The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines: A Compilation for Freelancers from More Than 1,300 Magazine Editors & Book Publishers [Paperback]

John C. Mutchler (Editor), John C. Mutchler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Be prepared to save a lot of postage. John Mutchler has done the legwork for you, stockpiling a copious amount of printed "writer's guidelines"--the kind you're always admonished to send for before submitting work--and smartly printing them up in one handy volume. The range of magazine and book publishers here is not complete, but it's fairly broad and will let you proceed straight to mailing off your queries and stories rather than spending time envelope licking. There's even a ready-to-copy form in back to help you track all those submissions you'll be making. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Any writer who has ever received a rejection slip has no doubt wondered, "What do these editors and publishers want?" The expanded second edition of this useful directory attempts to answer that question. Publishers were queried about the kinds of materials they want to see from freelancers, and about 1300 responded with quite detailed information. The responses, which come from about 1000 periodicals and 300 book publishers, are reproduced here. The entries, which range from well-known publications like Good Housekeeping and Newsweek to more obscure ones like Good Dog! and Newswaves, represent a full range of topics. Alphabetical listings of the responses form the core of the directory, with a topic index following. Also included are forms to help writers track submissions and several pages of tips on how aspiring writers can catch the attention of magazine and book editors. Since the information from the editors and publishers is presented with only minor editing, there is some content variation from entry to entry, but all entries do include specific information on how to contact the publication and to whom to submit manuscripts. There is some overlap with Writer's Market (F & W Pub., annual), but each covers publications and publishers not included by the other. Libraries needing coverage beyond that provided by Writer's Market and Literary Market Place (Bowker, annual) will want to consider.AKathy Breeden, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 730 pages
• Publisher: Quill Driver Books; 2 Sub edition (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884956084
• ISBN-13: 978-1884956089
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,543,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference tool, August 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines: A Compilation for Freelancers from More Than 1,300 Magazine Editors & Book Publishers (Paperback)

As a writer and writing teacher, I highly recommend this book by John Mutchler. It's well organized, information dense and helpful. If you're serious about seeing your name in print, you need to get the book and use it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reference book for both aspiring and seasoned writers!, January 19, 2001

By 

Brian C. Kehoe (El Dorado Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines: A Compilation for Freelancers from More Than 1,300 Magazine Editors & Book Publishers (Paperback)

John Mutchler's "The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines" is the one source you need if you are either an aspiring author looking to get your first work published or a seasoned professional looking for sources to publish your work.

This reference book is divided into four sections. Section one gives tips and advice on how to market your literary work, covering such topics as query letters, proposals, electronic aubmissions, making it past the first cut, and an example of a standard manuscript format.

Section two lists hundreds of periodicals with complete contact information. It has a detailed description of the periodical and offers detailed advice from the editor/publisher describing in detail what is expected from authors who wish to have their work published in their periodical (query letters, topics, length, SASE's, format, as well as technical information such as type, font, spacing, etc.) Payment for approved works is also discussed. Some publishers pay by the word; others offer a flat fee.

Section three has a list of book publishers which essentially has the same information as section two: a general description and background of the publisher, contact information, types of works they are accepting (poetry, non-fiction, fiction, biographical, etc.), technical specifications, etc.

Section four is called the "Topic Index" and is especially helpful if you already have a literary work to submit. For instance, if you write poetry, simply go to "Topic Index" and look up "Poetry" and you will see a list of periodicals and book publishers who publish poetry.

I highly recommend this book for any author who needs a reference book containing a list of periodicals and publishers which they can submit their literary works to.