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Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007: The Essential Reference Tool for the Christian Writer

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The "Christian Writers' Market Guide" is still the reference book every Christian writer needs. It should be a gimmee purchase by all writers within a Christian focus. Buy this year's edition. Buy next year's edition. Plan on the following year as well.

This year is especially important because of the CD inclusion.

First and foremost, this edition comes with a CD. This is a big deal because previous editions missed this, depite that its secular sister book, "Writer's Market" by Writer's Digest, has had a digital version for years (this year's edition is online). On the CD, you'll find 1,000+ publications. Unlike WM, the price for the book and digital version is kept reasonable.

* 1,185 markets. Pick a Christian denomination (Catholic and Protestant), and their publication is likely listed. While this year has slightly fewer than last year, the value is in that these are updated. Many smaller and denominational publishers move and/or close.

* 695 periodicals, 355 book publishers. Think of how many you are aware of? "Christianity Today," "New Man," "Decision" are probably at the top of your mind for periodicals. Tyndale (famous for "Left Behind" and "The Living Bible," as well as the calligraphy of Tim Botts), NavPress, InterVarsity Press (the publishing arm of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) are probably among the book publishers you know. Maybe you know a few more. Here, you'll discover how vast the Christian publishing world is.

Literary agents, contests, advice for various markets, editorial services, market analysis, specialty markets (like greeting cards) all have sections. If you are a photographer, you'll find 321 markets.

Stuart's market analysis can help new writers figure out the religious publishing mileau and improve how they target their writing.

If you are looking to connect with other writers, you'll be happy to find the lists of writers' groups and clubs, and for conferences and workshops. A key group is the Evangelical Press Association, but there are smaller ones geared for denominations and market.

The structure is similar to previous editions, but, as always, the current year provides the most accurate data.

Each publication starts with symbols indicating if it is new, if the data is confirmed, and if they pay. There's the title, the contact info including a URL, an editor's name, a brief description, the page count and circulation number, the subscription cost, percentage freelanced, submission preference, payment style, and general content needs.

You can see how any writer aiming for the Christian market at large would find this an indispensable volume. It fills in the gaps left open by the very useful "Writer's Digest" market guides, and provides the required tools for connecting writer and publisher.

I fully recommend the "Christian Writers' Market Guide," as it remains the best (and only) option for any Christian writer. If you buy it only once every few years, this edition, thanks to the CD, is worth dropping down a few bucks.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This is a very thorough resource and I would recommend it to any aspiring writer. Get to know the terms, abbreviations, and layout to make the most of this guide.

This is a great resource for protestant/evangelical writers, but was quite lacking in Eastern Orthodox publications and advice for Orthodox writers. Other than that, it's certainly a valuable resource for helping getting your books, articles, etc. published.

If it wasn't sacrilegious, the Christian Writers' Market Guide could be called the Bible of Christian publishing. Instead, it's self-tagged "The Essential Reference Tool for the Christian Writer". Listing 354 book publishers and 740 periodicals (not to mention 120 literary agents), that's an apt description. Each listing provides everything you need to know including website addresses, word count preferences, how to request guidelines, tips on submitting, average first printing (for book publishers), circulation (for magazines), and much more.

The Guide's format hasn't changed a whole lot over the years (I keep waiting for an update to the old fashioned typeface). But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And the Christian Writer's Market Guide is certainly not broke. It's a no-nonsense, just-the-facts-ma'am reference book every writer needs to add to his or her bookshelf.

Always informative is Sally Stuart's "state of the industry" introduction. This year she talks about how twenty years ago, when she first started the guide, each publisher had an address and phone number. Few had faxes, and of course none had e-mail. Now, a growing number of publishers don't even provide their mailing address since all correspondence is done electronically.

Several noteworthy additions to this year's Guide: The addition of an "Art---Freelance" category in the book topics section. Over 280 new entries in the 70 page "Resources for Writers" section. Entries in the book section now indicate what formats a publisher publishes (i.e. hardcover, trade paper, etc.) And a bonus CD-ROM with .pdf and Word files of the entire guide.

At first I questioned why the publishers would include a CD-ROM without putting the information into a spreadsheet format. But then two words came to mind: search ability. Even in a text document the wonderful "Ctrl F" function comes to the aid of writers every day. So in the Guide's case, if I'm searching for say, Christianity Today, a quick "find" brings me to the listing. And writers can also cut and paste individual listings into separate documents to print out later, eliminating the need to hand write all those potential publishers for your novel.

The only drawback to a guide like this is something completely out of the author's control. Editors change so fast in publishing that by the time the Guide comes out, countless entries are no longer accurate. As Sally says in her intro, "Even if you get this book each year, you need to keep up with any additions or changes that will affect the way you use it." In other words, verify everything before you submit--something a professional writer should do anyway. And while symbols are used at the beginning of each entry in the periodical section to indicate whether the market is new, unconfirmed, updated from a website, or a paying listing, I would love to see a symbol added indicating whether a publication accepts fiction (since so many do not).

The 2007 Christian Writer's Market Guide is a must-have resource for Christian writers. Even if an editor's name changes, most publishers and magazines are still around come release day, and reading about their needs and guidelines is an education from which all writers can benefit. Kudos to Sally Stuart for this excellent book.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk

f you are a struggling writer, who writes for the Christian market, or even if you've been published, but are looking for other publishing outlets for your work, Sally E. Stuarts Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007 is the book you need for your reference library.

The publishing industry is constantly changing. New publishing outlets come and go every year. The submission requirements for publishing houses change also. Sally E. Stuart's comprehensive book (with a CD-ROM) will help Christian writers search out sources with ease.

The 2007 edition provides a listing for over 1,200 markets for books, poetry, stories, articles and even greeting cards. It includes thirty-six new book publishers, eighty-six new periodicals and thirty-four changes in literary agencies. And it lists writers' conferences, groups, contests, pay rates, submission guidelines and a glossary of terms. It has it all.

Armchair Interviews says: A must have for every Christian writer. It might make the difference between finding a home for your work, or having it languish in a drawer.

A book that survives and thrives through 22 editions is a successful and valuable product. This is certainly true of Sally Stuart's "Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007."

As her sub-title suggests, this work is the reference tool for the Christian writer. Such a claim is not the stuff of info-mercials; it is reality. As The Midwest Book Review extols: "An essential reference for anyone seeking to be published in the Christian community."

The 2007 Edition is completely updated and revised, now with even more markets for Christian writers, periodicals, publishers, e-book publishers, agents, and so much more. Stuart's tireless and meticulous research saves the aspiring and experienced Christian writer thousands of hours of personal research (time better spent writing and marketing).

If you want to keep abreast of trends and stay informed on contacts in the Christian publishing arena, then the "Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007" remains the best in the business. I purchase a new copy each year.

Reviewer: Dr. Bob Kellemen is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spirtual Direction," "Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction" and "Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I am a new writer and I must say this book has been my greatest asset in finding possible publishing companies and local editors.

It provides an all-inclusive listing of Christian resources that can help anyone get started on the right track. Whether a novice or an expert this is a great tool to have in your library if you are an author!!!!

As an author and new publisher (A Down to Earth God: devotionals for the nature lover) I have been buying books on publishing and scanning the internet horizons for many months. I left no stone unturned in my looking for agents, publishers, printers, information on the many intricate processes of being published and publishing. I could have saved myself so much work if I would only have gotton ahold of this all-in-one information source first.

Maybe it's a male thing like refusing to stop and ask for directions. The fact that a pdf and word file disk is included is a great bonus. It allows to you search for exact information without even having to consult a table on contents. It's all the information you need in one place.

Every Christian writer who is serious about the business of writing needs to own this book. This year, a CD of the entire book is included with the hard copy - makes searching very easy.

Christian Writers' MarketGuide 2007 by Sally E. Stuart is an amazing resource for Christian writers and wanna-be writers. The sub-title The Essential Reference Tool for the Christian Writer is absolutely true. It has publishers, periodicals, agents, conferences, groups and more for the aspiriing writer. Each listing has a brief summary of the important details, and the lists include secular markets as well as Christian ones, offering considerable opportunities for everyone. Stuart also summarizes the information in most categories to help writers find the right market for them. A DVD with the complete text is included with the book for easy searching. I'm impressed with the quantity and quality of information offered here. There's also a list of websites for help with more topics than I could ever think of listing, including my personal bogeyman: writing a query letter. Writing that one letter is more intimidating to me that the last 100 pages of my book I have yet to write. But with the recommendations in here and all of the helpful sites, I think I'm be off the writer's block in no time. This is not a book to be used once and set aside; this is a book of lasting value to be used again and again, at least until next year's edition comes out.