Here’s What’s New
A new global rights resource is being established. A collective effort by PubMatch, Combined Book Exhibit, Reed Exhibitions and Lee’s Literary Agency will soon result in a common place online where people can go for multilingual book rights information. This resource is for authors, publishers and others who are interested in making the rights to their titles available to business partners around the world. For additional information, visit: http://www.pubmatch.com .The site should be up and running sometime this month.
Plein Air Magazine is back. This magazine is for artists and art collectors. http://www.pleinairmagazine.com.
Feline Wellness will cease publishing as a separate magazine. It is being incorporated into the main publication, Animal Wellness. http://www.animalwellnessmagazine.com
Key Porter Books, a Canadian publisher, has suspended operation for now in hopes of regrouping. Watch for an update. http://www.keyporter.com
Authors’ and Writers’ Conferences
The RT Reviews Booklovers’ Convention is April 6 through 10, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. On Friday, attend the third annual E-Book, Independent Publisher and Graphic Novel Expo from 4:00 – 6:00 pm. There’s a large book fair on Saturday. The event also features workshops, parties and a special event for teens. Learn more here: http://www.rtbookreviews.com.
The Connecticut Romance Writers of America is producing their Connecticut Fiction Fest to be held May 14, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in North Haven, CT. Contact Toni Andrews at toni@toniandrews.com. Website, http://toniandrews.com/FictionFest.htm
PennWriters Writers’ Conference will be held May 13-15, 2011 in Pittsburgh. This conference boasts 45 sessions and agent/editor appointments. http://www.pennwriters.com.
Orange County Christian Writers’ Conference is April 29-30, 2011 in Irvine, California. http://www.occwf.org.
If you live near Flagstaff, AZ, check out the Northern Arizona Book Fest April 16, 2011. Get a booth and sign your own books or sign up to do readings. http://www.nazbookfest.com/wp
Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference will be held April 28-May 1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Workshops, panel discussions and editor/agent appointments. http://pikespeakwriters.com.
The Kentucky Writers’ Conference is April 15 in Bowling Green, KY. http://www.sokybookfest.org/kywritersconf.
In New York City, attend the Big Apple Conference April 16-17, which is put on by the International Women’s Writers’ Guild. http://www.iwwg.com.
Ohio University in Athens, OH is presenting a Spring Literary Festival May 4-6. http://www.english.ohiou.edu/cw/litfest.
Field’s End Writers’ Conference will be held April 16 at Bainbridge Island, Washington. http://www.fieldsend.org.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
A special message to our loyal freelance writers: For this edition of the WPN Market Update, I wanted to get a sense of the changes taking place within the freelance article market. I set out to interview magazine editors. I sent emails to 20 of them from all different areas of interest. I received a response from one and her response was, “Read our submission guidelines.”
If you are having trouble getting editors’ attention with your great ideas, I feel for you. It seems to be more and more difficult to break in, to be noticed and to develop a rapport with editors. That’s why we do our best to bring you the information and support you need in order to continue in your quest to earn a living or supplement your income through article-writing.
Do you feel as though you are working harder and making less headway as a freelance article/story writer in 2011? It’s impossible to keep up with all of the changes that are occurring within this field. We do our best here to bring you updates. You should also be reading the Wooden Horse Newsletter: http://www.woodenhorsepub.com and Freelance Writers Report: http://www.writers-editors.com.
One way to approach the article market is to study each magazines’ editorial calendar. While most of these calendars are produced with the advertisers in mind—so they can decide which issues will appeal to their consumer demographic—these are also useful for freelance article-writers. Check to see what topics a magazine plans to explore in months ahead, come up with an interesting twist for an article on that subject and suggest it to the editor.
Different magazines have different lead-times, so be sure to note the deadline date. You want to have plenty of time to research and complete the article for a specific issue.
As an example, a home and garden magazine might plan to feature houseplants in their fall issue. You could suggest an illustrated piece on how to grow new African violet plants from leaves. (I actually sold this article to a couple of magazines over the years.) Perhaps a pet publication is running an issue focusing on senior pets. See if they would like a companion piece featuring nursing home pets or therapy programs where volunteers bring puppies and kittens to visit assisted living residents, for example.
Following are ten magazines that have editorial calendars. To locate even more editorial calendars, sign up for the Wooden Horse magazine database. Meg Weaver collects editorial calendars galore. http://www.woodenhorsepub.com.
Magazines with Editorial Calendars
Alaska Airlines Magazine
http://alaskaairlinesmagazine.com/editorial
Family Business Magazine
http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com
Click top left (“Editorial Calendar Available Here”)
Chicago Magazine
http://www.chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/Submissions/Editorial-Calendar
AARP The Magazine
http://www.aarpmedia.org/editorial
Horizon Air Magazine
http://www.horizonairmagazine.com/editorial
Connections Magazine
http://www.connectionsmagazine.com/dates.html
Niche Magazine
http://www.nichemagazine.com/advertise/editorial-calendar
Green Magazine
http://greenmagazines.com/editorial-calendar.pdf
Eating Well
http://media.eatingwell.com/advertising/mediakit/magazine_calendar.html
Road and Travel Magazine
http://www.roadandtravel.com/company/Editorial/editorial-calendar.html
Opportunities for Authors
WPN member, Mark Levine is offering his brand new 4th edition of “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing” in softcover, PDF, MOBI and ePub formats at a 50% discount for WPN members. Just go to: https://secure.mybookorders.com/order/MultiProduct.aspx?SiteID=262 Go ahead and place your order. You will come to a place where the system asks for a code. Type “WPN” to get the discount.
This offer is good for 60 days only.
I peeked before ordering my copy and see that Mark has done quite a few updates—he even lists some new “self-publishing” (pay-to-publish) companies.
We do not generally list editorial services. However, I thought this one was unique. This is not a recommendation. But it might be something you’ll want to check out. They do query letter and manuscript evaluation services for a pretty reasonable price—$35 for query letter on up to $400 for full manuscript. My guess is that they do no proofing or editing—they will look at your manuscript strictly from a publishing point of view to determine, is this manuscript publishable? You might want to check out their services at: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/content/manuscript-evaluation-service After having your manuscript evaluated (or before) make sure that you hire an experienced book editor.
I suggest hiring the editor after the book evaluation. You might get advice about changes that would greatly enhance your story. You’ll want to have the story set before the editor starts his/her work.
Worthy Publishing is a new Christian book publisher. http://worthypublishing.com
Oconee Spirit Press is a new press that publishes just four to six titles per year. At present, they are publishing original and previously published works by contemporary authors. They want lively fiction and provocative nonfiction of from 45,000 to 100,000 words. Contact editorial@oconeespirit.com. For submission guidelines: http://www.oconeespirit.com/submissions.html
We always recommend that new authors spend a great deal of time studying the publishing industry and one way to learn about the industry, your options, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibility as a published author is to attend lectures and workshops related to authorship and publishing. I suggest that you take a look at the list of conferences above. If you don’t see any near you or during the right time frame to suit your schedule, locate additional conferences through these sites:
http://www.allconferences.com
http://www.newpages.com/writing-conferences
Or do an Internet search to locate a conference near you.
Opportunities for Book Promotion
Book reviews still seem like a good way to bring attention to your book. I’ve done some research for you and discovered a dozen magazines that publish book reviews and a dozen that are seeking appropriate book excerpts.
Some book reviewers want to receive the book so they can review it themselves. Others will publish a review that you (or someone else) sends them. Often, there is pay involved. If you (or a colleague) will be submitting a review, make sure to follow a traditional book review standard. If the particular magazine doesn’t have guidelines for writing a book review, read back issues containing reviews to get an idea of how they are structured. I think you will notice that a book review is not a gushy, complimentary, tribute to a book. Rather, it is an objective description of the book and what makes it stand out from similar books (especially for nonfiction). A book reviewer analyzes the book and determines/states its purpose. A book review is not completely objective, however, because you get to give your opinion. How did the book affect you? What is your opinion about the book? Does it accomplish what the author set out for it to? Would you recommend this book and to whom?
Magazines that publish book reviews
Conscience. According to their guidelines, they want you to submit book reviews of 600 to 1,200 words and they will pay $75 per review. Their audience is diverse and educated, so keep that in mind when choosing a book to review for them or for choosing them as a place to send a review of your book. http://www.catholicsforchoice.org. Contact Kate Childs Graham, conscience@catholicsforchoices.org.
The editors at A New Heart publish reviews of 200 words for books on medical and Christian topics. Http://www.hcfusa.com. They do not pay and their circulation is only 5,000. But that is 5,000 more potential readers!
The staff at Tricycle (a Buddhist magazine) review books, film and tapes and they also publish your reviews. Send them 600 words. Learn more at http://www.tricycle.com
Dovetail publishes your reviews for books related to interfaith families or other relationships. They want 500 words and they’ll pay $15. http://www.dovetailinstitute.org.
417 Magazine, a regional southwest Missouri magazine, reviews books on local topics. http://www.417mag.com.
Michigan History has a book review section. The reviewer asks for review copies of nonfiction books with a Michigan or Great Lake focus. http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com.
The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review publishes reviews of poetry books. As a bonus, the editors often do interviews with poets for the magazine. http://www.sows-ear.kitenet.net
Open Spaces uses book reviews by experts in various fields on topics of interest to the informed public. http://www.open-spaces.com.
Aviation History publishes book reviews of up to 250-500 words and pays $50 (minimum). Must relate to aviation history. http://www.thehistorynet.com
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction publishes reviews of unusual books. They want 270 words and will pay around $50. http://www.fandsf.com
Book Excerpts
An excerpt is something copied from your book—a chapter, a list of tips, a section on a particular aspect of your topic, a stand-alone story, etc. Here are some magazines that publish book excerpts.
Tricycle Magazine uses book excerpts from books related to Buddhism in the Western culture.
http://www.tricycle.com
Today’s Christian publishes book excerpts from books covering religious and spiritual issues. They might accept an excerpt from your wedding memoir, especially if it is a humorous story. Their audience also enjoys inspirational material, historical and a variety of general interest topics. http://www.christianitytoday.com.
Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History uses book excerpts related to Indiana history and this might include the history as it relates to politics, sports, music, folklore and more. http://www.indianahistory.com
The Polishing Stone, a general interest magazine for people who want to take better care of themselves and the world around them, uses book excerpts. Consider sending excerpts related to whole foods, growing and using herbs, hand-made products, spirituality and more. http://www.polishingstone.org.
Muscle and Fitness publishes excerpts for bodybuilders. http://www.muscle-fitness.com
Cottage Life publishes excerpts from books of interest to people who live in cottages along the waterfronts in Canada. http://www.cottagelife.com.
The Fourth River is a literary magazine that welcomes book excerpts that fit their focus, which is exploring the relationship between humans and the environment. Your book related to green travel, humorous stories of how we influence our environment and are influenced by it, and appropriate opinion material might be a fit. http://www.fourthriver.chatham.edu.
The Bear Deluxe Magazine publishes book excerpts on environmental issues. If you have a book on any aspect of the environment, you might interest the editors in an excerpt. http://www.orlo.org.
Faith + Form uses book excerpts from books related to religious art and buildings. http://www.faithandform.com.
GirlFriendz uses book experts of interest to baby boomer women. http://www.girlfriendzmag.com
Opportunities for Artists and Photographers
Use Google to seek work. I typed in “Illustrator needed” and found numerous opportunities for illustrators. Several people/companies wanted children’s book illustrators. Some are old listings, however. So beware.
Sail pays up to $1,000 for photographs they use on the cover. http://www.sailmagazine.com. Amy.ullrich@sourceinterlink.com
Chesapeake Bay Magazine offers $75 to $250 per photo or $400/day for assignments. Learn more by emailing the editor editor@cbmmag.net.
If you are a photographer living in Oklahoma, the folks at Oklahoma Today are interested in you. They pay $50 to $750 for appropriate photos. http://www.oklahomatoday.com.
Northwest Travel pays $100 to $425 for photos used. http://www.nortwestmagazines.com.
Porthole Cruise Magazine uses photos. Email for particulars and rates. Linda Douthat, ldouthat@ppigroup.com. http://www.porthole.com.
Sport Fishing uses photos. $75 to $400. http://www.sportfishingmag.com.
Salt Water Sportsman Magazine pays $1,500 for color slides. http://www.saltwatersportsman.com
Going, Going, Gone
http://www.easyspeech.com domain name for sale.
http://www.onlinewritingjobs.com has closed
http://www.freelanceconnect.com closed down in February.
Continental, the inflight magazine from Continental Airlines has quit
Resources
Behance Network has a job board. http://www.behance.net.joblist. On the day when I checked it out, I found jobs for copywriters, web designers, graphic artists, a lecturer, an art director, photographers and more.
Simply Hired is another new-to-me job board I want to report on this month. They list jobs in many industries, including graphic artists and writers. http://www.simplyhired.com.
First Writer also has a job site. Here is the link by industry.
http://www.1st-writer.com/job_sites_by_industry.htm