I was a member of HWA for a year. Or an associate--whatever a tier two member is. About the time I could move into the ranks of whatever tier one was called (where you can vote on the Stoker Award and such things) I let my membership laps.

Like anything else involving, oh, people--there's good and bad. I'll share my views but keep in mind they're at least 2 years old by now. My impression is that the institutional character wasn't that nimble so my observations (if we share any character traits) prob still hold true to whatever degree.

I learned a lot. A lot. I learned what to really expect from, say, a papberback original deal. I was much more ear-to-the-ground on the industry when I was a member. I began to get realistic expectations about writing, about rejection, about name editors, and about the business. You can get this info if you don't already have it at other places, but it'll be tied up in a bow for you there and this is valuable.

That's about it.

It is a place in divide between those that want to be an advocacy group for established and successful writers and those that want to be a nuturing org for newbies. As a newbie I was like "yeah nuture me" but the truth was I could clearly see how the needs of mid-to-upper-list authors were dramatically different. I also saw how dumb asses with an ebook would talk to authors getting advances in the 10's of thousands as if they were all equals: offering opininons on career moves and contracts and what "literature" was. That's part of the reason the Giants no longer walk those boards. There are no Dean Koontzs or Stephen Kings like in the bad old days. It also causes some heated debate.

There are Ellen Datlows and Doug Winters and Bob Greenburgs and some very experience, canny, cagey, professionals. These are also the ones knee deep in the concept of "don't sell for less than 5-cents aword or you're ****ing us all."

There is a hierarchy. There's also access to people who can help you decipher a contract and THATs very cool. But no agents cruise those boards looking for talent. No one on the Ave of Americas is particularly wowed by membership in that org. A single 3-cent sale to a pub with an iota of name recognition means more. But the lowest advance given to a mmpb prob means more than a string of sales to "high" profile short places when it comes to getting an agent or negotiating another b-deal.

There are some caustic personalities on the chat boards. Ironically they are often some of the most astute pros about the busisness side of it--so there you go. The "e-publishing is the next wave" crowd bickers with "it aint shit if it aint on paper" crowd. The commercial hacks making good money draw the ire of much acclaimed but underpaid literary artists.

In my heart of hearts I would say that [with one single caveat] membership in the SFWA is better. It has all the same problems. It does have more name recognition authors chatting up the board. It does have a better rep in general as an org. The caveat to this being if you are a HORROR writer/lover/fan/afficenado. If, ya, you write horror but you want to write other spec fic as well then go SFWA. If you are all horror or its incesteous subgeneres all the time then HWA becomes a much cooler place.

IMO

I might think about joining the Science Fiction Poetry Association, but that doesn't have the publication requirements of some of these other organizations.

I am finding some of the replies here in regards to these other organizations enlightening.  I'm not much into politics of any sort, so joining one of these organizations may not be the best thing for me.  (Not that I even meet the publication requirements yet.  I hope that will change in the not-too-distant future.)