Gather Your Documentation

Membership Documentation

When you fill out the form to apply, you’ll be asked to upload documentation that shows you qualify for the membership level. Failure to provide correct documentation may significantly delay your application or result in rejection. If you’re unsure whether you have the right documentation, contact our Membership Committee via email.
No Documentation is required for Supporting Ally membership. Applicants for all other levels must provide documentation of their qualifying sales to complete the application process. You must have received payment for the work and provide documentation that links the payment to a specific title.

Documentation may include, but is not limited to:

True and correct copies of royalty, advance or one-off payments from publishers.
Sales records received from third party book distributors (e.g. copies of Excel payment records copies of web pages showing sales and payment records)
Payment processor or shopping cart records for direct book and ebook sales.
Other sales or financial records, which are customary in the publishing industry.

Note:

Payment received: To qualify, the work must be published and payment received, or, if not yet published, payment for future publication must have been received.
Contracts: A contract without documented payment is not sufficient.
Sales: Documentation must be able to show sales are tied to a specific title(s).
Royalties: Documentation must clearly show the title of your work, your publisher, and the royalties your work has generated. Acceptable documentation for royalties include a royalty statement from your publisher or proof of payment (e.g. a scan of a check) and an e-mail or letter from your publisher confirming the total royalties paid.
Self-published works: To qualify for HWA membership on the basis of earnings from a self-published work, you must provide documentation of earnings paid by a self-publishing venue, such as Amazon.com, that meet the required sales thresholds within the first two years of publication.
Collaborative Works: Since there is no reliable way of determining who contributed what to a collaborative work, every writer whose name appears as author of any qualifying collaborative work shall be permitted to claim that work as fully their own for the purpose of Active membership, so long as no more than three authors are listed. No collaboration listing four or more authors shall be accepted as a membership credential. Up to three authors may be admitted to Active membership for the same qualifying work.
Publisher Payments: The publication, publisher, or other entity making qualifying payments must pay the same qualifying rate to at least 90% of its contributors. This is necessary to avoid having applicants attain Active status through “traded” or other irregular sales at artificial rates

Acceptable Documentation:

Scan/photo/screenshot/copy of payment with scan/photo/screenshot/copy of corresponding contract.
Scan/photo/screenshot/copy of payment with scan/photo/screenshot/copy of corresponding publisher royalty statement.
Original Amazon KDP spreadsheets or spreadsheets from similar third-party platforms that show an itemized list of qualifying earnings by title and date.
Scan/photo/screenshot/copy of payments made to PayPal or other bank accounts. Payment must include your name and the title of the work. No other personal data is required, so blocking account numbers and other information is fine.

Occasionally Acceptable Documentation:

Emails detailing contract terms or payment.
Emails from publisher.

Unacceptable Documentation:

Screenshots of your book on Amazon or anywhere else.
Links to your book.
BookReport reports.
A list of your publications.
Any altered documentation.
Book sales made in person.
1099s.
Crowdfunding campaigns.

The HWA has established these minimum standards not only in the interest of maintaining credible professional standards for Active members, but to discredit by implication those publishers who attempt to define lower rates as professional. The HWA recognizes that while the aforementioned rates are professional, many of them are nevertheless quite low, and neither body wishes to suggest that such payments are, in fact, adequate for any purpose other than establishing standards for Active membership. The HWA further recognizes that part of the duty of HWA is to improve the working conditions of the artists who comprise its Active membership; therefore, it is obligated to establish firm minimums for Active status, for by failing to do so it would be encouraging to some degree those publishers who unfairly exploit writers.

To proceed to the specific documentation requirements for each membership level, click the link:

Supporting Ally
Associate Ally
Academic Ally
Affiliate Writer
Active Writer

Supporting Ally

A Supporting Ally does not need to provide any documentation to qualify.

If you have questions, email the Membership Committee.

Review the HWA Bylaws

How do you want to proceed?

I don’t qualify for this category. Return to the list of options.
I’m ready to apply.

Associate Ally

Learn about Documentation Requirements
Allies applying for this level should be able to show they are being paid for their services.

Documentation should include one or more:

Letterhead
Company brochure
Website URL

If you have any questions, please contact our Membership Committee via email.

Review the HWA Bylaws

How do you want to proceed?

Academic Ally

Learn about Documentation Requirements
Allies applying for this level should be able to provide proof of their affiliation, research, and/or publication with academia.

Documentation should include one or more:

Links to academic publications related to Horror or Dark Literature
Website listing academic affiliation
Syllabus for course related to Horror or Dark Literature

If you have any questions, please contact our Membership Committee via email.

Review the HWA Bylaws

How do you want to proceed?

Affiliate Writer

Learn about Documentation Requirements
Writers applying for this level should be able to provide proof of payment for one of the following for works of Horror or Dark Fiction.

Payment of at least $25 for short or long fiction in excess of 500 words The work must be published and payment received, or, if not yet published, payment for future publication must have been received.
Payment of $50 or more for a work of nonfiction, a role-playing supplement, a comic book script, a computer gaming script, or a theatrical play, in excess of 500 words.
Payment of at least $200 as a flat rate or from an advance or royalties of at least 1% or the retail price of the volume.for a traditionally published book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or translation of 40,000 words or more,
Payment of at least $200 within two years of a self-published work of at least 40,000 words.
Payment of at least $200 for a screenplay or an option for a screenplay.
Payment of at least $15 for at least three separate poems of at least 10 lines each. The works must have been published and payment received, or, if not yet published, payment for future publication must have been received.

Note:

Payment received: To qualify, the work must be published and payment received, or, if not yet published, payment for future publication must have been received.
Contract: A signed contract, in the absence of documented payment, is not sufficient.
Sales: Documentation must be able to show sales are tied to a specific title(s).
Writer payment: Payment refers to money paid to the writer, not the sales revenue earned by the external source (such as Amazon).
Self-published work: Self-published works may be used in qualifying for Affiliate status. Payments claimed must be made to the author from an external source such as Amazon and must be received within two years of the work’s original self-publication date. Payments used for qualification purposes are the earnings received from those outside sources, not the sales revenue earned by that outside source.
Single book: For both traditionally published and self-published works, the payment requirements are per book and are not cumulative across multiple books.
Serials: For works not published as independent volumes, such as magazine serials, qualifying rates shall be defined as one cent $.01 or more per word.

If you have any questions, please contact our Membership Committee via email.

Review the HWA Bylaws

How do you want to proceed?

Active Writer and/or Editor

Learn about Documentation Requirements
Writers or editors applying for this level should be able to provide proof of payment for one of the following for works of Horror or Dark Fiction.

Writers:

Payment of at least $.05 a word for three or more separate publications or sales of short works of fiction whose combined total length equals or exceeds 7,500 words.
Payment of at least $.05 a word for three or more separate publications or sales of articles, reviews, or translations whose combined total length equals or exceeds 7,500 words.
Payment of at least $2000 for a traditionally published book-length work of fiction, non-fiction, or translation of at least 40,000 words where the advance and/or royalties are 5% or more or payment of at least $5,000 where the advance and/or royalties are less than 5% but not less than less than 1%.
Payments of at least $2000, for a self-published book-length work of fiction, non-fiction or translation where payment is documented to have been received from an external source (such as Amazon) within two years of the work’s original self-publication date.
Payment of at least $5000 for a screenplay for a theatrical film related to the dark fantasy, horror, or occult genres and for which the writer received at least partial screenplay credit, or would have received such credit had the film been released.
Payment of at least $2000 for a stage play related to the dark fantasy, horror, or occult genres, for which the writer received at least partial credit, or would have received credit had the play been produced.
Payment of at least Writers’ Guild minimum at the time of sale for a television movie related to the horror or dark fantasy genres of at least ninety (90) minutes in length, or two episodic teleplays, each at least thirty (30) minutes in length, intended for broadcast on either a major network, in nationwide syndication, or on a major cable channel, for which the writer received at least partial screenplay credit, or would have received such credit had the teleplay been aired.
Payment of no less than $50 per page for the scripting of at least three full-length comic books with a minimum of 20 story pages per issue, or an equivalent in self-contained stories.
Payment of no less than $100 for writing and creating the artwork for at least three full length comic books with a minimum of 20 story pages per issue or the equivalent in self-contained stories.
Payment of no less than $30 per page or $700 per issue for scripting of a minimum of three creator-owned full-length comic books with a minimum of 20 story pages per issue. Comics must have a nationally-distributed print run of at least 5,000 copies.
Payment of no less than $60 per page or $1200 per issue for writing/illustrating a minimum of three creator-owned full-length comic books with a minimum of 20 story pages per issue. Comics must have a nationally-distributed print run of at least 5,000 copies.
The scripting within a one-year period of no less than three self-published or creator-owned full-length comic books with a minimum of 20 story pages per issue, or the equivalent in self-contained stories, relating to horror or dark literature, with a minimum print-run of 2,000 nationally-distributed copies per issue.
Payment of at least $.05 per word for writing three role-playing games, gaming modules, scenarios, sourcebooks, or other role-playing gaming projects related to horror or dark literature of at least 10,000 words each.
Payment of at least $.05 per word for writing one role-playing game, gaming module, scenario, sourcebook, or other role-playing gaming project related to horror or dark literature of at least 40,000 words.
Payment of $2,000 for scripting a computer game or a single work of interactive fiction intended for electronic media, related to horror or dark literature.
The writing of a computer game or a single work of interactive fiction related to horror or dark literature for electronic media without payment in advance, but with a paid circulation exceeding 1,000 copies, of which all or part of that payment has been received by the writer.
Payment of at least $.25 per line or $5 per poem for ten or more individual poems whose combined total length equals or exceeds 150 lines.
Payment of a professional level prize or honorarium of at least $50 for a bound or saddle-stitched poetry collection of at least 48 pages, excluding cover, title sheets, and end-pages with a print run of no fewer than 100 copies.
Payment from a single organization within a six month period of at least $2000 for full-time or part-time work for a minimum of six months as an employee or contractor writing fiction or nonfiction where the organization retains copyright. Work may be in the form of a periodical, online site, stage play, screenplay, comic book script, or game script.

Note:

Payment received: To qualify, the work must be published and payment received, or, if not yet published, payment for future publication must have been received.
Contract: A signed contract, in the absence of documented payment, is not sufficient.
Sales: Documentation must be able to show sales are tied to a specific title(s).
Academic presses: Recognized academic presses that do not pay advances will be considered acceptable credit for membership, provided the author can demonstrate proof of earned income within two years of a book’s release that equals advance amounts as specified in the requirements for Active membership
Combining categories: A writer may qualify for Active status by mixing and matching work from different categories. However, this is a complex matter requiring review by the Membership Committee on a case-by-case basis.
Self-published work: Self-published works may be used in qualifying for Active status. Payments claimed must be made to the author from an external source such as Amazon and must be received within two years of the work’s original self-publication date. Payments used for qualification purposes are the earnings received from those outside sources, not the sales revenue earned by that outside source.
Serials: For works not published as independent volumes, such as magazine serials, qualifying rates are five cents ($.05) or more per word.

Editors:

Payment of a flat fee of at least $2,000; or at least $2,000 from an advance and/or royalties of 5% or more or at least $5,000 from an advance and/or royalties of less than 5% but at least 1%.
Payment for at least six months of full time employment as an editor with at least 25% of responsibilities editing horror publications.
Payment of at least $2000 during one calendar year for editing horror publications in book, periodical, or online form.

If you have any questions, please contact our Membership Committee via email.

Review the HWA Bylaws

Gather Your Documentation

Membership Documentation

Acceptable Documentation:

Occasionally Acceptable Documentation:

Unacceptable Documentation:

Supporting Ally

How do you want to proceed?

Associate Ally

How do you want to proceed?

Academic Ally

How do you want to proceed?

Affiliate Writer

How do you want to proceed?

Active Writer and/or Editor

How do you want to proceed?

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