Home page  |  Membership  |  Authors  |  Awards  |  Support Us  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

Who Can Join?

The Word Guild has three categories of membership:

---

Member Benefits

• Connection with like-minded people who provide professional, emotional, spiritual, and prayer support.
• A free moderated on-line forum for discussion of writing issues and exchange of information. You can post your writing-related questions, benefit from the input of other members and respond to others' questions. In addition, the moderator will post topics to generate discussion.
• Interest groups to discuss issues unique to various genres will be formed if there are sufficient numbers. e.g. poets, novelists, journalists.
• Support for developing local writers' groups.

• Annual writers' conference. $20 discount for Guild members.
• One-day or evening workshops led by experienced instructors. Discount for Guild members.
• Free subscription to Exchange, a quarterly newsletter for writers who are Christian.
• Manuscript critique service.
• Marketing advice.

• Guild updates with member news, coming events, marketing tips, etc.
• Access to The Word Guild Web site with information, job postings, chats, links, lists of local groups, resources, etc.

Long-Term Impact

• The satisfaction of supporting, promoting and developing other Canadian writers who are Christian by your participation in the association.

• An opportunity for writers and editors to promote their skills and services in a directory that will be sent free to at least 150 editors, publishers, communications directors, and other potential buyers of writing and editing services in Canada.
• Opportunities to join with other published members in cooperative promotional events such as book signings, public readings, etc.
• Authors promoted through a catalogue of books on the website and at promotional events.
• Moral and practical support in situations of infringement of writers' rights or freedoms.
• Cooperation with other organizations to increase visibility and actively promote Canadian writers who are Christian.

---

Professional Directory

The Word Guild Directory of
Writers and Editors who are Christian

Get listed. Get known. Publicize your skills and services.

Picture it – someone needs a writer to cover a local story, to develop a media release or write a book about a non-profit organization. Immediately, that person reaches for The Word Guild directory.

Now is your chance to get your name listed in our directory of professional writers and editors who are Christian. You can put your name and qualifications on the desks of at least 150 editors, publishers, communications directors and other potential buyers of writing and editing services. And you can add names to our distribution list. We hope to put the directory on the web site at a later date.

Employers will come to rely on the directory because the professionals listed in it have met specified criteria of experience.

Professionals who list in similar directories, such as those of the editors' and indexers' associations, report that a listing is a good tool for acquiring new clients.

The directory is also an invaluable tool to find and network with other writers and editors who live in your area or who share similar interests.

Click here to see a sample entry. (A new window will open.)
Each entry gets half of a 5" x 8.5" page.

To get your free entry, download this form [requires free Acrobat Reader software] and mail it to this address.

---

Professional Members Assessment

To qualify as a professional member in The Word Guild, you must have a sufficient body of work. Any combination of the following that totals 50 points qualifies you for professional membership.

Note: works cited in the professional membership application must have been published / produced / performed (i.e. works in progress don't count).

Print periodical articles, stories, reviews, columns:
1 point per 500 words published
(e.g. a 2,000-word article equals 4 points)

Major writing projects:
10 points each
(e.g. manuals, promotional campaigns, government reports)

Radio or television documentaries, plays, screenplays:
1 point per 5 minutes of performance time

Published books of less than 40,000 words:
15 points each

Published books of more than 40,000 words:
25 points each

Poetry
2 points for every poem published in a paying market
(1 poem per issue of a publication)

Editing
1 point for every four hours of paid editorial work

Other
May be allowed at the discretion of the membership committee
Send an inquiry describing your experience.

All professional membership applications are subject to peer review.

To apply for a professional membership in The Word Guild, you will need a copy of our professional assessment form. [requires free Acrobat Reader software].

---

The Word Guild – Statement of Faith

In order to become a member of The Word Guild you must agree with this Statement of Faith, which is based on The Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
* the whole or universal church - not any one denomination

---

Membership dues

Professional membership: $101.65 per year ($95 plus $6.65 GST).
Associate or affiliate membership: $63.13 per year ($59 plus $4.13 GST).

Note: Although membership and conference dues can be used as business expenses, The Word Guild can only issue tax-deductible receipts for donations.

Application form

If you would like to apply to become a member of The Word Guild, please download and fill out this application form [requires free Acrobat Reader software].

Questions or comments about this site? Send e-mail to sandy@thewordguild.com