INDEPENDENT WRITERS OF CHICAGO

What INDEPENDENT WRITERS OF CHICAGO does

Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC) is a private, nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2011 and headquartered at 1101 Davis St. #1006, Evanston, Illinois, serving freelance writers in the Chicagoland area. The organization describes itself as the premier resource for professional independent writers and operates as a two-sided marketplace connecting its dues-paying writer members with employers seeking writing services. Its stated reach extends beyond the region, with members serving clients worldwide across business, professional, technical, journalistic, and creative domains.

IWOC's core offering is a membership program built around three principal products: a searchable member database ("Find a Writer") that lets employers locate writers by expertise; a free online job board where employers post writing assignments for members; and a members-only job search resources library. Supporting infrastructure includes the Stet blog, an open content channel for IWOC news and freelance-writing business advice, an annual summer event (IWOCFest), regular meetings with guest speakers, member testimonials, and a gift membership program. All of these run on the Wild Apricot membership management platform, with standard social-login identity options (Google, Microsoft, Apple).

The organization's revenue model is straightforward and singular: annual membership dues paid by freelance writers for access to the member directory, job board, networking events, and professional development resources. Employer-side services are provided free of charge, with no disclosed advertising, sponsorship, or transactional revenue streams. Governance is handled by an elected structure of officers, board, and committees, with no external investment, parent company, or public-market affiliation indicated in the source material. The firm operates with approximately 7 employees and is not pursuing venture, growth, or exit-style monetization.

Name

INDEPENDENT WRITERS OF CHICAGO

Legal name

Independent Writers of Chicago

Website

https://iwoc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Independent Writers of Chicago is a nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2011 serving Chicagoland-area freelance writers through annual dues, providing a searchable member database, job board, networking events, and professional development resources to connect members with employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Writer Association

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAJAI

Ghostwriting & Collaborative Writing Services

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Self-Publishing Platforms & Author Services

Keywords

• Freelance writer network
• Professional writing association
• Writer job board
• Writer member directory
• Freelance writing community

Headquarters

HQ city

Evanston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: IWOC generates revenue through annual membership fees from freelance writers. Members gain access to the job board, member website directory, professional resources, networking events, and a searchable database for employers seeking writers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC) operates a paid membership program for freelance writers in the Chicagoland area, granting members access to a member directory listing, exclusive job search resources, networking events (including the annual IWOCFest), and the Stet blog. For employers, IWOC provides a searchable Find a Writer directory of professional members and a free online job board where organizations can post writing assignments to qualified freelance writers.

Product overview

Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC) is a professional membership organization for independent and freelance writers, not a software product company. Its core offering is a suite of services organized around a membership program: a searchable member database through which employers can find writers matching their needs; a free-to-use job board where employers post writing assignments; and an exclusive job search resource library for members. These are supported by the Stet Blog content channel and a member testimonial and event calendar infrastructure, all running on Wild Apricot membership software.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IWOC Membership Program A paid annual membership program for professional independent writers in the Chicagoland area, providing members with a directory profile visible to employers, members-only job search resources, access to IWOC events (including IWOCFest), peer networking, and the Stet blog.
• IWOC Member Database (Find a Writer) A searchable directory of IWOC professional writer members that lets employers find writers whose areas of expertise and specialties match their writing needs; free for employers to use.
• IWOC Job Board (Post a Job) An online job board where employers post writing assignments through a free online form, with postings viewable by IWOC's professional writer members; designed for businesses seeking writers for freelance or project work.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Freelancers Union: Large national membership organization for independent workers including writers, designers, and consultants. Comparable membership-based model for freelancers but vastly broader scope and scale than IWOC's writer-focused regional niche.
• The Authors Guild: Oldest and largest professional organization for published authors in the US, providing advocacy, contract review, and member benefits. Comparable as a professional writers' association but skewed toward book authors rather than freelance commercial writers.
• Upwork: Global online freelance marketplace connecting businesses with freelance writers and other professionals. Competes with IWOC for the "find a freelance writer" workflow at a much larger scale, but operates as a broad digital platform rather than a curated professional community.
• Contently: Content marketing platform that connects enterprise clients with vetted freelance writers and content creators. Functionally overlaps with IWOC's employer-facing directory but targets larger enterprise content programs and operates at national/international scale.

Direct peers

• National Writers Union: Labor-style union for freelance writers providing contract advice, grievance support, and member benefits. Compares to IWOC as another professional membership body serving freelance writers, though with a more advocacy-oriented value proposition.
• Editorial Freelancers Association: National professional membership organization for freelance editors, writers, and other editorial professionals. Directly comparable to IWOC in structure: paid membership, member directory, job board, and professional development resources — but operating at a national scale rather than regional.
• American Society of Journalists and Authors: Long-established national professional organization for independent journalists and nonfiction writers. Functions as a membership-based professional association offering directories, advocacy, and resources — same fundamental model as IWOC but for journalists specifically and at national scope.

Others

• Copyblogger: Online education and content marketing resource for writers and content marketers. Comparable in serving the freelance writing community through educational content, though more as a content/publishing brand than a membership-based professional organization like IWOC.

Emerging players

• MediaBistro: Job listings and community site for media professionals, including writers, editors, and content creators. Overlaps with IWOC's job board and networking function, with comparable membership/job-posting economics.

Regional players

• Pacific Northwest Writers Association: Regional writers' organization serving the Pacific Northwest with conferences, contests, and member resources. Direct structural peer to IWOC in being a regionally-focused professional writers' association, but more focused on book authors and literary writers than commercial freelancers.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-writers-of-chicago

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about INDEPENDENT WRITERS OF CHICAGO