What is PRO membership?

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If you thought to yourself that PRO must be short for “professional,” then you are on the right track. Pro designation means you have taken a step beyond being a hobbyist. You have, in fact, written a novel, and you have taken the added step of submitting it to a publisher or a literary agent.

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According to the RWA web site the purpose of PRO is “to establish within the RWA framework a network of communication and support to effectively promote and protect the interests of romance writers in the areas between manuscript submission and publication, and enhance the channels of communication between those romance writers and publishing industry professionals.” The web site also points out that there are over 2000 RWA members who qualify as PRO. Within that group some have completed and submitted only one manuscript while others have sold their work but are not quite eligible for the Published Authors Network (PAN).

 

The Benefits of Pro

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The major benefit of PRO is that fellow members, editors, and agents all immediately know you have the capability of finishing a book, that you have the guts to submit it, and that you are taking other steps to become a serious writer.

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Local benefits include:

• Special sessions at the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference

• Being a part of the PRO list on the GRW web site.

• Excellent promotion opportunity through being able to link to your web site or blog from that list for only $10 a year. Send an e-mail to PROLiaison@georgiaromancewriters.org for more details.

How to Become a PRO

 

In order to become PRO you must satisfy the following criteria:

• You are not PAN-eligible.

• You have completed a single romance novel of 40, 000 words or more not including short stories, poetry or novellas.

• You have submitted your work to a literary agent or a non-Subsidy/non-Vanity romance publisher.

Once you have determined that you have met that criteria, you need to

1. Go to the RWA website and print out an application

2. Mail completed application, a copy of your completed manuscript (paper or CD), and one of the following:

   • Electronic or paper copy of correspondence from any RWA-eligible agent or a non-Subsidy/non-Vanity publisher that acknowledges they received your work or reviewed it.

   • A copy of the signature page of a contract for the sale of a romantic work that would not make you PAN-eligible.

   • OR proof that you mailed your manuscript with the addressee indicated.

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Questions? Contact the PRO liaison at: PROLiaison@GeorgiaRomanceWriters.org

If you are a PRO member of GRW, and would like to be included in this list, or if you are already on this list and would like your website address included, please send an email with the name you want listed, and the website address, to webadmin@georgiaromancewriters.org.

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Our PRO Members

 

Peggy Anderson

Colleen Baxter

Victoria Bromley

Marielle Browne

Darlene Buchholz

Christina Crayn

Kimberly Castle

Darcy Crowder

Vicki Dabney

Brenda Davis

Debra Davis

Carrie Deem

Kasey Dillard

Marilyn Estes

Diane Ferguson

Melora Francois

Tiffany Griffith

Maureen hardegree

Ann Harris

LaShon Hill

Robin Hillyer-Miles

Sia Huff

Olga Jackson

Kelly Larivee

Heather Leondard

Lainey Marshall

Mary Oldham

Crystal Ramos

Deborah Reece

Dianna Shuford

Linda Strother

Anne Sullivan

Pam Trouy

Becke Turner

Kerrie Turner

Pamela Varnado

Beth Warstadt

A.M. Wells