EFA members are all freelancers experienced in a wide range of professional skills, subject areas, and media. Here is a list of editorial services that our members offer.

The EFA is a national organization, headquartered in New York City, whose members live and work all over the country and in over a dozen nations abroad.

As a member you will receive discounts on our courses designed to build and enhance editorial skills; exclusive access to our newsletter and our acclaimed Discussion List, where members share their vast experience and knowledge about the business of freelancing, tips on “fixing” knotty language problems, and suggestions for skill improvement; early notice of new publications written by and for editorial freelancers; access to networking meetings and speaker presentations; access to our Job List service; and special prices on Shake Law, PerfectIt, and other indispensable resources.

Although it isn’t a prerequisite to have an extensive editorial career to join, we do recommend that you have some professional experience or training as a writer, proofreader, editor, or the like before joining. For suggestions on gaining editorial skills, see this page.

By all means. Many of our members belong to other professional associations—a strategy that offers additional networking and educational opportunities. At the same time, many members of other organizations find that the EFA offers things that those others don’t, so they join the EFA. From time to time the EFA holds joint programs with other associations, which often gives people the chance to explore other career opportunities in the freelance world.

The EFA supports many of the organizations that have the resources to serve as advocates for their members, including the Authors Guild, ASJA, and the National Writers Union. In the Resources section of this website, the EFA offers the Code of Fair Practice, published originally by the Freelance Editorial Association, which merged with the EFA in 2000. The EFA does not offer legal support to members, nor does it support any political causes.

Discounted rates on healthcare services, including dental, are available through third-party providers for EFA members in some areas of the United States.

You can join for one year for $145 or for two years for $260 (a savings of $30).

Contact info@the-efa.org if you would like to cancel your membership prior your expiration date. Requests for refunds when cancelling membership are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Membership begins the month you join and ends twelve months later. That is, it runs from the date you joined to the end of that month of the following year (or second year, if you joined for two years).

No. EFA membership is open to individual freelancers for mutual support and advancement. To help keep dues low for all, we have individual memberships only—no group, joint, or company-level memberships. Each employee must have their own account.

Guest accounts are for those who would like to take a course or webinar, but are not ready to become members of the EFA. Also, guests can receive emails announcing new courses and webinars. For anything else, including getting discounted or free webinars and courses, membership is the way to go.

Clients: Please note that becoming a guest is not part of the job ad submission process.

Log in first. Then click the “upgrade” link on your My Account page, or click here.

Details about healthcare discount plans available to members are here: Healthcare Plans. For specific information on a plan, contact that plan’s administrator. The plans are administered for the EFA, but not by the EFA.

General guidelines on rates and rate ranges are available in the Resources section, under Editorial Rates.

See the Contact page.

Sign in to the website, then go to the My Account area, where you will find the Profile Editor. Tips on optimizing your profile for potential clients are available here.

When you are signed in to the website, go to the My Account area, where you will find the Profile Editor. There you can change all of your contact information. Thank you for keeping it up to date so that we can stay in touch.

See the instructions on the Discussion List page.

Using the Profile Editor in the My Account area, update your primary email address.

First, check that your primary email address is correct, using the Profile Editor in the My Account area, and that you have checked Yes in Profile Editor for receiving the Job List. If those are correct, see the FAQ below titled “I am not receiving EFA emails. What should I do?” Allow a few days for any changes to cycle onto or off of the mailing list. If these steps do not resolve the issue, contact info@the-efa.org. And meanwhile, you can always find the past four weeks’ active listings in the Job List archive.

You’ll find a link to the logos in the Member Area. Sign in for access.

Memberships can be renewed starting on the first day of the final month of your membership period (one year or two years). For example, if you join any time in January for one year, your renewal month will be all of the following January. Beginning on the 1st of your renewal month, a reminder message will appear on your My Account page with a link to the payment process. We will also send you a reminder email (with a link and instructions) on the 1st and, if you haven’t yet renewed, on the 21st of your renewal month. In addition, we send a hard copy reminder during the month with instructions for renewing on the site.

Your membership expires at midnight (Eastern) on the last day of your renewal month. Your membership is then in a 30-day grace period, so named because the $35 fee for late renewal is waived for 30 days. Although your membership has expired, you can still sign in to the website to renew. When you sign in, you’ll be shown a screen with links for renewing. Upon expiration, we send you an email notice (with a link and instructions for renewing). We also send a hard copy reminder about ten days later.

After the grace period, you can still renew by, first, signing in to the website, and then proceeding with payment. The $35 late fee will be added to your dues amount. This is sometimes called rejoining.

If you have questions about or difficulties with this process, please contact info@the-efa.org.

Your membership expiration date is shown on your My Account page under the Welcome area. The My Account page is accessible after you sign in.

If the email address you used with the EFA previously is still active, click the Sign In button at the upper right, then follow the steps to retrieve a lost password (you will actually set up a new password), and then log in. You will be prompted to rejoin via a link provided onscreen.

If you cannot sign in to this website, please contact info@the-efa.org. Include your full name and the email address you previously used with the EFA so we can best assist you.

Make sure that your selections for receiving the emails you want are correct in My Account > Profile Editor. Add info@the-efa.org and the EFA’s domain name, the-efa.org, to your address book or list of approved senders, or whitelist them, in your email program and with your spam filtering service or software. Check your spam, junk, promotions, trash, bulk mail, or similar folders in case EFA emails are being misdirected away from your inbox.

Click the Sign In box. You will find a “Lost your password?” link on the Login page.

Only members appear in the directory. Guest status allows you to register for EFA courses and webinars and receive occasional email from us. A member can create a full profile that includes a bio, editorial categories (skills, specialties, etc.), a resume, and a picture.  Only members have access to the Job List. If you would like to learn more about becoming an EFA member, please visit this page.