SPAWN Market Update – September 2011

Here’s your publishing news and opportunities including a recommendation of the 6 best e-zines for working writers, 3 directories for children’s writers, 18 publications that publish profile pieces, 11 religious/spiritual book publishers, a list of the best sites for self-published authors, a link to 46 book promotion ideas, blog tour resources, 8 amazing book promotion leads, resources for creating interactive books, news of libraries loaning e-books to patrons, a 3-D magazine, and more…
Here’s What’s New – Libraries are loaning e-books, Borders has a new e-reader, a 3-D magazine has been launched and more.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – The best e-zines for working writers, children’s writers job directory and 18 pubs that publish profile and interview pieces.
Opportunities for Authors – 11 publishers for your religious/spiritual manuscript, create an interactive children’s book.
Book Promotion Opportunities – 8 amazing book promotion leads, resources and opportunities
Opportunities for Screenplay Writers – 2 of them this month.
Going, going, gone – 8 magazines have folded
Resources for Authors and Writers – 4 resources for children’s and fiction writers/authors. Includes two large directories
Here’s What’s New
The 2012 Writer’s Market is out. The deluxe version comes with a one-year subscription to writersmarket.com database. Also available are the Writer’s Market 2012 Guide to Literary Agents, Novel and Short Story-Writer’s Market and Poet’s Market. Order through http://www.writersdigest.com, at Amazon.com or purchase through your local bookstore.
Have you heard? According to an article in Publisher’s Weekly, reporting on stats collected by BookStats (an AAP and BISG program), total book publishing revenue rose over 3 percent in 2010. Of course it is primarily due to the increase in digital products, which, they say, offset the declines in all print formats. E-book sales, for example, across all categories rose nearly 40 percent. Learn more at http://www.bookstats.org
A Colorado library is loaning e-books to patrons. According to Mary Walewski of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA), they have partnered with the Douglas County Library system on behalf of CIPA’s members. Patrons are now able to check out members’ e-books through the libraries in this system. Evidently, e-books can be checked out only once. They have implemented a “one title, one user” model. And the e-books chosen for the library program are those that have won some of the awards of excellence within CIPA. To learn more about this program, contact Mary Walewski at mary@buythebookmarketing.com.
I suppose everyone knows by now that Borders has come out with an electronic reader. It’s the Kobo. Learn more here: http://www.kobobooks.com Some reviewers are saying it is out of date already, however, because it lacks wireless support
World’s Most Beautiful is the first 3-D photographic fashion magazine. You can actually view the print and digital versions using 3-D glasses. They offer free versions for your iPad, iPhone and Android. Check it out here http://www.worldsmostbeautiful.com
Publishing Trends Blog has moved. You’ll find it here: http://www.publishingtrends.com This site features reports on editor and publisher changes in the industry and interviews with publicists.
It appears as though The Writer’s Life has gone out of business. I see that the domain name is for sale
Christian Writers Fellowship seems to have folded.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Are you interested in regional magazines? If you are a freelance writer, you really should be. Gary McLaren, editor of WorldwideFreelance.com, has compiled a list of 50 City and State Magazines. Check it out at http://www.worldwidefreelance.com.
Are you sometimes confused about how to set your freelance fees? Would you like advice when it comes to negotiating agreements? Do you need help dealing with difficult customers? Laurie Lewis has just come out with her 2nd edition of What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants. Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/setyourfees
Have you ever thought of using Craig’s List to find writing jobs? They have ‘em. http://www.craigslist.com
If you write for children, you might find this directory most valuable. It lists over 100 children’s magazines that use submissions. http://kidmagwriters.com
You can purchase a list of 350 PAYING markets for children for $5 (e-book) and $11 for the print edition at http://write4kids.com/wmarket Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find out how to order the books.
Many freelance writers and authors who come to me with questions, are not aware of the numerous resources available to them. I thought I would share with you the e-pubs I’ve used over the years to enhance my freelance article-writing business. Here are some online and print publications that article and story-writers should subscribe to.
Freelance Writer’s Report (print). Publisher/Editor Dana Cassell Membership from $29 to $150 depending on what services you want and for how long (one year or two years). This 8 page newsletter has articles, news and updates related to the freelance writing and editing businesses. Dana also lists new magazines on the scene. It’s actually one of my faves. http://www.writers-editors.com
Wooden Horse Magazine Media News (e-newsletter). Meg Weaver, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher. This magazine helps writers keep their fingers on the pulse of the magazine industry. Weaver has also compiled the Wooden Horse Magazine Database where you can find contact information, the current needs of the magazine and, in some cases, the editorial calendar. http://www.woodenhorsepub.com
Angela Hoy is still writing her weekly ezine, Writer’s Weekly. Her aim is to inform and update you as well as well as to provide markets and jobs for freelance writers. It’s FREE. Subscribe at http://writersweekly.com
Working Writer is produced by Maggie Frisch. Email delivery is free. Subscribe at: http://www.workingwriter1.com Maggie bills this ezine as being “for people who write, by people who write.”
Moira Allen’s Writing World is also for freelance writers. While it includes industry news, writing contests and tips, it focuses on jobs and opportunities for writers. This ezine is free. http://www.writing-world.com
Angela Booth’s Freelance Writing Ezine is for writers who want to make serious money writing. http://www.freelancewritingezine.com
Some writers earn a pretty good living writing the profile or interview piece. Magazines in many categories use profiles and/or interview pieces. They typically feature some of the movers and shakers and other interesting people in their fields. They want stories showcasing people doing unusual things and having unique experiences. And writing the profile or interview piece is relatively straightforward. You don’t actually have to know much about the industry or topic for an interview or profile piece. Your subject will supply the information you need. Once you interview someone and write an article, you may have additional information to use in articles for other magazines or even a book. If this concept interests you, here are a few magazines that use the profile or interview piece.
Go Magazine, an inflight magazine for AirTran Airlines, uses interview pieces focusing on people in some of the places where this airline travels. Read a few back issues and study the guidelines at http://www.airtranmagazine.com/guidelines This could be an excellent market as they publish 200 articles per year and they pay around 50 cents/word.
YES! Magazine is a general interest magazine covering world affairs, contemporary culture, ecology, nature, etc. They publish success stories involving interviews with the people who lived the story. But the success angle must fall into the issues they cover such as health, climate change, media reform, faith, social and racial justice, etc. Learn more at http://www.yesmagazine.org. They pay as much as $1,250 for an assigned piece.
Mensbook Journal publishes profile and interview pieces. This is a new magazine out of Massachusetts for and about the gay culture. http://www.mensbook.com.
Moment occasionally publishes profile pieces related to Jewish trends and Israel. http://www.momentmag.com Pay is as much as $1,200.
South Florida Parenting uses interview and profile pieces related, of course, to parenting and children’s issues in south Florida. http://www.sfparenting.com. Pay is only around $40 to $165.
Autoweek uses interview pieces and they pay $1 word for up to 400 words. http://www.autoweek.com.
American Educator publishes interview pieces related to education and they pay as much as $3,000 per piece. http://www.aft.org/american_educator/index.html
Christian Management Report publishes interview articles. Learn more at http://www.cmaonline.org.
And many trade journals also publish profiles and interview pieces. You may know someone you could interview in one or more of these industries:
Interface Tech News (tech industry), http://www.interfacetechnews.com
Ornamental Outlook (horticulture), http://www.ornamentaloutlook.com
Advisor’s Edge (finance), http://www.advisorsedge.ca
Collections and Credit Risk (for collection and credit execs) http://www.creditcollectionsworld.com
Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener, http://www.mofga.org
Professional Surveyor Magazine (surveying, satellite positioning, etc.) http://www.profsurv.com
Minority Engineering (career guidance for minority engineer students) http://www.eop.com
Rural Builder (construction), http://www.ruralbuilder.com
Bar & Beverage Business Magazine, http://www.barandbeverage.com
Professional Pilot (aviation), http://www.propilotmag.com
Brand Packaging (advertising), http://www.brandpackaging.com
Opportunities for Authors
Do you write romance? Are you interested in being published within the digital realm? Random House Publishing Group’s imprint, Loveswept produced eight titles in August. Learn more at http://www.romanceatrandom.com
Do you have a children’s book that you would like to offer as an interactive digital book for iPad, iPhone, Android and Nook Color? There are sites where you can magically create interactive features in your book and offer it to your young readers. Here are a few to check out: http://interactivetouchbooks.com Or visit http://tabletide.com or http://www.talespring.com
Or learn how to create your own interactive book from start to finish: http://www.ehow.com/how_5935628_create-interactive-book.html
Are you trying to find a publisher for your spiritual/religious book? Does your historical novel or memoir have a strong spiritual leaning? Would your young adult novel be appropriate for those attending a church youth group? Are you presenting a new concept in religion or sharing a spiritual experience in your manuscript? Here are some publishers that might be interested in your well-written, professionally edited manuscript.
The Johns Hopkins University Press (serious nonfiction only) http://www.press.jhu.edu
Journeyforth publishes both fiction and nonfiction for young people. Must have a Christian perspective. http://www.bjupress.com
Quest Books publishes nonfiction books on religion, philosophy, spirituality, New Age and so forth. http://www.questbooks.net
Unlimited Publishing produces books on a wide variety of subject, including religion. And they publish both fiction and nonfiction. http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com
Chalice Press focuses on religion and spirituality. http://www.chalicepress.com
Ever hear of Chosen Books? They, too, focus on books from a Christian perspective. http://www.chosenbooks.com
New Hope Publishers produce books dealing with Christian life for women and families. If your book features lifestyle development and change, the publishers at New Hope might be interested. http://www.newhopepublishers.com
New Seeds Books also publishes religious/spiritual books. Study their guidelines to see if they are the right publisher for your project: http://www.newseedsbooks.com
Pacific Press Publishing Association publishes both fiction and nonfiction books on Christian lifestyle and doctrine. http://www.pacificpress.com
Ravenhawk Books publishes religious mysteries, suspense and thrillers. http://www.ravenhawk.biz
Synergebooks publishes both fiction and nonfiction books within the spiritual, religious and New Age realm. http://www.synergebooks.com
Book Promotion Opportunities
Do you have a mystery that you’d like to have reviewed? Kings River Life Magazine reviews mystery books and they do interviews with mystery authors. Check them out at http://www.kingsriverlife.com.
Have you visited Brian Fienblum’s blog site, yet? Brian manages a book promotion firm called, Planned Television Arts. And he is blogging regularly at http://www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com Not only does he interview authors and review books, he also offers book promotion ideas. If you have a book to promote, I recommend bookmarking this site.
Reece Sherman launched a new online bookstore particularly for self-published print and digital books. Here is the link: http://www.selfpublishedbookstore.com. I am copying over the long link to the submissions page because I had trouble finding it at the site and I thought you might, too.
http://selfpublishedbookstore.com/category_22/Authors-PageBook-Submission.php You may be surprised how inexpensive this bookstore is. They want $20 per year for a print book and $15 per year for an ebook and 15 percent for print books/e-books sold through the site.
Another blog site worth checking out is Joel Friedlander’s The Book Designer. He writes often about self-publishing and book marketing. I especially like his list of 52 (so far) of the best blog sites for self-published authors. http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/11/52-great-blogs-for-self-publishers
Here’s a link to a directory of resources for authors who are promoting their books (which should be all authors). http://www.author-promotion.com/promotionalresources.html Unfortunately, several of the links are no longer valid. But there are a few that you might find useful—links to book reviewers, lists of places where you can post your book trailer, sites where you can post your book for viewing/sale, the opportunity to purchase a list of 350 literary agents for under $20 and so forth.
Here’s a list of 46 book promotion ideas, which include have an autograph party, promote using social media, street marketing, giving interviews and so forth. http://selfpublishing.lifetips.com/cat/59136/promotion-ideas/index.html
And be sure to order your copy of my newest book, “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author” at Amazon.com http://amzn.to/oe56Ia It is available in print and Kindle.
Have you tried a blog tour to promote your book? You can set a blog tour up yourself—by contacting appropriate bloggers and asking for an interview, a book review and/or to be a guest blogger. Or you can pay someone to set up the tour for you. Nas Dean will do a 10 to 15 stop tour for $150 to $180. Learn more about her program here: http://nas-dean.blogspot.com/p/wendy-s-marcus-blog-tour-and-giveaways.html Here’s another possibility http://submissions.authorblogtours.com and this one costs only $95. Check to see what this includes.
Opportunities for Screenwriters
Screenwriting U is offering a video featuring “5 Keys to Irresistible Openings.” Learn more here: http://www.screenwritingu.com
If you write screenplays or you want to write for TV, you really should subscribe FREE to InkTip Newsletter. Jerrol LeBaron announces in the latest issue that two more features were optioned and two more writers were hired through InkTip. Currently, they are looking for feature-length teen thriller scripts, scripts set in Columbia, faith-based, uplifting scripts in the vein of “The Blind Side’ or “Bella,” Science Fiction scripts and others. http://www.inktip.com
Going, Going, Gone
ChartAttack has stopped publishing
Business in Yuma has quit
Brand X (of the LA Times) has folded.
Moms Like Me has ceased publishing
Investment Dealer’s Digest is no longer publishing
Ready-Made Magazine has folded.
Harrowsmith Country Life has closed
Cross and Quill Newsletter appears to be out of business
Resources for Writers and Authors
Do you write books or stories for children? You might want to consider subscribing to The Children’s Writer Newsletter. Editor, Susan Tierney, has a special going on right now. You can get a year subscription, plus two FREE issues, for $19. It’s regularly $26. http://www.thechildrenswriter.com/ak072
Magazine Markets for Children’s Writers 2011and Book Markets for Children’s Writers 2011 are both available at http://www.writersbookstore.com/books_on_writing_for_children.htm for $26.95 each (US and CA).
Here is a directory of sites for children’s writers: http://www.marisamontes.com/sites_for_childrens_writers.htm
Are you familiar with the Center for Fiction? http://www.centerforfiction.org Although this organization is nearly 200 years old and has had many incarnations, the modern day organization is considered a center for literary arts and a meeting place for readers and writers. They present no and low-cost programs for authors such as reading groups and authors’ workshops.