there.
Next year, I’ll also recommend name tags for the booth sitters, and more prominent signage to boost the advertising factor, both of which the EAC had at their table.
But not every event is created equal; fellow PWAC member Doreen Pendgracs posted a story about her experience at a trade show, but she did not see much value in setting up a table there. Her view is worth a read!
It's that time of year again, when we remind PWAC members about Access Copyright, the agency that serves as the Canadian Copyright Licencing Agency.
If you hold the copyright for your published work, i.e., if it's not work-for-hire* with all rights owned by your client), then consider signing with Access.
Even though the Professional Writers Association of Canada is a member organization of Access, individual writers still need to submit their information, including publication credits.
Here's the FAQ blurb from the Access Copyright site:
If I am a member of PWAC (or any other Access Copyright member organization), does that automatically make me an Access Copyright affiliate?
No. Being a member of an Access Copyright member organization does not automatically make you an affiliate. Please click here to learn how to become affiliated with Access Copyright.
Access manages licensing, collection of licensing fees and distribution of royalties on affiliates' behalf, so that we can focus on what we do best — creating.
Benefits of being an individual Access member include Payback royalties for your published work. Sign up before the end of December, 2013, to to be eligible to enter your publications for the next series of payments in 2014.
And a note on that sometimes wonderful, sometimes contentious work-for-hire* thing... This may be fine under many circumstances, especially if the pay is great... But keeping your own copyright to your original, creative work is also a wonderful thing for freelancers to consider. You can learn more about copyright by visiting Accesscopyright.ca and PWAC.ca - or by talking others in your local PWAC chapter.
Looking for a great writer to develop articles for your magazines, produce web content or manuals, write speeches, newsletters or annual reports?
The PWAC Prairies and North Regional Blog is a hub for a diverse group of Canadian professional writers who specialize in freelance writing, editing, and copywriting for the public, private and non-governmental sectors.
Some of us work full-time, some part-time, and some on the side, but we are all committed to producing great work for our clients, whether they are in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, or anywhere else on the Prairies and North — or across Canada and beyond! (We're centrally based in the middle of North America, so easy to access from wherever you are.)
To learn more about our members' skills and interests, and to find the best writer for your project:
Check out the links to the Member Websites and Member Blogs at the right.
Visit Writers.ca, PWAC's virtual hiring hall, where writers and clients connect. Once there, you can Find a Writer by searching by name, location, subject or expertise for your next project.
