I am currently in three editors’ associations and I would be lost without them. If you are a freelance editor, I highly recommend that you at least join one and try it out for a year.
One fellow member of one of my associations recently posted on our message board about an editing opportunity of which she had learned recently. I made contact with the person whose name she had included on the post, and now I am going to have a phone interview with this person at 5:00 pm today (it is 3:39 pm as I type these words). Needless to say I am very excited.
I would have not found this opportunity had I not been a member of this particular association.
Need I mention how much associations convey a feeling of community for those of us who work alone and would feel very isolated otherwise?
I say again: Please, for your sake, spend the dues money and join at least one.