By Cheryl Rushing

Image by churl via Flickr

When my favorite writers group splintered last year, I went looking for a new group.  A new one had been created from my old one, but it met too far away.

The same state association also created another group that meets in my area, but it didn’t have the same feel for me as the first one.  I then tried a different association, but it was also far away.

Most of these associations focused on book authors, something I do not believe that I am.  I have books in various stages of work, but nothing complete and I don’t know if that will ever happen to me.

I met with my friend and mentor, Lisa Wroble, last year, and she told me that she was a part of the Florida Freelance Writers Association.  I had never heard of it, but she told me about the group, and I thought it was worth looking into.

The group doesn’t have any meetings, but they have a ton of resources.  I joined online and got a (non-canned) confirmation e-mail and then a big packet of paperwork in the mail that included press credentials (!!) and the last 4 issues of the national and state association newsletters.

I decided not to renew my memberships to the other two state associations, which paid for this membership.  Already I’m impressed by what I’ve learned from the newsletters, and the amount of resources they provide.  I’ve only had the new packet less than a week.

I highly recommend Florida Freelance Writers Association.  If you decide to join, please let them know Cheryl Rushing referred you!