A Smorgasbord of Markets

by Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz

Are you hungry for fresh markets? Are you tired of print editions of market directories that are stale two months after you purchase them? If you have access to the Internet, then you will be delighted to know that there is a smorgasbord of market resources you can access online for free or relatively low cost.

Many writing sites offer free newsletters that include a short market listing each week. At the web sites, you may find more extensive market listings. These listings vary from site to site. Some websites will list the date the market is posted, so you will have an idea of how fresh the market is. Unfortunately, some of the free market listings are maintained by volunteers who are writers themselves and do not have the time to delete links that no longer work. With writing opportunities on the web changing so quickly, oftentimes even those sites that are maintained regularly will have dead links. As with any market guide, it is always best to check the publishers' guidelines, look at several issues of the magazine in which you are interested, and request updated information if you have any concerns about the status of the publication.

Many of the best market directories found on line are geared toward writers of speculative fiction such as science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Possibly the most comprehensive of these is Ralan's Webstravaganza, maintained by Ralan Conley at http://www.ralan.com. This web site has market listings for anthologies, adult markets, book markets, semiprofessional and professional markets, paying and nonpaying markets and contests. In addition to the focus on speculative fiction, you will also find humor markets. This site appears to be updated regularly. You will also find a listing of dead markets, writing tips, and links to other writing sites.

Mary Soon Lee maintains an active speculative fiction market list at her web site: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mslee/mag.html. She has a list of dead markets as well as links to markets separated into those paying 3¢ a word, those paying at least 1¢ a word, and markets paying less than 1¢ a word. She also offers advice to writers trying to break into the speculative fiction market.

If you are interested in romance markets, Passionate Pen (http://www.passionatepen.com) offers market listings for both major publishers and small press (though no magazine markets). Information about agents, romance writing tips, and links to other writings sites are also available.

Travel writers should check out http://www.travelwriters.com. There is free registration at the site, and they offer market news, listings, a weekly newsletter, and ongoing discussion groups with other travel writers.

If you are interested in international markets, check out World Wide Freelance Writer at http://www.worldwidefreelance.com. Here you will find a free market directory of 500 world wide markets. If you wish additional markets, for a small fee of approximately $1.04 per month, you can access their larger data base of 1,500 international markets. The site also offers a free newsletter and articles of interest to writers.

Food writers will be interested in http://www.food-writing.com. While this site does not offer a market listing, there is a free newsletter that does provide a number of new markets as well as helpful articles.

Children's writers will find useful information at http://write4kids.com. This site, affiliated with Children's Book Insider, offers a free newsletter that lists a couple of markets and tips with each issue. Also available at the site is the Children's Book Insider, at a price of $29.95 per year or $26.95 in electronic format, which brings the reader two pages of market news and information with each issue.

For all types of markets, both fiction and nonfiction, Writing for Dollars (http://www.writingfordollars.com) offers a free newsletter as well as an online searchable database of approximately 1,270 markets. Dates are listed as to when the market was posted, and while some are old, many are recent, viable markets.

Writers Write (http://www.writerswrite.com) lists 655 paying markets alphabetically. They also have a searchable database broken down by category as well as paying and nonpaying. Many other links are available at the site including articles, message boards, job postings, and two free newsletters.

Another useful site, http://www.absolutemarkets.com, has several options including two free newsletters: Absolute Markets and Absolute Write. If you sign up for Absolute Markets, you get a free e-book listing 100 markets; if you sign up for the Absolute Write Newsletter, you will receive an e-book listing 180 agents who are open to new writers. In addition, the website offers an excellent "premium" newsletter consisting of 21 pages of new markets, which is delivered biweekly. The cost for this newsletter is $15 a year. A sample issue is posted at the site.

Writers Weekly also offers a free newsletter with market information at http://www.writersweekly.com. They have a section devoted to 452 markets that welcome new writers. These are sorted alphabetically. This site also offers classes, articles, warnings, and resources for writers. Sell Writing on Line (http://www.sellwritingonline.com) has 200 markets in their data base, not listed in any particular order, but grouped 50 to a page with direct links to the guidelines or home page of each publication listed.

If you're willing to pay a fee to access market lists, chances are the information you will get will be maintained on a more regular basis. Of these, you may want to try one or more of the following web sites. First Writer (http://www.firstwriter.com) offers contests, and magazine publishers. For $3.99 a month, you can access all areas of the site, including the market database, which is searchable by categories such as crime, fantasy, historical, romance, or travel. You can also search by fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama as well as the United States or the United Kingdom. They list 600 agents, 400 book publishers and 550 magazine markets.

Writers Market (http://www.writersmarket.com) offers more markets with easy to use searches for both magazines and book publishers. You can search either by title or category. A subscription will also bring you advice articles and the latest information on what's happening in the industry. There is an annual fee of $29.99 or a monthly plan of $3.99. Writersdigest.com is affiliated with Writers Market. If you wish to take a free look, http//www.writersdigest.com/markets/spotlight2.asp lists the top markets of the previous day with contact information and the needs of each market noted.

For $2.47 a month or $19.97 a year, you can sign up for the Power of the Pen (http://www.powerpenmarketsearch.com) market listing. This site offers 17 searchable categories. There are approximately 193 parenting, 195 fiction, 43 travel, 48 women's, 32 children's and 263 personal essay guidelines available. If you sign up at the website, they offer a free copy of the e-book "Money Markets 2005, 101 Markets That Pay in 6 Weeks or Less." A two-day free trial option is available.

For writers who are interested in grant funding as well as other creative funding sources, Funds for Writers at http://www.fundsforwriters.com offers several options including two free newsletters that include 15 to 18 markets each week. However, for $12 per year, you can receive 2,000 markets (90 markets biweekly) in the Total Funds For Writers newsletter. Opportunities include grants, competitions, freelance markets, jobs, and publishers.

Perhaps the most extensive market data base is available at Wooden Horse Publishing (http://www.woodenhorsepub.com). Wooden Horse has 2,000 U.S. and Canadian markets and includes guidelines, contact information, editorial calendars, and reader demographics. Most other databases only include publishers names and contact information with links to guidelines. There are several options at Wooden Horse depending upon your specific needs. For a one-year's subscription of $149, your cost per day is $0.42; or you may only want access for 24 hours in which case the cost is $1.99. Other choices are seven days for $9.95 ($1.42/day), 30 days for $29.95 ($1.00/day), or six months for $89.00 ($0.49/day). Discounts are sometimes offered during December and January.

If you're like me, you have some markets that are your standards. You always know they'll accept at least a few pieces from you each year. However, finding a new market where you can develop a relationship with the editor is both rewarding and exciting. Look to the Internet for newsletters, web sites, and data bases where the variety of new markets is as refreshing as the spread at your favorite all you can eat buffet.

More Information:

For links to more sites that offer market guidelines, see Writing-world.com's links to Market Guidelines and Writing Publications.

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