Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the Holiday Hiatus and are ready to embark on a year that holds much promise of good things to come. Amongst which is the merger between IWOC and the Writers and Publishers Network (WPN) that I’ve been writing about in a previous Stet issue.

I thought it high time to clue you in on where we currently are. While there

are still many details to work out, I would like to mention a few of the areas that have been discussed between WPN president Kathleen Kaiser and the IWOC merger team of IWOC VP George Becht, Treasurer Brent Brotine and yours truly. What has so far been agreed upon I believe will 1) stoke your enthusiasm and 2) allay any concerns.  Such as...

       

The WPN website. What IWOC will be bringing to the organization is our unique and invaluable mission of helping freelance writers succeed in their business. To that end, IWOC webmaster Roger Rueff is collaborating with WPN’s webmaster Lisa Angle in the redesigning of WPN’s website to include a section entitled “Freelance Writers Division.” This will incorporate all the features from IWOC’s website that are devoted to the IWOC mission, including:

• The Online Directory, where writers can list their specialties and areas of expertise.
• The “Find a Writer” feature, where potential employers can search out writers whose specialties/expertise match their needs.
• Such items from our Member Resources page as contract templates and presentation handouts.
• The Job Sites page, listing 50+ links to various Job Sites
• And more

Membership 

• If your IWOC membership is paid up, you will automatically be incorporated into WPN’s membership data base and continue to be included in the Online Directory. 
• At renewal time, you will pay a fee of $65. 
• Once renewed, any member who wishes to be included in the Online Directory will pay a small fee (TBD). There will be no limit to the number of specialties and areas of expertise you can list.
• If your IWOC membership has lapsed and you wish to join WPN/IWOC, you will pay a first-year fee of $85. Subsequent renewals will be $65. 

Meetings, Programs and Parties. The merger will mean you will be able to enrich yourself on more writing-related topics than ever, presented by speakers from around the world! Best of all... 

• All members will have access to all meetings, webinars, seminars, etc. – most of which will be held on Zoom and be recorded for later access. Depending on the format, these programs/meetings will be free for members or offered at a discounted rate. 
• Locally speaking, we would still like to continue in-person meetings here in Chicago, but this would be dependent upon venue availability. However...
• Coming up with program ideas that are targeted to freelancers will, of course, take volunteers who are willing to serve on the Program Committee. Details on that will be forthcoming.
• To keep up the camaraderie aspect that has endeared so many to IWOC, we hope to continue throwing our annual Spring, Summer and Holiday parties. 

It’s expected that the merger will be complete, website and all, by June of 2025. There is still much to be done, but much to look forward to. I will keep you posted as things progress.

In the meantime, wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Safe, Prosperous, Productive – and Exciting New Year!

-- Laura Stigler