Judging from last month’s President’s Post, this current one could have been funereal in its announcement. In that July post I called upon members to nominate people (including themselves) who they felt qualified to serve as IWOC President or on the Board of Directors. I also called for volunteers who could lend their talents and skills to serve on any of our committees. I warned that having these positions remain unfilled will sound the death knell for IWOC. To ensure everyone “got the message,” I repeated that entire Post in a follow-up eblast to members. The response: Crickets. 

Time to face reality: IWOC simply can’t continue to 

exist if there’s no one managing and minding the store. Most of our officers, directors and committee volunteers have each been serving continuously for the best part of a decade. We are all, quite frankly, spent. Fresh blood is needed. None is pouring forth. 

Piling onto that, consider this: 

• Our membership is declining (we’ll gain one member, lose two); 
• Younger people are flocking to online writer groups;
• Our Writers Line Job Board is on life support; 
• Clients seeking to hire freelance writers are looking to our competition: LinkedIn, Fiverr, etc. Or they’re “hiring” AI. This all hurts on a personal level, because I’ve always promoted IWOC with the idea that I owe my career to this organization. It’s true. For over 3 decades, that is how the majority of my clients found me. Lately? Not so much. I could be wrong, but I’m considering myself a bellwether.
• Attendance at in-person meetings averages 15 people, half of which are usually Board members. (You may ask, “Why not Zoom?” We get pushback when it’s suggested, as most people stress the importance of face-to-face interaction.) 
• When I sent out a simple 2-question survey in April asking how much work members have gotten through IWOC and how many have listened to the podcasts in the past two years, only 15% of the membership responded. Of those, most indicated they had not gotten work nor listened to the podcasts.

Not exactly signs of an organization on the upswing. So what do we do now? Wind IWOC down and allow it to go gently into that good night? How very sad!

But here comes the Good News...

Serendipitously, IWOC was recently invited to join a larger, dynamic organization with similar goals to our own. Here's the skinny:

This past March, Gary Young, president of our sister organization, Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC), contacted me. He explained that IWOSC had been in a situation much like ours: a few people (primarily Gary and vice president Steve Sanchez) doing all the work for several years, with no one to whom they could pass the baton. He then said that last year IWOSC was invited to merge with Writers and Publishers Network (WPN), while keeping IWOSC’s own identity. The IWOSC merger was made official in March and WPN’s logo reflects that. 

After singing the praises of how the merger is now serving IWOSC members, Gary mentioned how he and WPN’s president Kathleen Kaiser discussed possibly bringing IWOC on board. They both were excited about the prospect of how IWOC, with its mission of catering to freelance writers, could add to the WPN/IWOSC coalition and in turn, how the coalition could serve IWOC’s members. It would be a win-win...win. During our conversation, Gary put the suggestion to me that IWOC consider joining the consortium.

I presented the idea to the IWOC Board of Directors and the Board recommended we explore the possibility of such a merger.

The good news: IWOC can survive! Not in the manner to which we’re accustomed. No doubt there would be changes. But members would be served in more ways than they could if we were to continue in our present state. The board directed a committee of myself, our vice president George Becht, and our Treasurer Brent Brotine to meet with WPN/IWOSC to discuss the merger possibility. The three of us met with Young, Kaiser and other WPN Directors. 

In two separate but lengthy Zoom meetings, we aired our questions, concerns, and opinions, discussing all the details of what a merger would involve. To the best of my ability, I’ve summed it up in the following paragraphs.

Now consider all this:

• First, who is WPN? They are a non-profit organization whose mission is “to provide education, information, resources and a supportive networking environment” for small business owners interested in the publishing process and for creative individuals, whether they are authors, freelance writers, or artists. Based in California, they are international in scope. Combined with IWOSC, they are 600+ members strong, with a contact list of 8,000+. WPN’s committees are staffed with volunteers who are extremely active and proactive, whether it involves programming, social media, PR, and more. Their newsletter is chockful of information and kept vibrant with columns contributed by different members. Plus, they are able to attract industrious volunteers to do all the administrative work it takes to keep an organization flowing.

• So what does that mean for us Chicago writers/freelancers? For one thing, it means access across the calendar year to a wide variety of programs, webinars, seminars and networking opportunities mostly held on Zoom and that cover an equally impressive variety of topics. All presented by top speakers hailing from around the globe. 

• The benefits are a two-way street. WPN/IWOSC has largely catered to authors and publishers. But many of their members are freelance writers, and that’s where IWOC comes in. What IWOC will bring to the party is the whole freelance aspect, where we will share the assets that have enabled us to live up to our two-pronged mission: 1) To help writers succeed in the arena of freelance writing and 2) To be a go-to resource for clients in search of skilled, professional writers. Those assets exist on IWOC’s website, essentially all of which will be migrated into what will eventually be the WPN/IWOSC/IWOC website. Such as:
  

o    Most importantly, our Online Directory. All our members’ profiles, specialties, etc. will be listed on the merged website. It will also include WPN’s and IWOSC’s freelance members. And because WPN has such a wide reach, with exposure across the nation and world, the potential for job opportunities for all members can grow exponentially. 

o    All of IWOC’s meeting podcasts will be migrated, so you’ll still have access to those.

o    All of IWOC’s Stet newsletters will be migrated, including all archived issues.

o   Other than anything redundant or outdated, all handouts, links and resources (contract templates, surveys, etc.) will be migrated.

• “What happens to IWOC’s website?” It will still exist, but when visited, will point to what will be the WPN/IWOSC/IWOC site, which will feature a “Chicago Chapter” tab. 

• "Does all this mean IWOC’ers will never meet in person? No meetings? No (gasp!) parties?” Well my friends, that will depend on – yup – whoever volunteers to arrange those right here in the Windy City. I will be stepping down from my IWOC presidency, but I am considering being on a Program Committee. Care to join me? The good news is, all the administrative work that goes along with planning programs will be taken care of by WPN’s various committees.

• What happens to the IWOC fee you’ve already paid? That would transfer over to WPN/IWOSC/IWOC. When it comes time to renew your membership, you’ll pay $65 for renewals. 

• What about a WPN/IWOSC/IWOC logo? It’s a work in progress. For now, WPN has incorporated IWOSC into their logo. IWOC will be included when we join the coalition and other logo designs will be explored.

• When will the transition take place? It’s a complex process. Tons of details. It took IWOSC approximately 9 months to complete, and areas are still being worked out. Fortunately much has been learned in carrying out IWOSC’s transition which will help ours move along more smoothly and perhaps in a shorter period of time. Even so, expect about the same time for our transition to be complete.

• In the meantime and throughout the transition, IWOC will continue business as usual with programs, parties, etc. In the upcoming Annual Meeting on September 10, membership will vote on the new slate for the 2024-25 Board of Directors. For continuity’s sake, I will remain acting as President until the merge is complete, at which point I will be stepping down and all presidential duties will be handled by WPN President Kathleen Kaiser.  

• Should we merge, will we still have a presence at Printers Row Lit Fests in the future?  Yes! But under the WPN/IWOSC/IWOC banner. Kathleen Kaiser is particularly excited about personally flying in and partaking in that.

No doubt you have questions, concerns and opinions. To address all of them, we will be holding a Zoom meeting for members on Tuesday, August 20 at 6:30pm. Stay tuned for details and the Zoom invitation to register. 

On July 31, IWOC’s Board of Directors voted to proceed with the merge. Now it’s your turn to vote.

Before our program (“Writers Roundtable”) begins on September 10, and in addition to voting on the Board of Directors slate, we will be putting the merge up for a vote by the membership. We urge you to attend. If you cannot, you can vote by proxy, vesting in me the power to deliver your vote. Proxy emails will be sent to all members. 

What will happen if the members vote against the merge? We may make a last ditch effort to call for volunteers to populate the various committees and for people to fill the roles of IWOC president and other officers. If we get the same kind of response we did the first time around, then we will begin measures to dissolve the organization. All our resources -- podcasts, profiles and more -- will vanish into the sunset.

I know this news may come as somewhat of a shock to many of you. I, too, feel it would have been optimal for IWOC to continue on and thrive as it did in its storied past. But times have changed. IWOC has changed. And considering the alternative – going belly up altogether, the Board has come to the decision that this is the most fruitful way to keep IWOC alive, maintain and expand its resources, and serve its members to an even more fulfilling degree.

Thank you for reading this far. I hope you’re as excited as we are about this new lifeline presented to IWOC. From what I gathered in the talks we’ve held with WPN and IWOSC, you’ve every reason to be.

Look for the Zoom Q&A meeting invitation. And plan to be involved in IWOC’s Future.

-- Laura Stigler