45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Gone the Way of the Dodo Bird?, October 29, 2009
This review is from: 2010 Writer's Market (Paperback)
Compared to earlier editions of the Writer's Market I have owned, this edition is substandard. It is printed on coarse paper, full of Canadian publications which specifically ask for Canadian writers, and is too expensive for any limited use it might have for a writer. The blurb for each magazine is so basic that you need the magazine websites themselves for full editorial and submission information. This is the last time I will purchase this annual book. The public library reference copy is sufficient. This might be a good starting point for ideas about where a new writer might publish a specific piece, but it hardly offers an exhaustive list. As for the peripheral information included in this volume? It could certainly be of value to new writers looking for a little guidance.
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59 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very Poor Quality, September 24, 2009
This review is from: 2010 Writer's Market (Paperback)
For a publication that plays itself off as the quintessential end-all for writers in search of prospective publishers, editors, and agents, this edition missed the boat completely. Until now, I have regarded The Writer's Market as my Bible when it came to directing writers to the best resources in the writing field. The index in this edition is off by a page or two...or ten, on many of its entries, and an incomplete sentence without punctuation seems to be the norm rather than the exception. There are times when the font size jumps from a size `8' to a `9' for no apparent reason, and the quality of stock this book is printed on isn't up to its usual standards. No editing in this edition!
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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a waste of trees and ink, November 16, 2009
This review is from: 2010 Writer's Market (Paperback)
Since 1995, I've been a professional writer, writing hundreds of articles for magazines, newspapers and websites. And then in 2002, I wrote "The Houses That Sears Built" which landed me on national television several times (PBS History Detectives, A&E's Biography and more). Heck, I even made the front page of "The Wall Street Journal".
My point is, for the last 15 years, writing has been my *career* and livelihood. And throughout those 15 years, I've purchased many copies of The Writer's Market. More recently I had hoped to write and sell a few magazine articles so I purchased the 2010 edition of The Writer's Market. What a profound disappointment it was.
In fact, it's more than a disappointment, it's a waste of money. The great majority of references that I looked up in this thick tome had *NO* direct contact information, or editors names and said only, "Send email for writer's guidelines." And the email address was typically a generic info@ such and such.
C'mon. Really? I could have gleaned that useless bit of info from the magazine's website. The whole point of a Writer's Market is to provide freelance writers with resources for selling their work. This is the equivalent of paying for a subscription to an employment website, and then finding after you surrender your money to get into the site, it says only, "Send email to lots of companies to see if they're hiring anyone."
I know that newspapers are laying off left and right and I know that serious professional journalists are becoming the 1990s equivalent of the carburetor mechanic but we're not stupid. However, I suppose we are a gullible bunch. I do hope the publishers know that this 2010 Writer's Market is the last edition of this book that I'll be buying.
I suppose it's not a total loss. I always need kindling for the fireplace. However, this is pretty expensive kindling.
Rosemary Thornton
author, The Ugly Woman's Guide to Internet Dating
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