Here’s What’s New
To celebrate the13th birthday of ForeWord Reviews, the staff has moved to a new location. The new address is 425 Boardman Ave., Ste. B, Traverse City, MI 49684. Send all of your books for review to this address from now on. http://www.forewordreviews.com
Those of us who have found homes for our articles in inflight magazines, may have to find new outlets for our work soon. It is predicted that inflight magazines, such as Hemispheres, Spirit Magazine, US Airways Magazine and others will be a thing of the past when more airlines provide wi fi for passengers. The forecast is that passengers will do their reading online and will bypass the advertisement-laden inflight magazines placed in the seat pockets.
CPA Technology Advisor is now CPA Practice Advisor. http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com
Painting, Pack-O-Fun and The Cross Stitcher are all folding into Crafts ‘n Things. http://www.craftsnthings.com.
She Pedals has a new name and a new focus. Debuting this month as Endure Magazine, it has expanded to include running and swimming for women as well as bicycling. Check out the new website: http://www.enduremagazine.com
Did you hear that Bon Appetit has relaunched? Did you know they had folded? You did if you read this newsletter regularly.
Maine in Print is doing a redesign and is not publishing at this time. Watch for the debut of the new magazine. http://www.mainewriters.org
Fellowscript Newsletter and Inscribe: Christian Writers Fellowship have a new email address. It is fellowscript@gmail.com
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Do you enjoy writing for inflight magazines? Or do you dream of breaking into inflight magazines? Did you know that there are around 150 of these magazines found in the seat pockets of major airliners? And you can gain access to that directory for only $9.95. Check out this opportunity at: http://www.inflight-magazines.com.
AKA Mom Magazine will debut this month. As the title indicates, it is for today’s modern mother and will cover all areas of a woman’s life. Yes, they want parenting articles, but also career advice, green living, fashion, fitness and so forth. Check out their media kit here: http://akamommagazine.com. You’ll find their editorial calendar here, as well. For their pay scale and a copy of their submission guidelines, contact the publisher at sara@h2oprintmedia.com
Town Magazine uses contributions. This is a new regional magazine based in Greenville, SC. Contact Blair Knobel at Blair@towngreenville.com for submission guidelines. http://www.towngreenville.com
Coastlands Magazine is back. http://www.policyreview.ca. They pay a “reasonable word-rate”—whatever that is—for article submissions. Email the editor and ask for a copy of the writer’s guidelines: submissions@policyreview.ca.
Open Talk Magazine is new. Check out their website and see if you have anything to contribute to their rich content. http://www.opentalkmagazine.com. Contact Larry West. LWest@opentalkmagazine.com.
Birder’s World is back with a new title—Bird Watching. http://www.birdwatchingdaily.com. If you’re interested in submitting a photo or story to Bird Watching, click on “contact” and scroll down to “submission guidelines.”
Uptown Professional Magazine is new. To contact them about writing for this magazine, leave a message on the contact form at: http://www.uptownpromag.com.
Tip: I urge freelance writers in search of article markets and authors in search of publishers to check submission guidelines regularly—they tend to change with time. You might discover that their acquisitions editor or their article focus has changed. Publishers sometimes put out a call, through their submission guidelines, for manuscripts in specific genres or they might change the way they accept submissions.
Do you write fiction? Check out the data base at http://www.duotrope.com for 2,300 opportunities for fiction writers and poets.
Make Some BIG Money This Month
Here are a few magazines that pay well. You might want to carefully groom one of your article ideas (or come up with a new one) for one of these publications:
Backpacker Magazine pays up to $4,000 for articles essays, exposes, historical how-to, humor, inspirational, personal experience, etc. related to hiking and other human-powered modes of travel. This magazine is fifty percent freelance-written. Break in through one of the many columns. http://www.backpacker.com. Locate guidelines here: http://www.backpacker.com/guidelines
Outreach Magazine pays as much as $600 for an article for church leaders. Study a copy of the magazine for the style. To locate the guidelines, click on “Magazine” choose “writers guidelines” on the drop down menu. You’ll see a detailed writers’ guide—very informative. http://www.outreachmagazine.com.
Print pays $1,250 for essays, interview and opinion pieces related to graphic design. http://www.printmag.com. Email info@printmag.com for a copy of the writers’ guidelines.
Sailing Magazine uses articles focusing on sailing, cruising and boat racing experiences. They pay as much as $800 per piece. http://www.sailingmagazine.net. Request guidelines here: editorial@sailingmagazine.net.
Trailer Boats Magazine pays up to $1,000 for articles on trailer boating activities, historical places, events, how to and so forth. http://www.trailerboats.com.
New York Magazine pays $1 word for articles focusing on lifestyle in NY, business and more. http://www.newyorkmag.com For some help with writers’ guidelines, go to: http://nymag.com/contactus/
Echohome Designs pays around $1,000 for articles focusing on green home design. http://www.hanleywood.com.
There you have it. Now go get creative and win some of these juicy assignments.
Opportunities for Authors
Are you in the market for images, graphics of videos for your book or website? Jenna Levy at Fotolia is offering a one-month subscription to the Fotolia’s library of royalty-free images. Fotolia has over twelve million photos, graphics and High Def videos starting as low as .14 cents each. This subscription offer allows you to download hundreds of dollars worth of high resolution images for free. If you are searching for photos or graphics for your book or videos for your website, check out this offer at http://fotolianews.com. Contact Jenna at jenna@fotolianews.com.
Meghan Macdonald is now with Transatlantic Literary Agency in Toronto. She is accepting email queries for adult fiction and nonfiction. meghan.macdonaldtla@gmail.com.
Discover directories of publishers listed by subject, genre, countries, and more; find lists of distributors and vendor directories at Publishers Global. http://www.publishersglobal.com/news
Have you started seeking a publisher for your book project? Have you given up the search for the right publisher and you contemplate taking the easy road and going with a pay-to-publish company? PLEASE read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. He will prepare you for the challenge of determining if pay-to-publish is for you, which company is best for you and your project, etc. In the meantime, continue taking the right steps on behalf of your book.
1: Self-edit your manuscript so it is the best that you can make it.
2: Hire an experienced book editor to give it the final polish. (You may be surprised at what you missed.)
3: If you haven’t done so already, write a book proposal. It will help you to identify your true target audience, discover what you must do in order to establish and build on your platform and devise a marketing plan.
4: Study the publishing industry—in particular, the publishers in your genre/topic.
5: Locate submission guidelines for appropriate publishers and study them.
6: Get help writing your query letter.
7: Approach the publishers of your choice with the proof and facts they most desire. They want to know: will this book make me some money?
8: Don’t give up too soon.
Book Promotion Opportunities
WPN member Barbara Florio-Graham is offering mailing lists featuring 90 to 100 Canadian libraries, all of them with purchasing power, at a discount for WPN members. The list of addresses—ready to print on labels—is regularly $35. WPN members can purchase this list for $30. Use the code word WPN when ordering. This offer ends August 1, 2011, so place your order today. Contact Barbara at simon@storm.ca.
Have you looked at the member discounts, lately? Printers, book production, software and online courses for freelance writers and authors. In the member area under “Discounts .”
The folks at Dabbling Mum will review craft books as well as books on marriage and parenting. If you have an appropriate book, be sure to check out this site. You just might get a review that will sell many copies. http://thedabblingmum.com
Reviewers at US Reviews reviews all genres of books. Check them out at http://www.theUSreview.com. Contact them at info@theUSreview.com.
I hope you have ordered the appropriate radio show ebooks from Fran Silverman at Book Promotion Newsletter. She is also the author of Talk Radio Wants You: An Intimate Guide to 700 Shows and How to Get Invited. She has created these ebooks from her book in hopes of helping authors to locate talk shows where they can promote their books. Are you promoting a book related to a specific topic? Here are descriptions of some of the ebooks Fran has for sale: New Age, 163 shows listed for $20; Parenting, $12 for 52 shows; Relationships, 48 shows for $12; Health issues, 103 shows for $20 and Business, 180 shows for $20. Your book topics might overlap. For example, it might be a self-help book on parenting or relationships. So you might order the ebooks including a total of 200 shows for $32. http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com or http://www.talkradioadvocate.com
Did you submit excerpts from your book after studying the list of publications I posted last month that accept excerpts? What were the results? Here are more publications that publish book excerpts. If you didn’t pursue those opportunities, add those 10 to these 10 and you now have 20 opportunities to get added exposure for your book.
Afrique Newsmagazine publishes articles and stories related to empowering people of African descent. http://www.afriquenewsmagazine.com.
Tea A Magazine features tea as it relates to culture, art, travel and more. http://www.teamag@teamag.com.
Arkansas Review is interested in excerpting books related to life and nature in the Mississippi River Delta region. http://www.clt.astate.edu/arkreview.
The Atlantic Monthly uses book excerpts related to the focus of the magazine. Study the guidelines: http://www.theatlantic.com.
Morpheus Tales covers science fiction, fantasy, horror and uses book excerpts on these topics/genres. Contact morpheustales@blueyonder.co.uk.
Antique Trader uses book excerpts related to shows, auctions and news all on the topic of antiques. http://www.antiquetrader.com.
Fine Book & Collections needs book excerpts on good writing, interesting people and book-collecting. http://www.finebooksmagazine.com
Modernism Magazine publishes articles on design, architecture and decorative arts. http://wwww.modernismmagazine.com.
American Educator publishes book excerpts on topics of interest to America’s teachers. http://www.aft.org/american_educator/index.html.
Delicious Living uses book excerpts on health-conscious living. http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com.
Opportunities for Poets
I hear my poet friends say all the time, “There are no opportunities for poets—no market for poetry…” I beg to differ. Check out this major database of poetry and fiction markets. I also went to the trouble of locating several other markets for your poetry—some of it in the most unexpected places. Now get busy and start submitting.
Duotrope’s Digest has a database with over 2,300 poetry and fiction markets. http://www.duotrope.com
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine publishes poetry. http://www.themysteryplace.com.
The Bear Deluxe uses poetry. In fact, they pay $20 per published poem. http://www.orlo.org.
Ocean Magazine publishes poetry and they pay as much as $150. http://www.oceanmag.org
Whisper in the Woods uses poetry. http://www.whisperinthewoods.com
Illumen publishes poetry. http://www.samsdotpublishing.com
Submit poetry to the Sofa Ink Quarterly, http://www.sofaink.com
First Things uses poetry. Http://www.firstthings.com.
Rocky Mountain Rider publishes poetry related to horses and riding. http://www.rockymountainrider.com. They pay $10 per poem.
Opportunities for Artists and Photographers
Michael Kryzer and David Goldsmith announce that their 2011 version of Sell Your Digital Photos is now available as an ebook. I believe I recommended the 2008 version of this resource to all of you who are interested in selling your digital photos for money. Whether you purchased that book or not, be sure to check out the 2011version. It has 216 pages and lists more than 400 magazines and other publications that purchase freelance photographs. The new release is on sale for $27.95. http://www.cameracareer.com/guide
As noted above, Bird Watching at http://www.birdwatchingdaily.com, is always in the market for good photos of birds. Click on “contact” and scroll down to “submission guidelines.”
Motor Trend buys photos of prototype cars. Http://www.motortrend.com
The Sun pays as much as $500 for photos. Learn more here: http://www.thesunmagazine.org.
Specialiving buys photos. http://www.specialiving.com.
Two well-known writers are teaming up to produce a book of poetry and they are seeking artwork. If you’d like to find out more about what they want, contact Carolyn Howard-Johnson at JOHONews@aol.com or Magdalena Ball at Maggieball@compulsivereader.com.
Opportunities for Scriptwriters
New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest is accepting scripts through July 5, 2011. First prize is $300 plus a reading in a professional theater. Learn more at http://www.newworksofmeritplaywritingcontest.com.
Absolute Write has a large forum where screenwriters and playwrights communicate. http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums
Going Going Gone
The Writer’s Handbook will no longer be published by Macmillan Publishers.
AccessTV—a monthly guide for DirecTV has ceased publication.
Mothering Magazine has closed down altogether.
The Nest is now online only.
Marketplace Magazine (a Wisconsin business mag) has closed after 21 years.
Crow Toes Quarterly has ceased publication.
Tucson Home has gone out of business
Arthur has folded. Yes, again.
Syracuse has stopped publishing
Listen has gone out of business
Open City has ceased publication
Resources for Writers, Authors and Others
The National Writers Association recently came out with a list of their benefits for members. Free services and resources include Contract and Agreement Evaluation (although they say they are not attorneys), Professional Consultation and a Complaint Service. They may charge for Agent Referrals, Contests, Manuscript Criticism and Editing Services. http://www.nationalwriters.com
Peter Bowerman of “Well-Fed Writer” fame, has just launched a new program for writers called “The Well-Fed Partner Pantry.” Check it out at http://www.wellfedwriter.com/wfpartnerpantry.shtml
Keep your finger on the pulse of the publishing industry. http://www.publishersglobal.com/news/
Bonus Item
Have you listened in on some of the tele-seminars WPN provides? President Susan Daffron interviews an expert or professional each month and invites the entire membership to listen. She also records the conversations and offers downloads FREE to members. Download or listen to your favorite speaker here: http://www.spawn.org/blog/?cat=11 (for members only).
To recap, Susan has interviewed 16 industry experts on topics ranging from writing techniques to book promotion and everything in between.
WPN provides an amazing value to members for your $65/year membership fee. You could spend thousands of dollars traveling to various locations over a long period of time gathering the information and wisdom in these 16 (so far) recordings.
Elizabeth Danziger, owner of Worktalk, a consulting service, spoke on how to “Get to the Point! Painless Advice for Writing.”
Robert Bly, author of over 75 classic writing and marketing books, gave us a presentation on “How to Write and Sell Simple Information for Fun and Profit”
Marcia Meier, author of “Navigating the Rough Waters of Today’s Publishing World” spoke on the topic of her book.
David Garland, founder of The Rise To The Top, named his presentation, “Faster, Cheaper, Non-Boring Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business.”
Kate Bandos, publicist and founder of KSB Promotions spoke on, “Are Book Awards Worth It?”
Gail Z. Martin, a book marketing specialist with Dreamspinner Communications, talked about “Book Marketing Magic.”
Brian Jud, author of “Beyond the Bookstore” presented a program on how to “Sell More Books in Large Quantities with No Returns.”
Jerry Waxler, workshop leader and organizer of the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference named his encouraging presentation, “I don’t Brake for Writer’s Block.”
Stephanie Chandler, founder of Authority Publishing and author of “Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform from Entrepreneur to Infopreneur,” talked on “Publish, Promote and Profit from Books, Ebooks and Information Products.”
Hope Clark, Funds for Writers, spoke on how to “Make More Money Writing.”
Penny Sansevieri, a book publicist and founder of A Marketing Expert presented a program based on her book, Red Hot Internet Publicity.”
Hobie Hobart, a partner in Dunn and Associates, a company that specialize in designing bestselling book covers explained during his interview that “You Have 10 Seconds to Sell Your Book.”
Milton Kahn, publicist told us how to set up a “Focused Book Publicity Campaign.”
Peter Bowerman, of The Well Fed Writer fame, spoke on “Commercial Freelancing.”
Mark Levine author of “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing” discussed “Why Self-Publish.”
Sandra Beckwith, former publicist and author gave an enlightening presentation called, “Build Book Buzz.”
Coming Up – not to be missed
Jack E. Apleman’s presentation on the “10 steps to Successful Business Writing,” May 24 at 1 pm (PST)
Maggie Jessup, will speak on “Fame 101—Powerful Personal Branding,” June 14 at 1 pm
Gene Perret will give a presentation called, “Write Your Book Now,” July 12, 1 pm
Shari Alexander will talk about “Selling More Books and Building Buzz by Speaking,” Aug 11, 1 p.m.
Antionette Kuritz, is scheduled to speak on “Integrating the PR Timeline With Your Publishing Plans.” (Date and time TBA.)