25 Ways to Get Your Money’s Worth from ASJA in 2025
ASJA’s yearly conference is the organization’s signature event. It’s a chance to put assignments aside for a few days to learn new skills, meet with prospective writing outlets in person or virtually, and hang out with writer colleagues old and new.
But the conference isn’t the only advantage of being an ASJA member. The leading organization for self-employed nonfiction writers offers freelance journalists, book authors, and content writers dozens of benefits throughout the year. Most cost nothing beyond your annual membership dues.
Here are 25 ways to get your money’s worth from ASJA in 2025:
Learn Something New
1. Attend a free webinar. ASJA’s education committee holds a free monthly webinar to teach you a new skill, explain new approaches to marketing yourself and your work, or offer an opportunity to learn from an expert. ASJA hosts webinars every month of the year except during months the annual conference is held. Visit the Upcoming Events page of the website for a schedule. Webinars are free for ASJA members, $20 for others.
2. Listen and learn on demand. You don’t need to attend ASJA webinars in real time to benefit from them. ASJA webinars are recorded for members to access when it fits their schedule. On the Upcoming Events page, scroll past future events to see a listing of webinar recordings. Recent webinars covered writing reported personal essays, using Canva, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, AI, and pitching national publications. Like webinars, recordings are free for ASJA members, $20 for others.
3. Improve diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in your writing and work. ASJA is committed to being a diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive organization that reflects the demographics of our profession, country, and world. ASJA continues to strive for diverse representation in our events, activities, and communications, and encourages members to seek out diverse sources and stories. To that end, the website’s DEAI center offers members a variety of resources, including free recordings of DEAI webinars and style guides to inclusive language.
4. Explore the ASJA archives. The website’s Resource Finder is your portal to past articles, webinars, and other information. Dig through a treasure trove of information that can help you identify new clients, read up on writing genres, learn a new skill, or find out more about the organization.
5. Subscribe to ASJA Weekly. The newsletter is delivered Tuesday afternoons Eastern time, and is loaded with information on upcoming ASJA events, offerings from other writers’ groups—including grants and writer residencies–and media industry trends and news. Sign up for the newsletter here.
6. Read ASJA Confidential. The ASJA Confidential blog is your go-to place for timely, in-depth news on upcoming ASJA events, awards, scholarships, advocacy, DEAI initiatives, and more, as well as daily recaps from the annual conference. The Confidential runs features on writing skills, markets, productivity, and other topics related to working as an independent writer, plus monthly Meet the Member profiles, and articles on ASJA partners. Look for posts twice a week, more before and during conferences.
7. Learn all ASJA has to offer. Volunteers on ASJA’s membership engagement committee recorded this one-hour YouTube video that explains how to make the most of the organization to connect with other writers, make money, learn valuable skills, and take advantage of ASJA discounts and partnerships.
Get Benefits and Promote Yourself
8. Fill out your profile. Adding details to your profile in the ASJA Member Directory boosts the likelihood that your name will pop up when an editor or content manager searches the database for someone with a specific background or specialty for an assignment.
9. Use the Paycheck Database. Find out what editors, content marketing agencies, publishers, and other freelance outlets are like to work with by perusing the Paycheck Database. When ASJA members complete an assignment and fill out the Report a Payment form, the data is available to other members, including such information as project or assignment type, outlet, word count, fee, contract terms, and overall experience. Paycheck is a members-only benefit, and sharing information with nonmembers is a violation of ASJA’s Code of Conduct.
10. Get a press card. Press cards an important part of an independent writer’s tool kit. They instantly identify you as a journalist and ease access to political events, press conferences, and emergency scenes. ASJA press cards are only to be used for professional journalism purposes. Fill out the form to apply for an ASJA press card here.
11. Get health insurance advice and access. ASJA partners with LIG Solutions to offer free advice and analysis of health coverage options for you, your family, and your business or employees. LIG is licensed in all 50 states and works with leading national, regional, and local insurance carriers. LIG can also help with Medicare, indemnity medical plans, short-term health insurance, and supplemental options. Read more here and fill out this form to request more information from an LIG representative.
12. Have a lawyer to review a contract. ASJA offers members discounted legal consultations with Joseph Perry, an attorney and literary agent well versed in the ins and outs of publishing and contract law. Perry provides guidance on publishing contracts, libel, right of privacy concerns, and intellectual property issues, and offers a one-third discount off his regular hourly rate. Additional work is billed at his regular hourly rate or a flat fee, depending what is needed. Find out more and fill out a form to request assistance here.
13. Use the Examine+ database. ASJA members get full access to the Examine nutrition database, an extensive database of nutrition research. To learn more, watch an ASJA Examine webinar here or sign up here.
14. Receive emergency aid. ASJA provides financial aid to freelance nonfiction writers in need through Writers Emergency Assistance Fund (WEAF). Providing WEAF funds is part of ASJA’s ongoing mission to support eligible writers who experience natural disasters or other unexpected crises. WEAF awards qualified recipients up to a maximum of $1,000 to help meet living expenses. Writers do not need to be ASJA members to receive the funds, but must meet the qualifications for ASJA professional membership. ASJA is expediting applications for writers affected by the recent LA fires. Find out more about WEAF here.
15. Get a 20% discount on the AP Stylebook Online. One of ASJA’s newest benefits is a 20% discount on a single-user, one-year subscription to the AP Stylebook Online, the digital version of the venerable writing guide produced by the Associated Press. Members can also get a 20% discount off registration for the AP Stylebook Workshop, which covers the principles of AP style and how to apply it.
16. Promote your ASJA membership. Download a copy of the ASJA logo to tell the world—and prospective clients—that you’re a member of North America’s leading organization for professional writers. Display the ASJA logo on your website or social media accounts.
17. Enter the ASJA Awards. ASJA recognizes exceptional freelance writing and nonfiction book authors through the annual ASJA Awards. Honors are given for stellar work in freelance journalism and other nonfiction articles, as well as in essays, books, and content marketing writing. See 2024 ASJA Award winners here. Applications for 2025 awards will open in mid-February – watch for updates in the ASJA Weekly.
18. Share your good news. Get a book deal? Byline in a dream publication? Award or other honor? That means you’re a big deal! Tell the world by submitting an item to the Member News section of the ASJA Weekly, which has close to 3,500 subscribers. Submit your professional news here.
Find Companionship and Camaraderie
19. Attend the weekly coffee chat. ASJA’s weekly coffee chats are like “Cheers” – everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. Log on any Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time to the hour-long, unstructured group chat to find out why. Chats take place on Google Meet. They’re lightly moderated and the conversation flows from on topic to another. All members are welcome–even if you can’t stay for the whole hour. Participants are bound by ASJA’s Code of Conduct so discussions about specific clients, projects, or other topics are strictly confidential.
20. Use the ASJA Facebook page. When ASJA debuted a redesigned website several years ago, the ASJA FB page replaced the old online member forum. Members gather here to post questions about sources, contracts, payments, potential red flags with assignments, and other writing-related topics. The page is a great way to find out about ASJA events, benefits, and resources—or just hang out with your peers.
21. Follow ASJA on social media. Follow ASJA social channels to stay up on the latest organization news. In addition to the ASJA Facebook page, find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok–and coming soon, Bluesky.
22. Connect with other ASJA members in your area. ASJA has active chapters in several parts of the country that meet regularly in person or virtually to talk shop, hear from guest speakers, and support each other. Even if there are no chapters in your area, you can connect with other ASJA members by looking up people in the Member Directory by city, state, or region.
23. Be an advocate. ASJA champions the rights of freelance writers, with a particular focus on issues of national importance, including censorship, copyright, and legal or industry changes that prevent independent writers from making a living. ASJA created an advocacy toolkit you can use to stay on top of issues affecting freelancers, write op-eds, contact or meet with your elected representatives, request city or town resolutions, ask associations to get involved, and spread the word.
24. Volunteer on a committee or at an event. ASJA wouldn’t work without its members. The organization retains a professional management company to help run the annual conference, handle dues and registrations and keep the books, and act as our liaison with vendors and service providers. Volunteers do everything else, including serve on the organization’s executive committee and board. Members run awards, publications, webinars, WEAF, our diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion initiatives, and client networking. If you want to meet fellow freelancers, book authors, or content writers and keep up with what’s happening in the organization and industry, use the ASJA Call for Volunteers form to sign up today.
25. Attend a future ASJA annual conference. Make plans now to attend an annual conference. The 2025 conference is Feb. 24-26 in person in New York city. The conference will be virtual in 2026, and back in person in 2027.
Michelle Rafter is a Portland Oregon, ghostwriter specializing in management, people, technology, and workforce issues. She’s ASJA’s publications chair, and part of ASJA’s 2025 conference planning committee.