The 2007 Writer's Market Part II
A review of the newest edition of the Writer's Market
Each year a new edition of the Writer's Market is published. For decades, it has been used by many writers as an important resource. Does it still hold up?
Views From Experienced Writers
A section of the articles the 2007 Writer’s Market has the heading of Personal Views. The 2007 Writer’s Market talked with four freelancers that more than eke out a living writing. Larry Getlen, Samuel D. Uretsky, Cynthia Potts, and M.J. Rose have all managed to make this writing thing into a career. Their career paths have been unique and the insight is informative and enjoyable. They each give Words of Wisdom that would be advisable to follow.
The Personal Views section has an article by Julianna Baggott on how she wrote her novel “Girl Talk” and an interview with Elizabeth Gaffney about her experiences as an editor and an author. Rebecca Chrysler gives us a look at nonfiction writing through the eyes of Alice Kaplan, and Anthony Tedesco lifts the spirits, and wallets, of poets by giving tips on earning money.
Digging Deeper For Veteran Writers
The articles section of the 2007 Writer’s Market ends with Beyond the Basics. We start out with an article called “Minding the Details” that gives tips and advice on contracts, rights, and taxes. These little tidbits can come in handy.
I.J Schecter gives us “The Six Rules of Publishing Success.” Each rule is followed up by a Self-Checkup. Apply these to your writing and you will see a change that will show in your acceptance letters.
Freelancers will find some nuggets in the article “Writing Jobs: The Freelancers Bird in the Hand” by Rob Speegel. He gives us tips on where to find jobs and a sample cover letter. Freelancing can be tough, but Speegel helps with what he has gone through.
Let’s say you landed a freelance writing job. Do you know the going rate? The 2007 Writer’s Market has a list of different writing related jobs. They are broken down quite extensively and separated by per hour, per project, and other. This is a good gauge to see where you are at and if you need to raise your rates.
The articles end with FAQs from the editor, Robert Lee Brewer. It’s no surprise that he has some very helpful information.
More Than Just A Vast Contact List
The 2007 Writer’s Market has a huge list of publishers, agents, magazines, and contests. But it’s more than that. Each contact has important information that is key to being accepted by that particular publisher, agent or magazine. This helps you get to know the publishing game that much better so you don’t look like a novice.
If you want up to the minute information, you can access the 2007 Writer’s Market online, for a small fee of course. You can get a yearly subscription for $29.99, a monthly subscription for $3.99, or a two year subscription for $44.99. You can also buy the deluxe version of the 2007 Writer’s Market that comes with a year membership.
Is it worth it to join the site? With the constant changes in the publishing world, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. You can truly be confident that the information you have on the contacts is as accurate as possible. You should take every edge you can get.
Getting A New Version Each Year
Now the question becomes, should I get the new edition if I bought one last year? That really is up to you and how much you depend on the information being accurate. If you are only going to use it once in a while, you may be able to make do with going to library and using their copy. If you plan on sending out a lot of submissions, it would pay to have one around when you need. At the very least go to your library and read the articles.
Writing can be a rewarding and fun business, but the competition is fierce. Getting an edge always improves your chances. The 2007 Writer’s Market can definitely give you that edge you need to make it where you want.
