Joining a Film Union · Writers Guild of America
Writer: how to join the WGA
Screenwriters and TV writers create the script everything else is built from. There's no day-playing route here: you join the WGA by selling material to, or being employed to write by, signatory companies until you've banked 24 units.
Good to know
There is no day-playing your way in: you join the WGA only by selling to, or being employed to write by, signatory companies until you have banked 24 units of credit. So the goal is not a stack of specs, it is one covered deal, and whether you join WGA West or East is set by where you live, not what you write.
Roles in this craft
The jobs that make up this craft, each with its own page on pay, the day-to-day, and how to break in.
How to join, step by step
Know your union
- Screen and TV writing for signatory companies is WGA.
- You join by selling or being employed to write, not by day-playing.
Write and finish material
- Specs and pilots are your samples: finished, polished, and in your voice.
- Contests, fellowships, and staffing programs are real ways to get read.
Make a covered deal
- Selling to, or being hired to write by, a signatory company earns units of credit.
- You need 24 units within a rolling period to become eligible.
Join at 24 units
- Hit 24 units and you join; WGA West or East is set by where you live.
- Keep your contracts: the guild counts the units.
What you’ll need
- 24 units of covered sales/employment within three years
- Contracts and paperwork proving each sale or writing week
- About $2,500 initiation (West) when you fully qualify
- Quarterly dues setup: about 1.5% of writing income + $25
Find your local
Writers Guild of America membership runs through a local for your market. Look up the one that covers where you work on the union’s site.