This month, we feature several writing and screenwriting contests, links to over 50 book promotion ideas, paying markets, new publishers to consider and resources galore—example, Amazon’s sales rankings exposed. Study this issue of the WPN Market Update and you could earn or save three or more times the cost of your initial membership fee.
Here’s What’s New – A dozen news items you really should be aware of.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – Writing contest directories plus paying markets
Opportunities for Authors – New crowdfunding opp, plus publisher links.
Book Promotion Opportunities – Over 50 book promotion ideas and opportunities.
Opportunities for Screenplay Writers – 3 major competitions
Resources for Authors – 10 resources, including top blogs for authors.
Bonus Item – How to define Amazon’s rankings.
Going, Going, Gone – 6 mags and websites gone.
Here’s What’s New
SPAN (Small Publishing Association of North America) has a new leader. On December 31, Brad Flora resigned his post as SPAN’s Executive Director and Brian Jud has taken over.
Brian says to watch for some changes. http://www.spannet.org SPAN is and will continue to be an affiliate of WPN. As a member of WPN, you can receive a discount on your SPAN membership.
Scribe & Quill has a new format. According to the publisher, Bev Walton-Porter, Scribe & Quill is now exclusively on FaceBook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/scribequill. I notice that quite a few organizations and publications are opting for a FaceBook only presence.
Good news! Publisher’s Weekly online newsletter (subscribe for FREE), for January 2, 2013, announced that independent bookstore sales, for the most part, were up in 2012. The reporter interviewed bookseller after bookseller who reported as much as 29 and 38 percent increases in sales last year. Still, while more bookstores are opening since 2010, booksellers are closing stores, as well. Puddin’Head Books in St. Louis closed in December, as did Archiva Books in New York, two bookstores in Oregon and one in Canton, GA. The owners of Murder by the Book, a popular bookstore in Portland, Oregon, will close in April of this year. A Christian bookstore in Charleston, WV will close, as will, a according to one reporter, 57 additional bookstores across the US.
Some booksellers aren’t giving up altogether. They’re taking their stores online and joining the likes of Amazon.com.
Magazine launches are up. Jim Romenesko at JimRomenesko.com says that his sources report 195 print magazine titles were launched in 2012. That’s 14 more than last year. In 2011, 142 magazines folded. Despite the lists you see here in the Market Update under Going, Going, Gone every month, only 74 magazines folded in 2012. And guess what; 26 fewer digital-only magazines came into being in 2012 than in 2011. If you are interested in more of Romenesko’s wisdom and research, visit his site at http://jimromenesko.com
Mediafinder, on the other hand, claims there were 227 new magazine launches in 2012 and that 82 magazines closed.
Author Magazine is new. This informational resource for authors is being produced by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. They are seeking submissions and they are a paying market. They’ll pay $50 for a how-to or inspirational piece on writing. Guidelines are here: http://www.authormagazine.org/about_us.htm
The Barnes and Noble Nook is now available in the UK. What does this mean for you? That, if you have your book on some of these e-readers, you may have greater exposure and reach in the future.
American Booksellers Association (ABA) has moved and their phone numbers have changed. Here’s their new contact information. 333 Westchester Ave., Ste. S202, White Plains, NY10604. Phone: 914-406-7300, Member fax: 914-417-4013.
The Flying Pen is not encouraging unsolicited fiction at this time.
Poisoned Pen is not accepting submissions at this time.
Most of you have heard that toward the end of last year, Amazon started deleting reviews from our Amazon book pages. People were complaining all over the Internet. Here’s what Joe Konrath said in his November 1, 2012 blog post, http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/11/amazon-removes-reviews.html You’ll also see Amazon’s response. And there are over 200 comments. Yes, this is a hot topic you may want to get up-to-speed on. I have not noticed if any of my reviews were removed, but I am aware that someone who tried to leave a review for my latest book, “Talk Up Your Book,” was prohibited from doing so. She just went at the process from a different angle and the review was approved.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Do you enjoy reading? Would you like to receive free books to read? Do you also enjoy reviewing books? If so, here’s a situation for you! Sign up at http://storycartel.com and you will receive announcements about various books up for review. Request the book you want, read it and then post the review. And there’s more! Once you have posted a review, your name will be entered into a drawing for additional prizes, such as gift cards at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.
Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers has re-launched with a new owner. The submission guidelines and premise of this literary magazine seems to be the same—no changes with the new ownership. And they are a paying market. Pay, they say, is “modest” for now. Articles must have a motherhood/mothering influence or theme whether they are personal essays, features, parodies or even debates. Brain, Child uses fiction, too. Submit stories of from 1,500 to 4,500 words. But study their writers’ guidelines first. You’ll find them at http://www.brainchildmag.com/contact/guidelines.asp.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine pays from $750 to $2,500 for essays, humorous pieces, interviews and personal experiences related to the wine lifestyle. http://www.winemag.com
Harvard Magazine pays $400 to $3,000 and expenses for essays, interviews and reports on Harvard-related intellectual subjects. They buy 20-30 mss/year from freelancers. http://www.harvardmagazine.com.
Family Business Magazine buys 24 manuscripts/year and they pay $50 to $1,400 for business-related how-to, interview and personal experience pieces. http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com.
Skirt! Magazine uses 100-plus articles and they pay $150-200 per piece. They are looking for essays related to anything about women—work, play, family, creativity, health, bodies and souls. http://www.skirt.com
Tucson Woman is a new quarterly magazine for upscale women in Tucson. If you have a story you’d like to submit, contact Linda Ray at linda@tucsonwoman.com. http://www.tucsonwoman.com
Empirical Magazine is a literary and current affairs magazine and they are open to submissions from writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry as well as photographers and artists. And, while they don’t pay much, this is a paying market. Learn more here: http://www.empiricalmagazine.com/subs.html
Ghost Town Magazine uses freelance work. Here is the submissions guidelines page: http://ghosttownlitmag.wordpress.com/submission-info/
Are you interested in writing contests? Here are a few sites where you can sign up for newsletters featuring writing contests, where they list contests and more:
http://www.winningwriters.com
http://wordsmithsix.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/frontiers-in-writing-contest/
http://altongansky.typepad.com/writersconferences/2013/01/2013-contest-time.html
Before entering any writing contest, you might want to read how to protect yourself from scams. Very interesting: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/contests/
Opportunities for Authors
Authr.com is an online crowd-funding site for authors. According to their About Page, “Authr.com helps aspiring and established authors fund, market and sell their books. We offer a unique fundraising platform that transforms as your book project progresses, allowing anyone to take their book from fundraising to sales.” Eric Bowman founded Authr.com in 2011, he says, “in response to a need to help aspiring authors remove many of the roadblocks that are in the way of getting their books published.” An author, speaker, serial entrepreneur and business advisor, Erik says he has been empowering individuals, business owners and entrepreneurs to successfully meet their goals for over 20 years. Check out this site to see if it is right for you and your project: http://Authr.com (For those new to the term, crowd-funding for authors, it is a process by which authors can raise money with the help of supporters via the Internet in order to finance their book projects. If people like the premise of your book, they may donate money toward the publication of it.)
Convergent Books is a new religious imprint from Crown. They plan to publish 8-10 books year “exploring the contemporary faith experiences for a broad range of Christians.” They will launch in the fall. There is no website, yet.
Riverdale Avenue Books is a new digital and audiobook publisher and will be producing a variety of topics through five imprints, including, science fiction, fantasy, horror, erotic memoir and romance titles. http://www.riverdaleavebooks.com
Gauthier Publishing’s imprint, Frog Legs Ink is seeking new writers and illustrators. They are particularly interested in horror/thriller short stories for a collection. http://www.eatabook.com
Book Promotion Opportunities
Here’s an opportunity for authors who want to promote their books while supporting booksellers. It’s Booktalk Nation at http://booktalknation.com. The folks at Booktalk Nation will make it possible for you to do a 30-minute radio spot where you can talk about your book and interact with readers. And, as I understand it, it is free.
Kevin Zimmerman is the host of The Kevin Zimmerman Show on The Artist First Radio Network. He is seeking guests for his show, which plays every Thursday from 9 CST. http://www.artistfirst.com/Zimmerman.htm or Contact Zimmerman here: atfekz@gmail.com While there seems to be no fee, all guests are “required” to make a donation.
BookDaily.com is a website where you can post a chapter from your book and get it read by hundreds or thousands of interested readers. They provide book samples for readers daily. They are billed as the leading source of book samples on the Internet, having distributed more than 10 million chapters since they launched in 2009. Explore the possibilities of selling books to some of those who read your sample first chapter through BookDaily. http://www.bookdaily.com
OnceWritten.com is all about helping you to promote your book. While they seem to offer many services and resources, it appears that, at least, some of this is for a fee. They also run contests, but their contest page seems to be out of date. http://www.oncewritten.com
I stumbled across this old article online this week. Even though it was written in 2005, I think the premise of it could be quite helpful to those of you who are promoting novels. And if you have a published novel that you want to succeed, you MUST promote it. This article, published in the Wall Street Journal blog offers some interesting ideas for promoting fiction in a big way. Check it out here: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112084457881180868-0AaD5icf4L_Vldpbx0tbXCGceTw_20060715,00.html?mod=blogs
Here’s a list of 46 websites where you can promote your book FREE. http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/18-top-websites-to-promote-your-book-for-free This includes Who Wrote What? where you can advertise your book free for a month, JacketFlap for children’s book authors, online reading groups, review sites and more. As I read through the list, however, I see that not all of them offer their services for free. So study the programs they offer carefully. I’m not against paying for services, it’s just that I want you to know what you’re getting and what it is costing you.
Screenwriting Opportunities
Enter a contest with your screenplay this year and win big money and a chance at a movie deal. http://www.pageawards.com The remaining deadlines are March 1 (for a fee of $49) and April 1 ($59), so don’t procrastinate.
ScriptPipeline is sponsoring a screenwriting competition. Deadline is March 1, 2013. Check out success stories from former winners and enter here: http://www.scriptpipeline.com/screenwriting-competition
Hollywood Screenplay Contest. Early deadline is April 15. Entry fee for this deadline is $30. http://hollywoodscreenplaycontest.com
Resources for Author
I mentioned Jim Romenesko earlier. If you like to keep your ear to the ground within the publishing industry, be the first to know what’s happening out there, be adequately informed, you may want to follow http://jimromenesko.com
Book Proposal Generator is a new tool for nonfiction authors who need assistance with their book proposal. http://www.bookproposalgenerator.com
Do you use grammar check sites? Here are a few you might want to check out:
http://www.grammarcheck.net
http://www.grammarcheck.com
http://www.grammarly.com
http://www.ghostwritinguncovered.com/2009/09/10-of-the-best-english-grammar-websites This site offers the 10 best grammar websites.
Blogs for writers and authors: Have you visited Writer’s Digest new blog? It’s written mainly by Brian Klems and it’s called “The Writer’s Dig.” http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor
Here’s what Mary Jaksche, editor of Write To Done considers the best blogs for writers in 2012
http://writetodone.com/2013/01/07/top-blogs-for-writers
Here are the top writing blogs according to a writer who says his name is “not Bob.” http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-blogs-for-writers-to-read-in-2012.html
In my blog, I do my best to bring authors the information and education they need in order to more successfully write, publish and market their books. I cover writing, marketing, book proposal-writing, public speaking, blogging, building and adding to your platform, freelance writing, publishing and mostly book promotion in all of its forms. I post every single day (well, unless I am doing some serious traveling, which doesn’t happen very often). I also welcome guest bloggers from time to time who can talk about some aspect of writing, publishing and book promotion. If you want a real treat, check out my posts during the week of November 5-9, 2012 when I interviewed five novelists (one of them a bestselling novelist). I think you’ll be interested in their responses to my questions about how they approach fiction writing. http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.
Bonus Item
A colleague sent this to me for my information and I thought you would like to see it, too. It is an explanation of your Amazon.com book sales rankings. This chart is tallied according to one blogger’s experience. Based on the orders this author gets for books each month and the coordinating rank at Amazon, here’s the rundown:
Rank—40,000 to 100,000 – selling close to one book per day.
Rank—700 to 2,000 – selling 100 to 300 books per day.
Rank—1 to 5 – selling 3,500 books per day.
So that must mean that if your rank is in the 150,000 to 600,000 range, you are selling maybe a few books per week or month.
Going, Going, Gone
The Sporting News has quit publishing after 126 years.
Wisconsin Trails has closed.
Whole Living (a Martha Stewart magazine), will close.
More and Vita (Canadian magazines for women) are folding.
http://www.writetoinspire.com seems to have quit.