Yesterday, I borrowed a copy of the 2007 edition of “Writer’s Market”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=1582974276%26tag=writersblog05-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26location=/o/ASIN/1582974276%253FSubscriptionId=1N9AHEAQ2F6SVD97BE02 from my local library. I’m going to take a look through it and see what kind of information it has for writers looking for markets. I’m particularly interested in the various writing contests. It could be that I’ll find something interesting to send some stories to this year.
Now, I’m not sure that this is a book I’d ever buy for myself. It _could_ prove to be worth the $30 pricetag, especially if a writer is amibitious, but then at the end of the year, the book is outdated and worthless. Besides, if my library keeps a copy of it on the shelf, I can just borrow it when I want it and go for a browse.
It’ll be interesting to see what I find. I think I’d like to ship a couple of stories out to contests this year and a couple of more to magazines and see if anything lands. I want to make this a better year for writing than last year was.
If I was serious about pursuing ONE opportunity in the Writer’s Market, I’d even pay a $50-$70 price. I mean, really, if I’m willing to be $15 for a good book just to *read,* I should be willing to pay a bit more for a book that can not only potentially lead to me getting published, but even to an extent to which it’d make its purchase price back handily. One of these days I plan on purchasing one (a Writer’s Market copy, I mean). Really.
I recommend NOT buying one. Instead, subscribe to their website (or pay the extra money for book that includes the subscription). http://www.writersmarket.com Read the articles from the book you check out from the library and then use the search and tracking features of the website. It’s much easier and updated more often than the book. Plus, the website has easy links to all the publishers and magazines. Last year was the first year I bought a subscription and it was worth every penny. The subscriptions follow the calendar year, so now is the best time!
That’s my recommendation for the day.
Thanks, Bryan! That’s a helpful tip.
After posting my last comment, I logged into WritersMarket.com. They’ve had 158 new listing in the past 7 days, 612 in the past 30. These include on-line and print media and contests. If you are interested in contests, this is the way to go.