Something for every writer and author—dozens of outlets for your articles and stories, 5 brand new publishers seeking good manuscripts, 2 sites to help authors publish, 10 unexpected opportunities for promoting books and a directory of around 350 book reviewers. If, after studying this issue of the WPN Market Update, you can’t land numerous reviews, get your fiction published and discover new ways to promote your book, you aren’t even trying.
Here’s What’s New – Two magazines make a comeback.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers – Dozens of outlets for your articles/stories.
Opportunities for Authors – Two sites where authors can get help and five more brand new publishers.
Book Promotion Opportunities – 10 great opportunities for authors who are promoting books. Get on the Queen Latifa show, get new readers by trading books, get interviewed, finally a way to access the top Amazon reviewers and MORE…
Resources for Authors – A gigantic list of book reviewers for your books.
Going, Going, Gone – A dozen to report.
Disclaimer: WPN provides this e-newsletter strictly for your information. We do not necessarily endorse the companies, businesses, services and other resources listed here. Please do your own research.
Here’s What’s New
Newsweek is back with a digital issue. http://mag.newsweek.com
Domino is also publishing again and available at newsstands.
Opportunities for Freelance Writers
Since most freelance article writers hope to get paid for their work, I’ve included this nifty site. It lists dozens and dozens of magazines that pay writers. http://whopays.tumblr.com
Author Magazine is seeking book reviewers. They pay $30 per review. Please visit http://www.authormagazine.org/about_us.html They’ll request sample reviews and your writing credentials.
Are you looking for someplace to publish your essays? Try Brick, a Canadian magazine covering literature, the arts and culture. They pay $75-500 per essay. http://www.brickmag.com
MensBook Journal publishes adventure, erotica, fantasy and mystery/suspense. http://www.mensbook.com
Naturally uses humorous fiction pieces of 800 to 2,000-words. http://www.internaturally.com
Aim Magazine doesn’t pay all that much, but it is another outlet for your fiction. They use fiction that teaches the brotherhood of man, but request that you do not send religious pieces. http://www.aimmagazine.org
Sycamore Living uses fiction. They are interested in adventure, historical, humor and slice-of-life vignettes. Query first at sycamore@livingmagazines.com. http://www.livingmagazines.com Check out the site as there are other regional magazines in this line and they all seem to publish fiction.
Do you like to write serious fiction? Consider writing for Na’Amat Woman. They want reflective fiction and novel excerpts with Jewish content. http://www.naamat.org.
Opportunities for Authors
Thinking of producing an ebook? PublishGreen is a two-year-old large-scale ebook formatting publishing house. According to their website, they use a unique method that results in a better ebook. And they can prepare an ebook for many different readers, including Kindle and Nook. Check them out here: http://www.publishgreen.com
Editor’s Note: Many authors are launching their books as ebooks initially in order to test the market before etching it in hardcopy form. Novels seem to sell particularly well as ebooks.
Have you heard of Brian Grove? He’s an author and he has a site called My Perfect Pitch – http://myperfectpitch.com He attempts to help authors find traditional publishers by sharing stories from his writing/publishing journey and the many resources that helped him along the way. He claims to have the largest directory of traditional publishers who are open to new authors and, it seems, he can help you come up with the perfect pitch.
In recent issues of the Market Update, I have introduced 9 new publishers (companies formed between 2009 and 2013) during the last few months. Here are five more:
Stoneslide was formed in 2012. They pay royalties of 20% to 80% and publish books within 8 months after acceptance. They publish fiction only—fantasy, gothic, historical, humor, mystery, science fiction, short story collections, adventure and more. Check them out here: http://www.stoneslidecorrective.com
My Green Publisher publishes both fiction and nonfiction and are interested in most all subjects. Check out their book catalog at their site to get an idea of their range of topics. Established in 2011, they are already receiving about 100 queries and 100 manuscripts each year. They publish 36-48 titles per year, so your chances of making the cut might be pretty good. http://www.mygreenpublisher.com
PageSpring Publishing produces fiction and they prefer adventure, fantasy, feminist, historical, mystery, regional, romance, young adult and more. Send them a synopsis and three sample chapters. http://www.pagespringpublishing.com. This company is only a year old. So you might try to get in before anyone else finds them.
Grey Gecko Press was established in 2011. They publish both fiction and nonfiction in many themes and genres, from mainstream and military to occult and horror, from art and marine subjects to photography and nature. http://www.greygeckopress.com
Kelly Point Publishing out of Kentucky was established just last year. They publish both fiction and nonfiction, including memoirs, chick lit and young adult topics. Learn more here: http://www.kellypointpublishing.com
Book Promotion Opportunities
AuthorTrade is a program through which you can sell copies of your book, as long as you purchase books from other authors. We missed the one-week FREE-offer period. But, from what I read at their site, if you are willing to drop the price of your ebook to $.99, you can participate in their AuthorTrade program. The books you choose to purchase cost just $.99, as well. It might be a way to get some reviews, and build a customer base for your series of books, for example. Check it out and see what you think. http://www.authortrade.com
The producer of the new Queen Latifa Show is seeking interesting authors with interesting books to interview on live TV. Contact Executive Producer Lauren Mintzer at lauren.mintzer@QLShow.com or team@QLShow.com
Adam Scull produces The Eat Sleep Write Podcast and he would like to meet authors of fiction and nonfiction. Learn more here: http://www.EatSleepWrite.net/beaguest. If you want to write for the site, check out the guidelines here: http://EatSleepWrite.net/submissions. Contact Adam at Adam@EatSleepWrite.net
Okay, Duolit is a relatively new site for indie authors. I spent quite a bit of time looking around, but am still not sure what the two women who run it can do for you. They call themselves the SelfPublishing Team. They post guest blogs. They started the site fairly recently in order to help indie authors through the process that they struggled through on their first book. I’m mentioning it because you might find it useful—actually the blog posts are pretty good. Shannon and Toni offer consultations, an enewsletter, long-term coaching and they will come to speak at your conference or club. Their main topics seem to be self-publishing, building a fan-base and book promotion. See what you think. http://selfpublishingteam.com.
BookBrowse is your online guide to exceptional books. And it may be your ticket to get your exceptional book noticed. They post book reviews and do author interviews. Http://www.bookbrowse.com
Smashwords has a new author interview program. It sounds like a mechanical method of conducting an author interview. Check it out here: www.smashwords.com/interviews.
Here’s something all authors are going to want—the Publisher’s Review Accelerator. Deborah Drum and Amy Harrop are the geniuses who came up with this software designed to isolate the amazon reviewers who have posted reviews for Kindle and other digital books in your genre/topic. Watch the demo at the website and decide if this is for you. Would love to hear from those of you who use it. http://danasuggests.info/reviewers.
Speaking of book reviews, here’s a new Web-based show to help authors sell their books throughout the world. http://authormarketingideas.com/book-review-show I’m pretty sure there is a charge for these services.
GalleyCat at http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/15-places-to-promote-your-book-for-free_b76294, lists 15 places where you can promote your book for free. They include Frugal Reader, Addicted to eBooks, Author Marketing Club, GoodKindles and Meet Our Authors Forum.
Are you seeking opportunities to promote your fiction? There are publications that accept fiction excerpts. Crab Orchard Review is one. http://www.craborchardreview.siuc.edu If your novel has a coastal theme, Delaware Beach Life might be interested in excerpts from your novel or nonfiction book. http://www.delawarebeachlife.com Descant uses book excerpts from both fiction and nonfiction, as well. Check them out here: http://www.descant.ca.
If you think your book is appropriate for review in Glamour Magazine, the new editor to contact is Liz Egan, former editor at Amazon Publishing. http://www.glamour.com/about/book-review
Resources for Authors
I ordered the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages to keep at my elbow so I can locate reviewers for my latest novels. It’s $24.95 for the 777 page paperback and $9.99 for the ebook version. You’ll find it divided into subjects for ease in finding the right reviewers. If you want to contact some of the most influential reviewers to review your indie or self-published book, you’d better have access to this great resource. Yes, the compiler has even marked those reviewers with the most clout in the industry. For updates to the list in the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, visit http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net often.
Going, Going, Gone
Black Cat Books, a bookstore in Manitou Springs, CO has closed
Montgomery Magazine has folded
Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Magazine will close this month.
American Medical News has shut down after 55 years.
Mercury Retrograde Press will cease publishing in January.
Skateboarder Magazine has gone digital only.
Tax Incentives Alert has closed down.
Mature Arkansas has gone out of business.
Indie Author Book Reviews has closed down their book review site.
BtoB Magazine will combine with Advertising Age.
GRID, the Sunday magazine in the Chicago Sun-Times, will quit publishing.
Send us the resources you recommend. Patricia@spawn.org.