This month’s WPN Market Update includes nearly 3 dozen opportunities for our members. Herein, you’ll find viable leads for your work, several resources, including a mailing list site and ebook show case sites and tips for using the new Writer’s Market to your fullest advantage.
Here’s What’s New – 4 bits of industry news
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – 11 of them.
Opportunities for Authors – a dozen valuable leads.
Book Promotion Opportunities – mailing lists, ebook showcase sites and more.
Opportunities for Screenwriters – opportunities for TV writers
Opportunities for Artists and Photographers – Break into National Geographic and the NYT.
Resources for Authors – 2 of them.
Going, Going, Gone – 14 magazines closed or moved.
Bonus Item – Dissecting Writer’s Market
Here’s What’s New
You’ve probably heard about the demise of The Writer Magazine. Well, it has been saved. Madavor Media bought it and they don’t expect an interruption in their printing schedule. You won’t miss one issue of the magazine. However, if you write articles for writers and authors, you can cross The Writer off your list of potential markets for the time being. According to their website, they are not, at this time, accepting queries or articles. http://www.writermag.com
It was bound to happen—there’s a new magazine out called Fifty Shades of American Women Who Love the Book and Live the Life.
HarperCollins has a new novel line of original and reprinted mysteries. They’re calling it Bourbon Street Books.
While it seems as though a lot of magazines are closing—just look at our long list of them in this issue—the numbers are better this year than last. MediaFinder.com says that only 45 magazines have folded so far this year compared to 66 last year. And there are the same number of magazine launches so far this year as there were last year.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Robert Paul Cesaretti is accepting short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews, social justice concerns and spiritual insights for the Ginosko Literary Journal. Contact Robert at EditorGinosko@aol.com.
CriminalElements.com will launch their new e-publication of original short crime and they want your submissions. The theme for October is “Girl Trouble.” Deadline is October 10th. They want original submissions 3,000 to 6,000 words. http://www.criminalelements.com
Would you like to finally break into in-flight magazines? The Worldwide Freelance site offers their third edition of their quick reference PDF list of 200 In-Flight Magazines world-wide for $17.00. http://www.inflight-magazines.com/IMQR.htm
Weavings promotes a pattern of faithful living marked by prayer, community and engagement. They want articles of 1,000 to 2,000 words on spiritual issues. See guidelines at http://www.upperroom.org/weavings
Shape is 70 percent freelance written and they pay $1.50/word average for a piece of from 1,000 to 2,500 words. That’s as much as $3,750. Can you offer appropriate book excerpts? Can you write on health, fitness and nutrition? http://www.shapemag.com
Brick is a Canadian literary magazine. They use essays, historical, interview, opinion pieces and travel—no fiction. No poetry. They purchase 30-40 ms year of from 250-3,000 words and they pay $75-500 (Canadian.) http://www.brickmag.com.
The Elks Magazine uses 20-30 ms year of from 1,200 to 2,000 words. They pays $.25/word or up to $500. Circulation is over a million, so this might be a good market for your article designed to promote your book. http://www.elks.org/elksmag
While Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is open to fiction only four months out of the year (March, June, September and December), you can submit your poetry anytime. Just be sure to type “Poetry” in the subject line. Pay for poetry is $25. If you want to make a note of the months they accept fiction, here are some of their guidelines. Their fiction word limit is 10,000, although they will serialize longer stories. They pay $100 per story. If your piece is under 1,000 words, the rate is $25. http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com
The Pedestal Magazine uses original work. Their guidelines are a tad confusing and vague. I suggest you go to the site and read them, but also study their magazine to see what they publish. They pay $40 per poem. http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com. Guidelines at http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/submitguidelines.php
Redstone Science Fiction Magazine publishes science fictions stories of between 750 and 4,000 words and payment is 5 cents/word. Learn more at http://www.redstonesciencefiction.com
Spinetingler Magazine uses fiction of from 1,500 to 5,000 words and they only pay $25 per piece, as long as it is over 1,500 words. They want crime, mystery, thriller, suspense and horror. Their guidelines are quite detailed. Check them out at http://www.spinetinglermag.com/submission-guidelines
Opportunities for Authors
The Many Voices Project at New Rivers Press is accepting entries for their most recent contest through November 1, 2012. They are looking for book-length unpublished manuscripts from new and emerging writers. The two winners will be published by New Rivers Press. Learn more at http://www.newriverspress.com
WritersMarket.com sent me a notice featuring three publishers that are looking for novels this fall. Unfortunately, one of the publishers closed their submissions just prior to our publication date. Here are the other two:
DAW Books want novels of over 80,000 words. Their editorial focus is science fiction and fantasy. http://www.dawbooks.com
Grey Gecko Press publishes just about any fiction except extreme horror, erotica and religious fiction. They also publish nonfiction subjects including art, cooking, creative nonfiction, military, travel and more. http://www.greygeckopress.com
Do you love writing and quilting? Now you can now combine the two. The American Quilter’s Society has launched a line of books featuring mysteries and romance involving quilts, quilters or quilting. You’ll have a better chance of breaking in if you can create a series of books in the 70,000 to 100,000-word range. Submit your query to Andi Reynolds at editor@aqsquilts.com
When you publish with Untreed Reads, you will be able to join the International Thriller Writers at no charge and receive their benefits. To learn more about the Thriller Writers, go to, http://thrillerwriters.org. Untreed Reads is here: http://www.untreedreads.com
Are you familiar with Coffee House Press? Chris Fischbach, associate publisher, says they produce 16-18 titles per year—why not yours. They want literary novels and short story collection. They also read poetry during certain periods. The current one ends October 31, 2012. http://www.coffeeousepress.org.
Cellar Door Publishing was established in 2004. They only produce a few titles per year. While they publish nonfiction, they are most interested in fiction in the areas of adventure, comic books, erotica, fantasy, gothic, historical, horror, humor, juvenile, mainstream, mystery, picture books, romance, science fiction, suspense, western and others. They want you to use their submission form at their website: http://www.cellardoorpublishing.com
The Elixirist publishes 12 titles year, 50 percent from first-time authors. And, ladies and gentlemen, they are interested in memoirs, among many other things. Check them out at http://www.elixirist.com
Enete Enterprises, http://www.eneteenterprises.com publishes 6 titles/year in the nonfiction areas of foods, creative nonfiction, education, health, memoirs, nutrition, science and spirituality. They also use fiction: adventure, science fiction and fiction with gay-lesbian themes.
Grove/Atlantic, Inc. publishes 100 titles per year. They want manuscripts in the following subjects; art, business creative nonfiction, education, politics, science, sports and others. They also seek fiction in the following genres: erotica, horror literary, science fiction, suspense and others. http://www.groveatlantic.com.
Seriously Good Books was established in 2010 in order to publish historical fiction only. http://www.seriouslygoodboks.net
Book Promotion Opportunities
Have you ever purchased a mailing list? Sometimes it’s a good idea to purchase a list containing contact information for people of your book’s demographic. But where? You’ll find many lists at a website called, Lists You Can Afford. The folks at http://www.listsyoucanafford.com offer hundreds of mailing lists containing thousands of names targeted for your particular audience. Choose from lists of libraries, media, churches, bookstores, community colleges, municipalities and organizations as well as lists of individuals interested in or involved in you subject—horses, real estate, nursing, religion, art, etc. The lists start at $49. I looked up their list of author and book publicity media and found that they have over 1,200 names (many of them with email addresses and phone numbers) for $149. You can get a list of email addresses for 100,000 pastors for just $99. If your mailing and/or emailing list needs refreshing, visit http://www.listsyoucanafford.com and see what you can find.
Here are a few sites where you can showcase and, in some cases, sell your ebooks: http://digitalbooktoday.com
http://worldliterarycafe.com
http://ebookswag.com.
I suggest that you check out some of the magazines listed under “Opportunities for Freelance Writers” in order to locate opportunities to promote your book through magazine articles or stories. Also, if your book is self-published or with a pay-to-publish company and you would like to find a publisher, be sure to scan “Opportunities for Authors.” And you will also found the Bonus Items (below) interesting as we explain how to use the latest Writer’s Market for your purposes.
Opportunities for Screen Writers
October 15th is the deadline for submitting your TV show (pilot, sitcom, one-hour drama, reality show) through Scriptapalooza. http://www.scriptapalooza.com
Opportunities for Artists and Photographers
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is seeking quality banner art to accompany each new issue. Check out their site to see their style: http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com. Study their guidelines for artists, as well.
Have you always dreamed of having your favorite WOW photograph published in National Geographic? They are seeking photos now. Check out their submission guidelines here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/submit
Share your photos with the New York Times. http://submit.nytimes.com/why-we-travel
Resources for Authors
Find articles here for authors and freelance writers as well as business writers. Cathy Stucker is the Idea Lady. She has a plethora of ideas for marketing all kinds of things. Here is the link to her articles related to selling your writing in book form and otherwise. http://idealady.com/content/C5 She also has a site focusing on bookselling. http://www.sellingbooks.com
Foboko.com has created what they term a publishing wizard to assist authors through the writing and publishing process. They call it the first ever social publishing platform as you can connect with members of the community for assistance and feedback throughout your writing/publishing journey. Check it out at http://www.foboko.com
Going, Going, Gone
Brides Magazine will change from monthly to bimonthly
Camping Life is folding into Trailer Life
Northern Indiana Lake Magazine is no longer publishing
Bow Tie, Inc. has closed the following:
Aquarium Fish International has closed down.
Bird Talk is no longer publishing
Dog World has been shut down.
Water Garden News closed
WildBird will no longer publish
Aspen Magazine may be in trouble—there will be no issues published summer or fall.
Hearts of the Country has closed.
The Weekly Reader is closing.
Twin Cities Metro has stopped publishing
Remedy Magazine has ceased publishing
Bonus Items
Have you purchased your 2013 Writer’s Market? Are you familiar with this guide for authors and freelance writers? I’ve heard people say, over the years, “It’s not all that up-to-date.” And heaven knows there have been some wild mistakes and miscalculations evident in recent years. But I have been purchasing and using the Writer’s Market for probably forty of the ninety-two years it has been in print. I relied heavily on each annual edition during the years I was earning my living as a freelance article writer. And I subscribed to as many writers’ newsletters and magazines as I could find, relying on them to help me keep my current edition updated. I would note address changes, new editors/publishers, changes in submission guidelines, etc. in ink right in the book. My ability to appear professional in my approach to editors depended on this information.
Today, there are many more magazines, hundreds more publishers, thousands more freelance writers and authors and even quite a few more publishing guides in book form as well as database form online. In fact, the Writer’s Market has an online database for those who prefer an electronic approach and who appreciate frequent updates.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Writer’s Market, herein you will find around 150 pages of articles and other help related to writing query letters, self-publishing, ghostwriting, understanding contracts, record keeping, blogging basics and more. There’s a chart that shows what you should charge for the writing, editing and photography that you do. There are pages and pages of literary agents, around 800 publishers, nearly 400 pages of consumer and trade magazines separated by category, contests and awards and, of course, a complete index.
I miss the subject index they had a couple of years for publishers. That was a handy feature for me when I was trying to help a client find a publisher for his thriller, adventure novel, how-to book for crafters, etc.
How can you use this guide? If you are seeking a publisher, you’ll find them listed alphabetically. You’ll learn from each individual publisher listing, the contact information, type of manuscripts they are seeking and how to approach them. Some publishers include editors’ names and email addresses, how many books they publish in a year (useful to know), their turnaround time for manuscripts, what percentage royalty they pay, whether or not they pay an advance and how much it is. Some let you know how many words they are looking for in a manuscript—this can vary dramatically from publisher to publisher. Some listings include a key that gives additional information they want potential authors to know. One publisher I came across this morning wrote that they generally comment on rejected manuscripts. Now that’s good to know. Some offer tips for breaking into the market—for example, “Write a good story in a compelling style.” Or “Visit our website, there is much to be learned.” Or “Our audience consists of lovers of adventure and fantasy sagas.” One publisher wrote, “Be knowledgeable about your subject. Write clearly.”
If you are trying to start a career as a freelance article writer, would like to sell some of your fiction stories or want to promote your book through articles or stories, you’ll spend more of your time pouring through the magazine listings. Here, you’ll find magazines listed in alphabetical order within a subject: Animals, Art and Architecture, Associations, Astrology, Automotive, Aviation and so forth. Payment is noted by dollar signs in front of the magazine title. There’s a chart just inside the front cover of the book indicating the key. One dollar sign indicates 0 to 9 cents word or $0 to $150 per article, for example. Four dollar signs signifies a dollar a word or over $1,500 per piece.
The magazine listings typically post the editor and contact info, the type of material needed, word count, style, how many articles they buy per year, response time. Some will indicate if they offer a kill fee, what percentage of their magazine is freelance written, circulation, lead time and how to obtain guidelines. Some have them posted at their websites, some offer guidelines if you will send them self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Always, always attempt to locate submission guidelines whether you are approaching an acquisitions editor for a publishing house or a magazine editor. The listings in any publisher or magazine database or print guide are useful and give you a lot of information, but you should also get copies of the submission guidelines, writer’s guidelines, guidelines for writers, authors’ guidelines or whatever that particular market terms them.
If you are going it on your own—rely strictly on the Internet to locate, for example, “publishers” for “children’s books,” or “magazine” for “crafters,” you really ought to purchase the 2013 Writer’s Market. You can use it in many ways. When I was heavy into writing articles for magazines, I spent most of my days writing query letters and articles. At night, I would sit in the living room with the family and pour over my Writer’s Market searching for good fits for some of my ideas as well as ideas for new articles. You’d be surprised how many ideas you can come up with by studying listings for common and obscure magazines. I also collected magazines from every subscriber I knew and studied them for ideas.
Those of you who read this newsletter regularly know that I focus a lot of my attention on opportunities for freelance writers. One of my pet topics is how to break into unusual magazines with your favorite subject. How to tweak an article to fit several different types of magazines. Study back issues of the WPN Market Update to locate this information and tons more.