FAQs

General Questions

The Catholic Writers Guild (CWG) is an international organization of writers, editors, illustrators, and publishers who support each other in creating excellent Catholic works of writing. We offer education and support by communicating opportunities, chats, conferences, and more.

The Guild hosts an annual live conference and an annual online conference that include Catholic speakers on all aspects of writing, marketing, and publishing, plus mentorship, networking, and even pitch opportunities. Our chat room on the Heartbeat app includes dozens of threads on all aspects of writing, from sharing prayers and frustrations to getting marketing tips and learning about available writing jobs in the Catholic and secular spheres. We offer a program to vet Catholic books for adherence to the Magisterium as well as editorial quality. 

We’ve launched nearly a hundred writing careers and helped Catholic authors write hundreds of books from deep devotionals to light fiction. Our members form lasting friendships. In the Guild, we share a common purpose–the furthering of Catholic Arts & Letters–and we believe the only way to do that is to lift each other up as Catholics as well as writers.

You may download our CWG brochure for more information.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. More than 90% of our funding goes toward educational, networking, and promotional programs for Catholic authors and their sharing of Catholic values. Our dues are tax deductible. With few exceptions, all programs are volunteer-run.

  • The Seal of Approval: a program for getting your book evaluated and approved for its Catholicity. The Seal of Approval is a signal to Catholic bookstores that they can carry your book without concern about its content.
  • CWG Newsletter: We keep our members and supporters informed on what’s going on in the world of Catholic writing and in the Guild.
  • Critique groups: where you can work with others to improve your writing.
  • Group subscription to Animoto.com, so you can build promotional book trailers.
  • Discounts on writing and publishing products and services
  • Writing conferences: We produce two writers conferences per year. One is our Catholic Writers Conference Online, open to all writers Catholic and non-Catholic alike. The other is the Catholic Writers Conference Live, held in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN) Trade Show.
  • CWG Booth: At the CMN trade show (and sometimes other shows), we have a booth where members can promote their books to suppliers, bookstore owners, and readers.
  • Work opportunities: Sometimes publishers come to us with employment opportunities, which we post in the Facebook group. Several members have found regular writing gigs through the Guild.
  • Regular weekly chats: Open to the public, we pray, encourage each other and “listen” to engaging speakers on various topics related to our faith and writing.

You can take advantage of the many promotional programs we offer.

In addition, we have a variety of other programs for our members:

    • In Heartbeat, our private chat app, members can start up discussions on all aspects of writing, marketing, faith, social action, or just socialize.
    • Members and nonmembers can join our weekly chats to meet in a more spontaneous setting to ask questions, share news and pray.
    • Join in on one of the many volunteer opportunities:
      • Assist with the conferences
      • Become a reader for the Seal of Approval Program
    • Share market news.
    • Get your news on the CWG website.
    • Got an idea you can’t accomplish alone? Bring it up to the officers! All of our programs are member-generated.

Absolutely not! Most of our most active members are fiction writers and have found encouragement, information, and opportunities through the Guild. While it is true that most Catholic publishers concentrate on non-fiction, fiction is a growing field in Catholic circles, and the CWG has earned the trust of many of the top Catholic publishers. In addition, our online conference often hosts secular and Christian publishers seeking excellent, clean fiction.

The CWG is not a publishing house or a literary agency. However, we host pitch sessions with Catholic and some secular publishers and agents at our online and live conferences. Check under the Connect tab to see when they are happening and how to register. You will also find lists of publishers with websites on those pages, so you can go to their individual sites for submission information.

Membership

Everyone joins the Guild through our membership software, known as Heartbeat. Watch the video below or go to https://www.catholicwritersguild.org/membership and jump on in.

Even though the Catholic Writers Guild is a volunteer-run organization, there are still a lot of expenses, from hosting this website to paying for administrative or specialized services needed to run a large organization. We also use the money for promotional opportunities, like conference and trade show booths and free SoA stickers to member recipients. We also provide discounts on conferences and services that exceed the amount people pay in dues.

We have, on occasion, given memberships to those in financial hardships. We ask that those who get a free membership do some volunteer work for the Guild in return. We require a minimum of eight hours on a project. Contact us to learn more.

As the mission of the group is to support the Magesterium of the Church, writers need to be Catholic. However, we also recognize that the Catholic publishing field is narrow, while Catholic writers often write for non-Catholic Christian and secular publications. Therefore editors and publishers who are not Catholic but interested in joining are welcome, as long as they respect our Catholic beliefs and values.

We are also open to members who are of a religion that is in communion with the Catholic Church. These include:

  • Latin (or Roman) Catholic Church
  • Coptic Catholic Church
  • Eritrean Catholic Church
  • Ethiopian Catholic Church
  • Maronite Catholic Church
  • Syriac Catholic Church
  • Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
  • Armenian Catholic Church
    Chaldean Catholic Church
  • Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
  • Albanian Catholic Church
  • Belarusian Catholic Church
  • Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
  • Byzantine Church of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (or Križevci Catholic Church)
  • Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
  • Hungarian Greek Catholic Church
  • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church
  • Macedonian Catholic Church
  • Melkite Greek Catholic Church
  • Romanian Catholic Church
  • Russian Catholic Church
  • Ruthenian Catholic Church (also known as the Byzantine Catholic Church in America)
  • Slovak Catholic Church
  • Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Members include all those involved in the publishing industry: writers, editors, illustrators, and publishers. “Writers” includes bloggers, reviewers, and those just starting out in their writing either as a career or as a hobby.

No. We have writers at all levels–from those just starting out to those who are multi-published; novelists, magazine writers, bloggers… We’re a diverse group.

Yes. As our conference motto says, we “rooted in faith, writing for the world.” Most of our members write works that are not specifically Catholic. However, if you are writing works that go against the Catholic faith (including erotica), this is not the group for you. You must be a Catholic and agree to remain loyal the teachings of the Catholic Church.

  • You can get your book evaluated and approved for its Catholicity with the Seal of Approval (SoA). The SoA is meant to be a signal to Catholic bookstores that they can carry the book without concern about its content.
  • You can work with others to improve your writing in our critique groups.
  • Join one of the two writing conferences we host each year: the Catholic Writers Conference Online, a free conference, and the Catholic Writers Conference Live, held in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Network.
  • Promote your books at the CWG-sponsored booths at various conferences throughout the year.
  • Take advantage of the employment opportunities posted in our Heartbeat app. Several members have found regular writing gigs through the Guild.
  • Discounts on writing, publishing, and editing services.

Members can find a full list of benefits on Heartbeat under #member-bennies.

  • Pray for the Guild and its officers, volunteers, and members.
  • Donate to the Guild. Check out the donate button in the upper right corner of the website.
  • Join.
  • Volunteer to help in our many activities. Fill out the form and someone will contact you.
  • Let others know about the Guild. We have brochures we can supply you to take to conferences or booksignings or to pass to your friends. Word of mouth is always good as well!

The Guild does not have a formal mentoring program, but we do offer several opportunities:

  • Mentoring through the Association of Catholic Publishers: ACP is starting a new program. This is more for people interested in the publishing industry as a whole. Members can find the information in the Benefits Section on Heartbeat.
  • Individual Mentors: On occasion, a mentor comes to the Guild looking for a protege. We let members know through the newsletter or Heartbeat.
  • Unofficial mentoring and advice: Through Heartbeat, you will be able to talk with writers, editors, and illustrators at all levels of experience. We discuss everything from the technical aspects of the craft to the troubles of balancing writing in our everyday lives. We discuss faith, politics, parenting, and more. We even have a thread dedicated to shouting out our trials! And of course, there’s a prayer line.

Yes! We currently have active crit groups for sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, general fiction, and nonfiction, as well as dedicated discussion groups for non-fiction, historical fiction, mystery, and YA/MG children’s books. We run them through Heartbeat. To join, you need to be a current member and on Heartbeat. From there, ask @matthewschmidt to let you into the group you want, or go to #tech-support and ask. We are open to starting more crit groups and have materials to help you get started.

We do in some places. Some are official Guild groups, while others are loosely associated. If there isn’t one, you can still find locals through Heartbeat.

If not a member yet, you can join the Guild via our Membership page. 

Once a member, hop into Heartbeat, our CWG chat room. That’s where the action is: networking, crit groups, discussion threads, classes, and more. There’s a thread for local meetups. Find the group in your area or go to the main thread and let folks know where you’re from. Then you can meet online and organize something there that you can move to in-person.

If you are on Heartbeat, check by your name.

  • If you have “2025 Member” then you have automatic renewals and don’t need to worry about renewals unless something happens to your credit card and you need to change the number. (Heartbeat should send you a notice.)
  • If you have “Member,” then you are still paying dues on the old system. contact us at [email protected]. We can look up your renewal date. You’ll need to renew using Heartbeat. You should nonetheless get an email reminding you.

If you are not on Heartbeat, contact us at [email protected]. We can look up your renewal date. You’ll need to renew using Heartbeat.

We are no longer taking checks for membership. Everyone joins and renews via the Heartbeat app, which requires a credit card. Heartbeat is a secure system. Paying for the Guild membership works like any other subscription, from Amazon to your internet.

CWG benefits include intangibles like fellowship, support, and advice, as well as tangible benefits like discounts and opportunities. Please look in Heartbeat under #member-bennie and in the Heartbeat Docs section in the Benefits folder. The Benefits folder has all the information, including where to redeem benefits and coupon codes.

  1. Check your spam folder
  2. Allow messages from Catholicwritersguild.com and catholicwritersguild.org
  3. Go to catholicwritersguild.com and register to get the newsletter. (It’s on the bottom of every page)
  4. If you have registered, contact [email protected] to be sure the email address is correctly put in.

While we would be sorry to see you go, it is simple to cancel your membership.

Sign into your account on Heartbeat. Click on your name in the lower left-hand corner. Go to Account Settings and Delete Your Account.

Activities

Heartbeat is the main communications line for the Catholic Writers Guild. It’s where we have discussion boards, announcements, crit groups, and even courses by our members. To register, you need to be a current member.

When you register or renew dues, you will automatically be added to Heartbeat.

Not ready to join or already a member but not on Heartbeat? Use this link: https://app.heartbeat.chat/catholicwritershelpdesk/invitation?code=DF33A4. You can join without being a member, but it limits the threads you can see. (We have a public Sunday chat.) Once a member, contact @matthewschmidt Heartbeat and he’ll get you access to the rest of the threads including the local meetups.

NOTE: IF you joined the Guild through the Heartbeat app, you do not need to use the link. Simply go to the chat room.

The Guild runs on volunteers! Fill out the form at https://forms.gle/zTnH6t6Sw8jqDGZ79. Someone will reach out to you about opportunities.

Please be sure you can commit to an activity. We’ve had a lot of projects delayed because someone volunteered with good intentions, then found themselves too busy, but never let us know.

The CWG Facebook group is open to members and fans. Go to https://catholicwritersguild.org/members-facebook-group and join.

When we open up calls for speakers, we will put the notice on the website. Please check the Live Conference or Online Conference pages.

We have a weekly open chat via Heartbeat for members and non-members interested in faith and writing. It meets at 8 PM Eastern Time (NYC-US) Every Sunday.

Certainly! While most of the fellowship and real-time communications are going on through the Heartbeat app, it’s not a requirement that you participate. You’ll need to register via the app, but simply don’t download it. 

You will still get notices through email and be able to participate in all the benefits. You can occasionally access Heartbeat through the website. (Click Chat Room under the Connect tab.) We suggest you do this periodically just to check the Member Benefits and Member News sections.

Seal of Approval

The CWG Seal of Approval is a kind of gatekeeping device for Catholic bookstore owners and readers. Simply put, it s an endorsement that the book supports Catholic beliefs and values. We began the SoA after discussions with Catholic bookstore owners who said they often did not have time to fully evaluate books and thus often didn’t stock books that came from unknown writers or smaller presses.

The SoA is not a critique of a work, but rather an assurance of its Catholicity and that neither the work nor its author go against the Mageristerium authority of the Catholic Church. We evaluate for Catholicity as well as for basic quality. The bottom line is: Would this book be an acceptable addition to a bookstore’s inventory?

Authors looking to reach a Catholic audience, but whose books do not qualify for an imprimatur (like fiction), or authors who do not have access to the process to get an Imprimatur, can submit their book for the SoA. A committee reads and comments on the book. If there are any concerns, they are brought to the author, who may respond to the committee or accept to consider for future editions. If necessary, a priest is brought in to evaluate the concerns. The SoA process has two benefits: It provides a tangible reassurance to readers and bookstore owners that the book does support Catholic beliefs and values; and in the case that it does not, it gives the author some useful feedback.

Readers can be assured that SoA books will not offend their faith and have a certain level of editorial quality.

Store owners can be assured that they can stock the book on their shelves, host the author for a signing, etc. without compromizing their appearance or mission as a faithful Catholic apostolate.

The SoA is available to Catholic authors of Catholic books (or fiction that supports Catholic traditions and morals.) You do not have to be a member of the CWG to receive the Seal of Approval. It is for books only. The Seal of Approval does not transfer to other books by the same author, nor can it apply to websites, blogs, magazines or other non-static works.

It is free for CWG members to apply; non-members pay a $10 fee.

The SoA can only be awarded to published books or manuscripts that are under contract. Manuscripts under contract should have gone through content edits already. The reason for this is to ensure no changes that might alter the Catholic nature of the book are made after the award is given. Self-publishing authors may submit manuscripts, but again with the understanding that the copy will not be undergoing content changes. The manuscript must be publish-ready before it can be reviewed.

Applications for the Seal of Approval are open four times per year. Visit the Seal of Approval page to learn more about the process.

Three to five members of the SoA Committee, who are members in good standing in the CWG. Evaluators are chosen based on Catholic character and familiarity with our faith. The review process is somewhat elementary; whenever we have a conflict or potential concern about any book, we then take it to one of the core review team, which includes priests and teachers of the faith, who are members of the Guild. They will answer concerns, often citing religious writings to support or refute the concern.

Yes, you may, as long as you do not change the content of the book in a way that might violate the intent of the award. Right now, CWG members are allowed to submit contracted manuscripts for the SoA ,so that, if awarded, they may incorporate the seal into their design. Recipients of the SoA will receive 25 sticker seals, and jpgs of the seal in color and grayscale for use in cover art or on their website.

We can make no guarantee on its effect on sales. Too many factors contribute to a book’s success, from the quality of writing to how aggressive the author and publisher are in marketing. What we can say is that we are developing a reputation among Catholic bookstore owners that a book with the SoA is one they can feel confident in stocking on their shelves, and among Catholic readers that books with the SoA will not offend their Catholic values. We promote SoA books at our booth at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show, which is visited by thousands of retailers each year.

That depends on what you mean. We cannot guarantee bookstores will stock SoA books, but the SoA does improve your chances.  As the program grows in reputation, bookstore owners will consider these books despite the fact that they do not come from the usual large Catholic publishers.  CWG members also get the added benefits of Guild-sponsored marketing programs for SoA titles.  (These programs are open to member books with an Imprimatur as well.)

You can order extra seals in groups of 25. The price is currently $10.00 per 25, plus shipping.

To order by mail, send a check (payable to Catholic Writers Guild) to: PO Box 77, Eaton, IN 47338

Questions can be sent to: SoAstickers (at) catholicwritersguild.com

About Catholic Writing and Publishing

A Catholic literary agent is a bit of a unicorn. There are a couple we can recommend who may or may not be placing books in your genre: Joe Durepos (https://www.dureposliterary.com/meet-joe-durepos) and Anjanette Barr (https://www.dunhamlit.com/anjanette-barr.html).

However, if you are submitting to Catholic publishers, you will not need an agent. They accept direct submissions according to the guidelines provided on their websites. We also have pitch sessions during our live and online conferences where you can skip the slush pile and talk to publishers directly about your book.

At this time, the CWG is not a book distributor, nor do we have a promotions program aside from what’s done at the conferences.

We do not offer book evaluation services. However, if you join the Guild, you can meet fellow authors, join crit groups, and participate in discussions. You’ll also have opportunities to meet and network with professional editors and publishers. Finally, you get discounts on our online and live conferences, where we host opportunities to pitch books to publishers.

The CWG is not a publishing house or a literary agency. However, we host pitch sessions with Catholic and some secular publishers and agents at our online and live conferences. Check under the Connect tab to see when they are happening and how to register. You will also find lists of publishers with websites on those pages, so you can go to their individual sites for submission information.

Catholic Arts and Letters Award (CALA)

The CWG Catholic Arts and Letters Award, or CALA, is a literary award for excellence, both in the writing and in the presentation of Catholic tradition and values. It is awarded on an annual basis to books written in the calendar year, and there is an occasional award to individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic writing.

Unlike the SoA, the CALA is a competitive process rather than a simple evaluation of Catholicity and writing quality.

At this time, the CALA is no longer ongoing. Check out our webpage for previous winners.

The CALA is available to Catholic authors of Catholic fiction (or fiction that supports Catholic traditions and morals.) You do not have to be a member of the CWG to apply for the CALA. The CALA is for published works only. At this time, only printed books are considered; e-books do not qualify. We hope to be able to change this in the future.

To be eligible, your book must have the CWG Seal of Approval or an Imprimatur.

The CALA is an award of excellence for fiction. There are currently two categories: adult fiction, and children/young-adult fiction.

This award is no longer ongoing.

Members can receive a discount on the ACP Excellence in Publishing Awards. Check out the Member Benefits section in Heartbeat for mor details.

Stay in the Know

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Members and supporters can get the latest on CWG news and events by signing up for our newsletter.

Catholic Writers Guild
P.O. Box 77
Eaton, IN 47338

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