Hi, everyone. My name is Nanci Race and I am the chapter PRO liaison. PRO is for RWA ® members who have submitted at least one completed manuscript, but are not yet published. PRO focuses more on the business side of writing rather than on craft.

To join PRO, members must provide proof that they have completed a romance manuscript and that they have submitted the manuscript to a publisher in which the author does not participate financially in the production or distribution of the work or literary agent. The process is easy and the rewards are great. The application for PRO along with directions for applying can be found on the RWA ® website www.rwanational.org under the PRO listing.

Why join PRO? What are the benefits? This following article written by Carrie Lewis (reprinted and posted with permission from the author) is helpful to anyone who wants to know The Perks of Being PRO. If you need any help with the application or are looking for more information, feel free to contact me at NanciRace@cr-rwa.org

Here's a list of CR-RWA PRO Members:

The Perks of Being PRO
By Carrie Lewis

Despite my background in Journalism, when I joined the TRW almost a year ago I still had no idea there was so much more to learn about the business of fiction writing. Each month has brought insights and “ah ha!” moments and inched me closer to that dream of writer superstardom Nora Roberts has shown us it is attainable.

Even before I joined, I had a pleasing stack of non-descript rejection letters. It took me many months to realize that this pile of seemingly negative correspondence was my ticket to even greater pearls of wisdom. PRO status is more than the fancy pin and brief write up in the newsletter. PRO status opens many doors, cyber as well as real life. RWA has about 1,900 PRO members approximately half of which participate in the online Bootcamp loops which occur two or three times per year.

PRO status means that you have submitted at least one completed manuscript to an RWA recognized publisher, but have not yet been published. The goal of “PRO-dom” is to enhance communication between the unpublished writers and publishing professionals—to help you achieve your writing goals and dreams.

Think of your writing career as that first scary venture onto the diving board. The steps to the diving board are like joining RWA and your local chapter, the walk across the diving board are the PRO steps, and the final plunge is that glorious moment of publishing (ahem…diving) triumph.

PRO status makes that plunge easier and smoother by giving you access to the people and ideas to help polish your writing and keep your finger on the steady pulse of the ever-changing publishing industry. I know there are likely many benefits that I have yet to uncover. Since I am new to PRO myself, I am still in discovery mode. But as I unearth the perks and privileges of “PRO-dom”, I will share them with you here in this column. The benefits I have discovered so far:

1. PRO-Org loop: a community of other PRO status writers who help each other out by cheering when there is a success, and offering cyber drinks when there's a rejection. You can ask questions and advice on anything. One writer needed information on Elvis's home, and several people on the loop had been on the tour and offered specific information. Others offer tips on the agents and editors with whom they have communicated. Among the chatters are published authors who haven't yet received PAN status because their books don't bear the seal of an RWA recognized publishers. But benefits of their experiences are yours for the taking!

2. Newsletter: Similar to our own romANTICS newsletter, the PRO writers have their own publication called PROspects. The articles are customized to the writer hovering on the edge of that diving board and includes things like:

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