This issue is rich with hundreds of useful links, resources and opportunities for freelance writers, authors and screenwriters. Showcase your books, locate thousands of markets for your work and learn valuable techniques for finding paying jobs and locating publishers.
Here’s What’s New – 10 cool and shocking things to report.
For Freelance Writers AND Authors – 7 interesting and informative resources.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – A dozen opportunities.
Opportunities for Authors – 4 opps and a valuable lesson for authors.
Book Promotion Opportunities – 7 of them.
Opportunities for Screenwriters – An article for screenwriters and a new site.
Editor’s remarks (from Patricia Fry): A listing in the WPN Market Update does not imply an endorsement. Please always do your own thorough research before using any of the services, sites or companies listed here.
Here’s What’s New
Oh my! Say it ain’t so. According to a recent article by Carolyn Kellogg in the Los Angeles Times, you can pay for bestselling book status. Kellogg’s article says all you have to do is hire a service called ResultSource Inc. to do the legwork for you. How much does it cost to buy entrance into the growing number of bestsellers each year? According to this article, somewhere in the $200,000 bracket. Knowing this, will you ever look at a bestselling book the same again?
Note: Among the comments following this article was one from an author who says that some authors land their books on the top 100 list at Amazon by paying reviewers as little as $5 each for 5-star reviews. And then there are those who claim you can purchase thousands of Twitter followers. I wonder, what good are fake followers, anyway?
What’s up with the newly forming trend they’re calling “Robot Journalism?” Have you read any computer-generated articles, lately? When I first heard about this, I was pretty sure I haven’t experienced a software-written story. But then, how would I know, unless the byline is left blank, for example. The general consensus from those who have studied this practice is that the computer-generated articles are considered descriptive and boring, but possibly more objective and trustworthy. The worst thing about this practice is that it puts hard-working, flesh-and-blood journalists out of work.
Lark, an imprint of Sterling Publishing, closed last month.
WinePress Publishing, a Christian publishing house operating for the last 23 years, closed its doors in March.
A.H. Cather Publishing has closed its doors after 101 years in business. This company was doing business is Birmingham, Alabama.
Stone Thread Publishing in Tombstone, Arizona is closing.
Vook has acquired Booklr, an analytics service for authors and publishers.
Phil Whitmarsh, formerly with SelfPublishing.com, along with a couple of partners, has created Redbrush, a publishing services provider. Last time I checked, the website was still under construction. Watch for the unveiling. http://www.redbrush.com
If you’re a journalist or interested in trends in journalism, you’ll want to read this state of the news media indicators. http://www.journalism.org/2014/03/26/state-of-the-news-media-2014-key-indicators-in-media-and-news
For Freelance Writers and Authors
Writer Unboxed (http://www.writerunboxed.com) is a website where writers and authors go to learn and to share. I found the site a little confusing at first—I wasn’t sure what their mission was. Then I clicked on a picture/name of a contributor and found a list of articles they’d contributed to the site along with links to the articles. Spend some time here reading on a variety of topics for writers and, if you have something worth sharing, by all means jump in and participate. Here’s a random list of article topics you’ll find at Writer Unboxed:
“5 Things I wish I Knew Before I Published My First Book.”
“5 Ways a Novelist Can Benefit From Watching Movies and TV Shows.”
“7 R’s of Positivity for the Unpublished Novelist.”
“Defeat the Wicked Witch of Writer’s Block.”
Have you heard of Source Sleuth? Ryan Evans uses this name for his Internet search service. He has created a website to help you locate difficult-to-find sources for your stories or nonfiction articles or books. Check it out here: http://www.sourcesleuth.com
http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com is an interesting place for writers to visit and learn. You can also contribute information, resources, tips and techniques that have served you in your writing career or hobby.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Today’s Small Business is new and they use freelance material. It doesn’t appear, so far, however, that they are a paying market. http://www.superiorbms.com/todays-small-business-magazine.
There’s a newly formed group for freelance writers called, The Freelance Writer. If you were a member of the original freelance writer group, you’re probably aware that it has been abandoned. This group is taking its place. New and former members are welcome. http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Freelance-Writer-6617682
I take Writer’s Digest for granted because I receive something from them in my email box every single day. But for those of you who are not familiar with all they have to offer (for a fee), here’s a link to get you started. They have workshops, classes, books, magazines, webinars, critique and editing services and more. You might want to start here: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/freelance-writing
How about some paying markets for freelance writers? When I was in the business, I was always looking for new ideas and new things to write about. Rather than sticking to the same familiar topics, this month why don’t you stretch and grow a little. Follow trends in the news. What concerns people today—safety on airlines, airline travel abroad, the way we mourn, how to grieve, college graduation—what comes next? Our family is soon to welcome a set of twins. Multiple births is certainly a topic of interest to many these days. Cooking! OMG, everyone is watching the cooking shows. The most well-known celebrities these days are Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay and so forth. How about a story for a general audience on how our cooking styles (and kitchens) have evolved over the years? It seems that there are two schools of cooks—those who love to spend time in creative mode in their kitchens and those who get by on fast and delivered food. Animals are in the news almost every day and in our memoirs, novels and children’s books. Aspects of this trend would be fun to explore and you could probably come up with several article ideas for a variety of publications.
Here are a few magazines you may not have thought to query:
That’s Life is an interesting magazine that publishes true life stories as well as fiction. This publication was launched in 1995 in the UK. They recommend that you study the magazine before submitting anything. Then request their submission guidelines by email: stories@thatslife.co.ukhttp://www.thatslife.co.uk Contact Sophie Hearsey.
Country Woman is a fun magazine to write for. They use nonfiction, reprints, photos, fiction and even poetry. They’ve broadened their focus since I wrote for them. So the opportunities are greater. Their submission guidelines are hard to find at their website, so I’ve provided the link for you: http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/contributor-guidelines As for pay, they aren’t saying. But I know they do pay. It appears that if you don’t ask for a certain amount, they pay “regular contributors’ rates,” whatever that means. Contact Lori Lau Grzybowski at editors@countrywomanmagazine.com
Complete Woman is another magazine I used to write for. The current editor is Kourtney McKay. (Actually, she’s listed as art director.) They use 60 to 100 mss per year and pay up to $500. http://www.thecompletewomanmagazine.com Request guidelines by mail—gosh, that’s a practice from the dark-ages.
Are you familiar with The Broadsheet? This is a magazine for and about women writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. This might be a good avenue to your audience. Check them out here: http://broaduniverse.org. Contact Lillian Cohen-Moore at broadsheet@broaduniverse.org
Have you ever dabbled in regional magazines? Some of them pay quite well. If you live in the area the magazine covers, you’ve visited, or you have some particularly interesting information, connection, etc. to the area (maybe a novel that takes place there), you might want to check out some of the 100 or so magazines listed under “Regional” in the Writer’s Market. While some pay only $50—others pay upwards of $2000. Put your thinking cap on and see if you can come up with some articles to submit in this category. And then tell us about your success.
Want to sell your poetry? Here are a few publications that use poetry. As with any submission, make sure you follow the magazine’s guidelines. You’ll generally find them at the magazine website.
First, spend some time studying literary magazines. Many of them publish poetry. Most don’t pay much, but they can be a nice showcase for your poetry and short stories and give you some publishing credits.
Here’s a list of 50 top literary magazines. They include: Harpers, The Atlantic, New England Review, Five Points, Tin House, Paris Review, Granta, Cincinnati Review and others. As if this won’t keep you busy enough, click on another link at this site and find additional literary magazine listings. http://www.everywritersresource.com/topliterarymagazines.html
Poets and Writers website lists nearly a thousand potential markets for your poetry and fiction. http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines
Opportunities for Authors
Capstone Publishers Group is launching a YA division. If you have a young adult manuscript that could be considered contemporary nonfiction, you might check out Switch Press. When they launch in the fall, they’ll also be looking for cookbooks, craft and how-to titles and narrative nonfiction. Their fiction editors are seeking historical fiction, fantasy, graphic novels and poetry. The Switch Press website will launch this month.
Waterfall Press is a new imprint from Amazon specializing in Christian fiction and nonfiction. Http://www.brilliancepublishing.com/waterfall.
Simon & Schuster has launched a new science fiction imprint: Simon451.
Many authors want to land a traditional publisher for their marvelous book, but give up after a few tries. Does this sound like you? Do you ever wonder what the problem is? Why can’t you find a publisher for your memoir, book of short stories, self-help or how-to book or gothic novel? Probably because you are targeting the wrong publisher. Still, many authors don’t understand that many publishers specialize. Or they are seeking projects that fit into their vision for the future of their companies. If you want to go the traditional publisher route, it is absolutely imperative that you study publisher’s lists and their submission guidelines. A good way to determine which publishers to contact is to look at books similar to yours and find out who published them. If it is a large publisher who requires submissions presented through agents, read the “acknowledgements” pages in these books to find out who their agent is.
THEN study each agent’s/publisher’s submission guidelines and prepare a package that conforms. You’ll find submission guidelines at the agent’s or publisher’s website. Some agents/publishers require that you send a certain size stamped envelope with your return address in order to receive the guidelines—or they will email them to you.
Keep in mind that the way you work with or submit to one agent or one publisher is not necessarily the mold you should use for others. Approach each agent/publisher as individuals and fit your project and your approach to match each set of requirements.
You would not send Calkins Creek Publishers a how-to or informational book on African violets or overcoming shyness as they produce books exclusively on important events, places and people in American history. Avalon Books publishes only fiction, so don’t bother them with your memoir. Ledge Hill Publishing might be interested in your memoir and your book on overcoming shyness and African violets.
Remember, you are the CEO of your book from the very beginning. Take this responsibility seriously. Take charge. Do appropriate research. Write the right book for the right audience, choose the right publisher for your project and be prepared to promote, promote, promote.
Have you used all of the traditional and well-known channels to find a publisher? Here’s a new kid on the block offering a large directory of publishers and the ability to cross-reference using their database. http://www.newmoonmedia.biz Looks like you must join in order to gain access. I attempted to find out the cost, but it isn’t revealed at the website.
Book Promotion Opportunities
http://www.selfpublishersshowcase.com is a relatively new showcase site for authors. They offer two packages—basic, $19 for three years opportunity to showcase your book at the site or for $38 for one year, the hosts will also actively promote your book while also giving you a variety of opportunities to promote your book through their channels. Note: the site hosts claim to have 26,000 Twitter followers.
Speaking of showcasing your book, here are a few places where you can get FREE exposure for your book. Addicted to eBooks showcases books and allows the author to rate his or her book as to level of violence and so forth. http://addictedtoebooks.com
At http://www.ereaderperks (eReader Perks), they will showcase your book when it’s temporarily free on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc. They believe they can help spread the word about your book during this promotional period when you’re offering it FREE.
GoodKindles offers you a place where you can introduce your book. http://www.goodkindles.com
Marsha Friedman writes a newsletter called The PR Insider. The first page of her March 26, 2014 issue talks about Twitter follower purchases. And they aren’t expensive. You can buy 1,000 fake followers for $2.99. I have been gathering followers legitimately for a year or so and have only half that number. Seem like a good idea to get a head-start of followers? It’s cheap enough. But before you get involved in this kind of program, let me say that these fake followers are obvious to Twitter management and are soon deleted. I have to wonder if Twitter might actually promote fake accounts when they provide that list of potential followers you can click on. Oh, it’s all rather mysterious to me.
Here’s a name you may want to hold onto—Bethanne Kelly Patrick. She is the new books editor for the Washingtonian Magazine. She’ll handle book reviews and author interviews in the magazine as well as in her weekly blog posts. Contact her here: Bpatrick@washingtonian.com
Here’s one of those links that makes it worth your while to spend time reading this issue of the WPN Market Update. You must read Sabrina Ricci’s article “Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie authors Find Readers and Reviewers.” (Sabrina’s list of tools is up to 119 now, by the way). http://bit.ly/1c0YaCL She covers reviewers, crowd sourcing, blog tours, showcases and more.
Here’s a site that posts reviews for biographies and memoirs. http://biography-book.com. But they no longer accept books from authors or publishers. They’re getting all of their books from these two sources—Book Club Reading List and Cheap eBooks. So maybe it would be a good idea to get your books listed here: http://www.bookclubreadinglist.com and http://99cent-books.com/?ap_id=biography
Opportunities for Screenwriters
Hal Croasmun at ScreenwritingU is offering a course called “33 Ways to Sell Your Script.” Learn more about all of the courses offered and dates here: http://screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-classes
Filmmakers and screenwriters will find this site useful. https://filmfreeway.com. It reports on contests, festivals and other information of interest to screenwriters.