Tag Archives: writers groups

Business, featured, Interviews

A Closer Look: The Publishing Pros

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At the end of last year I was reaching out to potential advertisers for Freelance-Zone.com and one of the groups I came across was The Publishing Pros (formerly RMPPG). When I checked the group out as we were discussing ad space on the site, I thought readers might be interested in learning more about them–they are an active, well-established group that I think is a great resource for the freelance writing community–and a valued advertiser on Freelance-Zone.com.

Here’s a closer look.                  – Catherine

Web-ad-for-Freelance-Zone1. How did The Publishing Pros (RMPPG) get started?

Founded in 1991 to promote and enhance the professional skills of its members, the organization increases dialogue among colleagues and clients through meetings and social events and fosters effective, ethical business practices. Its members are editors, indexers, proofreaders, designers, writers, researchers, and others who offer a range of skills and specialties.

2. Who makes up the organization?

The Publishing Pros is composed of a professional network of publishing specialists, with most of our members based in the Rocky Mountain region, including experienced writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, graphic designers, desktop publishing experts, researchers, fact-checkers, trainers, writing coaches, translators, and other publishing specialists.

3. Who should consider becoming a member of the group?

If you’re an experienced editor, proofreader, graphic designer, desktop publishing expert, indexer, writer, fact-checker, writing or editing coach, or other publishing professional, we invite you to join The Publishing Pros (RMPPG). We offer some great networking opportunities; further, when prospective clients contact the organization looking for a specialist we post their requests on our active ListServ.

4. What services are offered by The Publishing Pros?

Members of The Publishing Pros (RMPPG) serve a variety of clients in publishing, business, research, education and academic institutions, and nonprofit and governmental organizations. Prospective clients can access the services of our members by easily searching the website directory for a particular subject area and/or publishing service needed. Clients can also arrange for The Publishing Pros to post job requests on our ListServ. Members can develop the look, sound, and feel of any print or electronic/online publication or project, including manuscript editing, copywriting, website development, novel critiquing and evaluation, book design and typesetting, e-publication conversion, indexing, logo and brand development, and much more. With the multi-varied talents of The Publishing Pros membership, clients can tap into one of the country’s greatest networks of freelance publishing experts.

5. What is unique about The Publishing Pros?

We know of no other site that contains members whose expertise ranges through all areas of publication, from cover to index. Many of our members have deep roots in Rocky Mountain publishing and can be a great resource for newer members who are learning the trade. Our newly revamped website gives members a chance to list their specialties on the directory, enabling potential clients to find them, and clients can post to our site when they have a position to fill or a job to be accomplished.

For more information on membership or services visit The Publishing Pros.

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Story Circle Network and She Writes

by Mike O’Mary

Writing used to be a solitary profession. You sat in a room by yourself, typing away on your typewriter or computer, sometimes long into the night. If you were lucky, you toiled away in an upstairs room instead of in the basement. And if you were really lucky, maybe you were part of a local community of writers, and you could get together to talk about writing, books and publishing opportunities with other edu-ma-cated types. That’s if you were fortunate enough to have enough writers nearby to form a community. The key word was “local.”

Not anymore. Writing is still a solitary profession when it comes to actually doing the work. But with the Internet, it’s easier than ever to be part of a community of writers. Heck, I think I belong to 40 or 50 online writing communities. Sometimes it seems like there are more writers than readers. (Fortunately, most writers are also capable of reading. Most of them.)

For starters, there’s a great community of writers who frequent Freelance-Zone.com. On top of that, FZ provides you with a pretty comprehensive list of writers groups. Just click on the “‘Writers Groups by State” tab up there on the right. You can also find lots of writers groups on LinkedIn (including Freelance Nation).

Beyond that, there are new communities for writers popping up all the time. Two communities I’ve been recommending to women writers are Story Circle Network and She Writes.

scnlogoThe Story Circle Network is dedicated to helping women share the stories of their lives and to raising public awareness of the importance of women’s personal histories. SCN carries out its mission through publications, a website, classes, workshops, writing and reading circles, and woman-focused programs. SCN founder Dr. Susan Albert tells me that they will soon be inviting submissions for the May Sarton Memoir Prize, a new prize to be awarded annually.

50556_175987360307_548556_nShe Writes describes itself as “a community, virtual workplace, and emerging marketplace for women who write.” They currently offer support and advice for novice and experienced writers. Future plans are to connect writers directly to readers “in a marketplace distinguished by its commitment to the production and distribution of high quality content.”

Mike O’Mary is founder of Dream of Things and of the Note Project, a campaign to “make the world a million times better” by inspiring participants to write 1 million notes of appreciation. Coming March 20, 2011.

advice, blogging, editorial

Writers Groups By State–Who Have We Missed?

Writers Groups By StateHundreds of people every day are finding our collection of writer’s groups by state, but we’re certain we haven’t found all the good writers groups in the USA. That’s why we’re asking for your help–if you want your writer’s group listed in our collection of links, please drop us a line: editor (at) freelance (dash) zone (dot) com.

We would love to feature your favorite writer’s group in your state. Get in touch with all the pertinent details, including where and when your group meets, whether there’s a membership fee, and what writers are served best by your group–fiction, newspaper, blog writers, technical writers, etc.

Again, there’s plenty of exposure to go around–our writers groups by state sections are by far the most popular pages on Freelance-Zone.com, with literally hundreds of people finding them via Google search each and every day. Continue reading Writers Groups By State–Who Have We Missed? →

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Writers Groups By State

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Writers Groups By State

You might have noticed the little section in the upper right toolbar portion of our site titled Writers Groups By State. We’re nearly halfway done with the initial phase of this ambitious project, but we need your help to fill in the blanks. If you browse your state in the pulldown menu and don’t find your favorite writer’s group, we’d love to know about it. Please feel free to drop us a line and let us know what groups we missed! You can get in touch by writing editor (at) freelance (dash) zone (dotcom).

When the project is “finished” we’ll have all 50 states represented, but this work is truly never done as old groups retire and new ones spring up. Don’t miss the chance to promote yours here!