The April WPN Market Update covers news and opportunities for freelance writers, authors seeking publishers and authors currently promoting their books. Herein, you’ll discover nearly 50 ideas, resources, news items and leads. Are you looking for an author-friendly publisher? We’ve got em. Are you running out of book promotion ideas? We can replenish your supply. Study this edition and come away with the job of your dreams, a publishing contract or a great technique for selling books.
Here’s What’s New – 7 news items for authors.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – 6 mystery/crime markets, a directory of 10 others, and more.
Opportunities for Authors – Over a dozen publishers seeking manuscripts.
Book Promotion Opportunities – New book review sites plus 8 unique book promotion ideas.
Going, Going, Gone – 6 to report
Here’s What’s New
Bookstore sales rose 5.5 percent in January of this year. This is good news for those of us with publishers who have actually placed our books in bookstores. But all authors should know that, in order to sell books, we must be everywhere. No longer can we produce a book, get it on bookstore shelves and then sit back and collect royalties enough to support our expensive habits forevermore. If you have a book to promote, be sure to check out this months’ lively discussion of unique book marketing activities.
Do you remember the Old Farmer’s Almanac? Some of you may still rely on it. Well, did you know there is a monthly version of this old standby? And now there is an app for that. Download the app for free from http://www.almanac.com/magazine and get the latest information on astronomy, gardening, nature, farming, food, history, home and calendar events. Some people read this almanac strictly for the long-range weather forecasts. Copies of the magazine are $2.99 each. Subscribe for $19.95.
Visions, a regional Chamber of Commerce magazine, is now Capital.
Dogs in Canada is back. http://www.dogsincanada.com
Yard Dog Press is not accepting submissions at this time.
Elaine P English Literary Agency is closed to all new submissions at this time. This status will not likely change until mid 2013. http://www.elaineenglish.com for updates.
F+W Media is in the news. Not only are people complaining about not being paid for their work published in their various magazines, the powers that be are closing down some of their magazines and laying off workers. They’ve also announced that the PRINT editorial operations will merge with HOW Magazine.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Do you subscribe to the Publisher’s Weekly daily digital report? If you’re looking for a job in publishing, you could be missing out on some opportunities. Each issue has a section called PW Job Zone. Check it out: http://new.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/print_subscribe.html. Scroll down to where it indicates the free enewsletter.
Cesar’s Way targets dog owners and focuses on people/dog relationships. It doesn’t appear that Cesar is eager to accept submissions. But if you want to contact his editorial staff with a story, use the contact form here: http://www.cesarswaymagazine.com/contact
Edible San Luis Obispo covers food items produced in the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo areas and the people who grow, harvest, serve them. This is a paying market. Earn $50 to $150 per article accepted. http://www.edibleSLO.com. Contact Karrie at Karrie@edibleslo.com.
A Focus on Crime/Mystery
CrimeSpree Magazine is open to submissions. Due to the number of submissions they receive, the editors will accept submissions only on the odd numbered months. That would be, Jan/Mar/May/Jul/Sep/Nov. They accept materials of 5,000 words max and currently there is no payment. http://crimespreemag.com Contact: steven@crimespreemag.com
Noir Nation is accepting original crime stories until midnight on May 15, 2013. They pay $25 each plus an extra $25 for photos. Learn more at: http://noirnation.com/submission-guidelines.
The Strand Magazine uses detective stories and tales of terror. They prefer stories between 2,000 and 6,000 words and they will pay up to $150. http://www.strandmag.com/guidelines.htm.
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine seeks submissions from both new and established writers. They publish every kind of mystery short story and they publish 120 per year. They pay 5 to 8 cents-word, more for established writers. They will accept novellas of up to 20,000 words from established authors. http://themysteryplace.com/eqmm Email elleryqueenmm@dellmagazines.com
Here’s a good resource for crime/mystery writers. It’s the Top 10 Mystery Markets at http://www.writer-on-line.com/content/view/42/66/~Articles/Mystery/Top-10-Mystery-Markets.html I’m afraid that most of them pay in the area of $25 for your masterpieces. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is supposed to pay more, but I haven’t been able to discover their pay rates.
Spinetingler Magazine is seeking spine tingling stories of from 1,500 to 5,000 words. Payment is $25. See submission guidelines here: http://www.spinetinglermag.com/submission-guidelines/
Fiction365 publishes all sorts of fiction from authors of all caliber. Perhaps they will publish your story: http://www.fiction365.com/
Opportunities for Authors
Coffee House Press is now publishing essay collections and creative nonfiction. They typically publish literary novels and poetry, but are not in the market for poetry right now. Watch their website for a change in this policy. http://www.coffeehousepress.org/submission-guidelines. They don’t publish genre fiction. The editors recommend that you familiarize yourself with their titles before submitting yours. Editors are Chris Fischbach and Anitra Budd. Links to their email addresses are at the site mentioned above.
Amazon Children’s Publishing has two new imprints: Two Lions will feature picture books and middle-grade fiction and Skyscape will publish works for young adults. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000775681
FanStitch Studio is a new planned imprint of C&T Publishing. It is designed to produce books related to sewing for kids. I don’t find a new website address for the new imprint. Here is the site for the original publishing house: http://www.ctpub.com
Disquiet is the new imprint for Dzanc Books. Disquiet will include titles from around the world that have been translated into English. http://www.dzancbooks.org
This is a year old, but worth checking into: It’s one person’s list of publishers who were, at that time, seeking submissions. http://sharonbayliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/list-of-publishers-seeking-submissions.html
Here’s a more current call for submissions: If you have a manuscript to publish, you’ll want to bookmark this link: http://www.newpages.com/classifieds/calls/
On the day I checked the NewPages list, Damselfly Press was seeking fiction and nonfiction works by women. http://www.damselflypress.net. Ashland Creek Press was soliciting novels, memoirs, collections of essays and more. http://www.ashlandcreekpress.com
Samhain Publishing is seeking horror novels. They want writers who can tell an exciting, dramatic and frightening story and who are eager to promote their work and build their community of readers. They also publish romance http://www.samhainpublishing.com. Check out their “special calls” section periodically to see what they are most interested in publishing. http://www.samhainpublishing.com/special-calls
Book Promotion Opportunities
The Authors Guild has a new service designed to help authors and publishers do book tours and signings from home. It’s called BookTalk Nation. Check it out at http://bit.ly/123TRXi or http://booktalknation.com Here, you can sign up for an event or listen to your favorite authors discuss their latest books all from home. You can even submit your own questions for authors. The organizers believe this project will not only support authors, but also bookstores. All talks, according to the material I read, are free (as long as your phone plan includes unlimited domestic calls).
Do you want to talk about the subject of your nonfiction book on radio, TV and/or blog talk radio? Sign up to receive emails listing the kinds of experts producers are seeking. Radio Guest List: http://www.radioguestlist.com.
Here’s a tip I learned from a long-time WPN member while I attended her writers’ group meeting this month. She set a stack of her new science fiction book in front of her at the lunch table along with a stack of business cards. I was surprised to see how many people came up and picked up a copy of the book and walked off with her business card. I watched as three of her group members purchased the book on the spot.
No one will buy a book they don’t know about. But your potential readers can’t resist at least picking up and looking at a book in the genre or on the topic of their interest. If they know you, they are even more likely to be interested.
Here’s another book promotion tip from an author I met at a book festival. He said that he sets up a table in the vicinity of a local farmer’s market—this works particularly well on a hot day. He sells glasses of lemonade for $10 each and gives thirsty customers a free copy of his book. Clever, huh? He said he has sold more copies doing this than any other single book promotion activity he has tried.
I’ve seen authors wear buttons or tee shirts advertising their books.
Read your book in public places—airports and restaurants are ideal. Better yet, give books to people you know who travel extensively on business and ask them to read your book in public.
Most of what we discuss here in the Opportunities for Book Promotion section are FREE. But there are good opportunities that cost. Again, I am not endorsing any of the resources I list here in the Market Update. If one interests you, it is up to you to check them out and decide.
Facebook Marketing Mastery Have you ever wondered how to use facebook to promote your book? It isn’t simply a matter of having a facebook page or even just announcing your book. Here’s a site where you can learn volumes about marketing on facebook. Check it out: http://www.marismith.com/facebook-money-mastery There is a fee involved. Mari Smith, facebook marketing specialist, is your leader for this workshop. The fee is currently $225.
I always do quite a bit of research when compiling this newsletter for you. This month, I focused on unique book marketing ideas. And one thing that kept coming from book marketing gurus as well as some fairly successful authors is that you need to establish a relationship with your readers. This is also something I preach—readers want to know something about the authors they read. They want a relationship with their authors. That’s why I wrote my latest book, Talk Up Your Book to help authors find ways that work for them to develop relationships with their readers, thus sell many more books. Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More is in print, Kindle and audio at Amazon.com as well as most other online and downtown bookstores. You can also order the print version here: http://www.matilijapress.com/TalkUpYourBook.com.
Former WPN member, Christine Pinheiro, Passkey Publications, editor of “The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages,” has sent us a list of new book reviewers. Here are a few:
Paranoid Contracts—Gorden Kenz
Reviews many types of books. Learn more here:
http://www.paranoidcontracts.blogspot.co.uk.
Contact Gorden here: paranoidcontracts@gmail.com
Trying to be a Frugal Momma
Rhonda Brown
tryingtobeafrugalmomma@gmail.com
She has a long list of types of books she accepts
Kasey Millstead reviews most nonfiction and some children’s books.
www.cms.southerncruxau5.webnode.com
Top of the Heap Reviews
Joe Hempel
http://www.topoftheheapreviews.com
email: topoftheheapreviews@gmail.com
He reviews some children’s as well as SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Crime and Comedy.
Readiculously Peachy
Florentine van Doornmalen
readiculouslypeachyreads@gmail.com
Reads many types of fiction
Going, Going, Gone
Garden Design has gone out of business.
AmericanStyle has closed.
LA Youth is no longer publishing
Lodging Hospitality has ceased publishing
Wine Access is gone
Human Events has closed.