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Topic: Do you use your AvantGuild membership??
| Author | Message |
| MHNewell | Posted – 1/23/2008 7:28:02 PM | show profile | email poster Hello, I currently live in Washington, D.C., and have nearly five years of experience working on trade association publications (magazines, newsletters, Web sites, marketing materials, annual reports, etc.). I'm going to relocate to Boston this summer, so in the next six months, I want to work on building up my networking base so as to help my job search there. How helpful/useful do you find mediabistro.com's AvantGuild membership? Is it worth it? Do you think it can help in career networking? Any and all comments are most welcome! Thank you! |
| joyeuxnoelle | Posted – 1/23/2008 8:22:09 PM | show profile | email poster I'm not sure if my answer will help you, but I dont use my AG membership for networking; I use it for access to HTPs and other content about writing. I think mb promises a certain number of party invites per year for your city, but I'm not sure it would be worth it just for that. I live in far too remote a place to have ever taken that part very seriously. Hope this helps. |
| Astera | Posted – 1/23/2008 11:42:04 PM | show profile I mainly joined AvantGuild to get the discount on classes. I also like being able to access the HTPs and other special AG features on the site. I don't really care about the free magazine--New York may be an interesting magazine, but I live in California. Also, due to post office mishandling and poor magazine binding, I frequently receive only the cover of my magazine (no contents), or no magazine at all. So far, I have been quite pleased with the quality of MediaBistro's seminars and classes. I took a chick lit writing seminar with Kristin Harmel, and I was so impressed that I signed up for the full online course. It was totally worth it, because it really got me motivated and helped me plot out my entire novel. In fact, I'd even take the class again, because apparently, the only way I can get anything written is if I have an externally imposed deadline! I went to a couple of MB parties when I lived in NorCal, but they were just okay. Also, you don't have to be an AG member to attend some of the parties. If you're only interested in AG as a networking tool, you might be disappointed. But if you want to take classes or access special AG features on this site, it's worth it. ------ www.adventuresofastera.blogspot.com |
| Jen480 | Posted – 1/24/2008 12:35:30 AM | show profile I love accessing AG's "How to Pitch" section and also the "Video Pitch Slams." I'm also enjoying my free subs to Wired and New York, by the way. |
| joyeuxnoelle | Posted – 1/24/2008 2:14:12 AM | show profile Jen 480, I just discovered the pitch-slams, dont they charge for those. With the exception of one, they all cost money. Do you just pay for them? |
| MHNewell | Posted – 1/24/2008 11:32:59 AM | show profile | email poster Thank you, thank you, everyone! Your comments are definitely helpful. I figure $80 for two years isn't a bad deal, considering the resources you gain, especially the "How to Pitch" section. I want to build up my freelancing portfolio in the next six months, in case I'm struggling to find work in Boston and relying on freelancing. Thanks again! |
| rhino writer | Posted – 1/24/2008 1:19:15 PM | show profile I use "How to Pitch", which I think is a great section. When I joined, there was a deal to get Amazon credit, so I considered that as money off. I also cancelled both magazines, saving another 20 bucks. So I think I got a deal. But networking? Not so much. |
| Jen480 | Posted – 1/24/2008 7:30:39 PM | show profile As far as I know they're free for AG members. |
