Become an ACES member

Dues for full members start at $55 a year

The American Copy Editors Society now offers multi-year and lifetime memberships in the full and associate member categories and a "rolling" dues cycle in all categories that gives new members a full 12 months (or longer) of membership from the month they join.

The one-year rate for full and associate members remains $55. The rates for the new extended memberships are:

  • $100 for two years (savings of $10)
  • $250 for five years (savings of $25)
  • $500 for 10 years (savings of $50)
  • $1,000 for lifetime

As a multiyear member you'll receive a nearly 10 percent discount and avoid any future rate increases during the length of your membership -- the longer your enrollment, the longer you keep today's low price.

Lifetime members never pay dues again and receive all the benefits of ACES membership while helping the society fulfill its mission of training copy editors and advocating their importance to the newsroom. ACES also provides members with opportunities to connect with other editors and have a voice in identifying issues important to copy editors.

The rolling dues cycle applies to all categories (full, associate, student and scholastic) and means that those who join ACES after March 21, 2004, will receive a full 12 months of membership, no matter what time of year they join. In the past, all memberships expired Dec. 31, regardless of when a member joined. Now, the dues cycle is similar to a magazine subscription, with the renewal date on the first day of your anniverary month.

For example, if you join ACES in June 2005, your membership will last until June 2006 (instead of ending Dec. 31, 2005), making you eligible for the member discount for the 2006 national conference, among other perks.

The rolling cycle also applies to the new two-, five- and 10-year options in the full-member category. The renewal date for active members who joined before March 21, 2004, will continue to fall on Dec. 31 each year.

Corporate memberships also are available. Click here to learn more.

Membership categories

Full members (voting)
$55 for one year
$100 for two years
$250 for five years
$500 for 10 years
$1,000 for lifetime

Working copy editors; managers in the journalism industry with a copy editing background; teachers of journalism; and retirees from these categories.

Associate members (nonvoting)
$55 for one year
$100 for two years
$250 for five years
$500 for 10 years
$1,000 for lifetime

People interested in but who have no professional background in copy editing; people engaged in public relations.

Student members (nonvoting)
$35/year

Students at accredited colleges and universities pursuing a course of study in communications.

Scholastic members (nonvoting)
$10/year

High school students pursuing coursework in journalism or working on a school publication.

Corporate memberships also are available. Click here to learn more.

Download or register online

ACES offers you two ways to become a member or to renew your membership.

USE OUR ONLINE FORM: Registering is simple and fast with our secure online form powered by FormSpring. Click here to get started

USE OUR PAPER FORM: If you prefer, ACES still offers our traditional PDF, which you can fill out on-screen, print and mail to us. Click here to download the membership form as an editable PDF.

2008 membership changes

ACES executive board expands full membership
beyond newspapers, magazines to all copy editors

In 2008, ACES has made a change. A big one, if all of the thought and discussion, editing and negotiating, that went into the decision are any yardstick.

The executive board has broadened the society's membership definitions in order to make full members -- with voting rights -- of copy editors working outside traditional journalism organizations.

It was a hard decision. Not because ACES hasn't had for years many editors from outside the world of newspapers and magazines as members. Not because the board didn't realize what copy editors in all fields have to offer the organization and all its members. Their help has been used over and over in conferences, in the newsletter, in being part of making ACES what it is.

New membership categories

Full (voting): Working copy editors; managers in the journalism industry with a copy editing background; teachers of journalism; and retirees from these categories.

Associate (nonvoting): People interested in but who have no professional background in copy editing; people engaged in public relations.

Student (voting): Students at accredited colleges and universities pursuing a course of study in communications.

Scholastic (nonvoting): High school students pursuing coursework in journalism or working on a school publication.

It was difficult because ACES was formed by and for newspaper people, as a result of problems in the newspaper business in the 1990s -- specifically, the American Society of Newspaper Editors report that led Merv Aubespin to initiate, and Pam Robinson, Hank Glamann and others to come together to found, an organization whose main goal was to strengthen the role of newsroom copy editors.

In 2008, the newspaper business faces an entirely different set of problems -- more profound and disruptive than ever before, regardless of how things turn out. The way we deliver news is changing and will continue to do so. That has led to changes in the roles of copy editors in journalism, and to many copy editors (including ACES members) leaving newspapers and magazines if not journalism itself, and to many students interested in copy editing looking at careers outside traditional print journalism.

As individuals, we can sit around and moan or we can look outside of ourselves for opportunities. As an organization, facing the same set of challenges, we can do the same.

Book publishing, trade and government publications, corporate communications, and online communications need the kind of editing copy editors can provide. Copy editors in those fields need training and professional nourishment. And ACES needs the people in those fields to show us all the opportunities that await talented copy editors.

At the same time, ACES remains an organization rooted in journalism and with a particular mission for newspapers. We are not in any way backing away from our decade-long mission to improve the training, visibility and respect of copy editors in newspapers, news magazines and related journalistic organizations.

   

ABOUT ACES

  • The American Copy Editors Society is a professional organization working toward the advancement of copy editors in newspapers, magazines, Web sites and other journalistic endeavors. Our aim is to provide solutions to copy desk problems through training, discussion and an awareness of common issues.

DOWNLOAD THE FORM

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIPS

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

  • One free individual entry in the ACES national headline contest and discounts on additional entries
  • A quarterly newsletter
  • Discount rates for the annual conference
  • A membership directory, enabling you to connect with others in the business
  • ACES lapel pin
  • Discount registration fees at SND conventions

ACES CALENDAR

  • Oct. 9, 2010: Regional workshop in Lincoln, Neb. LINK
  • Phoenix
  • March 17-19, 2011: Phoenix conference LINK

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