That last acronym stands for the International Association of Business Communicators. Which may sound just jargon-y enough to make some folks in the audience want to run away–but if anyone here is thinking of doing any sort of nonfiction or article writing, or editing, or media relations, or PR, or business communications of any sort, it’s really worth checking these folks out.
I’ve found our local IABC chapter incredibly supportive and friendly and approachable and open to newcomers, and through the years I’ve worked with several clients that resulted from my contacts there. I especially like (though not all chapters have this) our freelance subgroup, which meets once a month over lunch just to share advice and successes and whine a little about challenges–the subgroup does a lot to break the isolation of freelancing, and help us all feel like was have actual colleagues.