Menu
Pricing
Okay, it’s useful and unique, and I learned a bunch in my free month. How much does membership cost?
Your first month of membership is free. We figure many people need that month to figure out if the workshop is worth paying for. Our costs are as low as we can make them, and we offer three membership plans:
Paid annually
Paid monthly
By purchasing a membership, you affirm that you have read and will abide by our Member Agreement (really, you should read it).
Your membership expiration date appears on your Dashboard page. Two weeks before your membership expires, we will send you a renewal reminder by email.
You can renew your membership by clicking on the link in that email or merely continuing with the type of membership you’d like on this page: you will be asked for your login information shortly!
If you purchase a membership before the end of your one-month trial, your paid membership will begin only after your free month—you won’t lose the free time.
Multiple memberships belonging to the same individual are not allowed.
We welcome the participation of professional agents and magazine/book editors in the Online Writing Workshop for SF & F. Professional memberships are offered free of charge. See Professional Memberships section for details.
More Ways to Support Us
Scholarship donations
Donate an extra $5 or more toward scholarships for active, review-contributing workshop members.
Our scholarship fund provides free memberships or financial aid to active, review-contributing members who cannot pay the full fee themselves—for example, dedicated members in countries where exchange rates and the local value of the U.S. dollar place our fee completely out of reach.
Gift memberships
Give another member a membership.
To pay online, use the “gift membership” buttons below, or send a check or money order. Note in the PayPal online payment form, or on the check or money order, that the membership is a gift and who it’s for (username or member name). Let us know if you want to remain anonymous. We will acknowledge your gift as well as notifying the recipient.
Bonus payment
If you feel that what you get from the workshop is worth more than 94 cents per week, tip us!
We agree that 94 cents per week ($49 per year) is a piddling sum. It’s the least we could charge and still expect to stay solvent. But we know that many members feel that the workshop is worth much more to them. So here’s your chance to award us with a bonus on top of your membership fee. 25% of any bonus payments go to our support staff, sort of like a tip for good personal service. The rest will be tucked away to keep us running!
Price & Value Comparisons
This table compares our workshop with other online learning opportunities for writers. We’ve included the links because we think when you compare, you’ll find the best value here. But if it’s someplace else, we wish you good luck.
How to Pay
You can send us payments via PayPal or through the mail with a check or money order.
Paypal
You can conveniently pay for your membership or make a donation via Paypal. To pay for a membership via paypal, see Pricing section and select a plan of your choice through your Dashboard. To make a donation via paypal, see More Ways to Support Us section above and choose your supporting payment of preference.
Checks
We accept checks drawn on U.S. banks only, made out to Online Writing Workshops. (Bigger banks outside the U.S. can issue you a bank check drawn on a U.S. bank.) We only accept 1-year membership payments using this method. Put “OWW-SFFH 1-year” and your username on your check.
Money Order
We accept U.S. and international money orders in U.S. dollars. (Post offices and some banks sell international money orders.) We only accept 1-year membership payments using this method. Put “OWW-SFFH 1-year” and your username on the money order.
Send $49* check or money order to:
Online Writing Workshops
229 Bradley’s Crossing Road, Stop 19
East Chatham, New York 12060 USA
*If you live in New York State, you need to pay sales tax (because we have to pay it to the state): your check should be for $52.92.
If you pay by PayPal, or money order, we will update your membership within three business days of receipt. If you pay by check, we will update your membership expiration date as soon as we receive your check and the check clears our bank. Clearing could take up to seven business days, so don’t wait until the last minute! Thanks for joining us! We appreciate your support.
Refunds
Refunds will be made, prorated by month, under certain very limited circumstances. Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds at the conclusion of membership periods. Refunds will be made at the sole discretion of the Online Writing Workshops staff. Use our contact form to request a refund, giving us your name, your username, and a clear explanation of why you are requesting a refund.
Professional Memberships
We welcome the participation of professional agents and magazine/book editors in the Online Writing Workshop for SF & F. Professional memberships are offered free of charge.
Because OWW's primary concern is to look out for the interests of our author members, we do have a few conditions upon your membership as an agenting professional:
If You Are an Agent
If you are an agent, you need to request a special free professional membership on letterhead via US Mail to our mailing address. Include the following information:
- Name of the agency
- How long the agency has been in business
- Agency membership in AAR?
- Location of the agency or main office of the agency
- Some recent sales (lengths, genres, authors, titles, publishers)
- Other services offered besides representing authors to publishers (manuscript reading for a fee, editing for a fee, manuscript preparation services, etc.)
- If you do offer other services, % of your agency's income that comes from those services and percentage that comes from commissions on sales to publishers
You are probably aware of the many scam artists calling themselves "agents," and can understand why we are interested in the credentials of your agency.
If You Are a Professional Editor
If you are a professional editor at a SFWA-recognized magazine or book publisher, send us the following information either by US Mail to our mailing address or via our contact form:
- Name of your publisher or publication
- How long you have worked/freelanced there
- How frequently you buy work from new authors in the SF/F field
Your OWW Member Directory entry must clearly state your professional status (editor, agent, manuscript reviewer, etc.) and who you work for. Contact information is allowed in your Member Directory listing as well. OWW will approve Member Directory entries from all professional members to ensure accurate representation.
We will eventually be adding to our site a listing of workshop members who are publishing professionals. If you apply for our professional membership, we will be displaying your member-directory entry in that list.
Any reviews you contribute must include the same accurate representation of your professional status as your Member Directory entry.
Reviews may not include direct solicitations to members (those may be made through e-mail to members who list their addresses).
Finally, if an author you are interested in has no listed email address, contact us and we will forward a message from you to the author.
As long as you are willing to comply with these simple requests and provide us with the information we need, you are welcome in the workshop. We are confident that you'll find a lot of great writing featured here! If you have questions, feel free to contact us.
OWW mailing address:
Online Writing Workshops
229 Bradley's Crossing Road, Stop 19
East Chatham, New York 12060 USA
Got Questions?
Let us know if you find a problem with the workshop, or just ask questions not answered on the site. We’ll try to get back to you within a few days—a week at the longest. If you’d rather email us directly, send a message to support@onlinewritingworkshop.com.