Writer's Market 2000: 8,000 Editors Who Buy What You Write [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Kirsten C. Holm (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Editors are so accustomed to receiving inappropriate queries that they "rejoice," according to a Writer's Market tip from the University of Arizona Press, "in receiving material that is clearly targeted to [them]." So, please, do not send your article about porcelain-doll collecting to Sport Fishing magazine. Put your postage toward this updated edition of the Writer's Market instead. This book might not seem to change much from year to year, but it does. Editors move, publishing houses are gobbled up by one another, and magazines open and fold like Japanese fans. And where else can you learn both that Focal Press is publishing fewer photography books, and that Ide House is inaugurating a poetry branch?

Given the unbelievable variety and sheer number of publishers listed here--1,170 book publishers, 1,534 consumer magazines, 464 trade magazines, 250 script buyers, plus book producers, syndicates, and greeting-card publishers--it's almost hard to imagine a writer not finding a publisher. New this year are large icons indicating new listings, a limited section on literary agents, and a chart showing the owners and imprints of the major book publishers. In addition to the standard articles about query letters, book proposals, and freelance rates are profiles of authors, including nature writer and prisoner Ken Lamberton, Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm), and Anna Quindlen (Black and Blue), who says that "Writing is like anything else. You fall, you pick yourself up, and you try again. When you're discouraged, you eat ice cream." (Also available with CD-ROM.) --Jane Steinberg --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Get published and get PAID for it with 2000 Writer's Market! Inside you'll find more than 4,000 up-to-date leads, featuring consumer and trade magazines, book publishers, script buyers and more. Using easy-to-reference symbols and indexes, you'll quickly target your most promising market opportunities among listings that provide all the critical submission information you need:

Icons for easy referencing
Who to contact
What to send
Where to send it
How to contact
What they're looking for
What they pay
Inside advice
When to follow up
Circulation

2000 Writer's Market also goes beyond the listings, offering you the insights of bestselling authors, including Mitch Ablom, Caroline Alexander, Jane Smiley, Russell Banks and more. You'll also receive valuable how-to information on writing query letters, formatting submissions and much more. It's all here. From current market data to savvy business advice, 2000 Writer's Market has what it takes to make your writing career.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; illustrated edition edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898799112
• ISBN-13: 978-0898799118
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,737,697 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not necessary for writers of short fiction, January 28, 2000

By	eriven - See all my reviews

I did learn one or two things from this book, so I don't wholly regret purchasing it, but I do NOT use it as a market guide. I have found that it is not nearly as up-to-date as the editors would like you to think; to be truly up-to-date, it would need to be a monthly or at least quarterly publication. Frankly, it is much easier (and cheaper) to find current short fiction market information on-line. For example, Writer's Digest's website maintains a free catalog of market guidelines.
So, if you are a short fiction writer looking for market information, don't buy this book, but if you are looking for information on how the publishing world thinks and works, this may provide some general insights.

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic improves!, October 22, 1998

By	wmgoins "professor" (Richmond, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 1999 Writer's Market (Paperback)

As one of several freelance writers throughout the country contacted recently to do a professional review of this book for the publisher, I expected to find some changes from last's years version. The primary question I was ready to ask was if those changes being made in this version were made simply for the sake of making this edition different from its predecessor, or would there be enough real, viable, beneficial additions to an already outstanding book to make a hard-working, penny-pinching freelance writer buy a new copy. The answer was rather quickly answered as I thoroughly examined the book, and I was most pleasantly surprised at the changes actually made in this edition. Somehow Senior Editor Kirsten Holm (and the obvious multitude of others who worked on this edition) managed to find a number of subtle and not-so-subtle ways to improve a book that is almost beyond improvement. Writers Market has been, and still is, THE basic reference volume for any writer working in the magazine market, and it is an excellent resource book for any writer need information on publishers in the U.S. or Canada. This year's version now includes the addition of a section on literary agents, and although I'm not sure about its inclusion, like the rest of the book it too is well done (I have a personal problem with the rather large number of books in the writing marketplace that don't include many of the hard-working smaller agents - mine included). That said, this year's Writer's Market is worth a serious look, especially if your last year's version is as dog-earred, yellow-lined and worn as it should be if you are using it properly. Final comments? I feel so strongly about this year's version that even before I was contacted about reviewing the book, I had already purchased one. And the sample provided me for review? It now resides in our local library's reference section so the many "new" writers in my area can have access to a major reference book until they decide they need one of their own.

87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is it for you?, July 10, 2002

By	Carrie Harris (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 2002 Writer's Market: 8,000 Editors Who Buy What You Write (Paperback)

At over 1000 pages, Writer's Market is one of the most comprehensive resources you can buy on writing. It provides contact information and guidelines for thousands of publishing opportunities, contests, agents, contacts of all kinds. It's an invaluable resource when it comes to selling your writing. As other reviewers have said, you probably already know about this book if you're an established writer. But if not, how do you know if the Writer's Market is going to provide you with what you need to get published?

What some new writers don't know is that there are multiple versions of Writer's Market out there. I bought my first copy years ago, only to get it home and find that it wasn't going to be much help in selling my short stories. I needed a different version. Naively, I assumed that "Writer's Market" meant that it covers markets for all types of writers. That's not necessarily true. Here's what it does cover:

Literary agents - Writer's Digest Books also offers a separate book entitled "Guide to Literary Agents."

Book publishers - Writer's Digest Books also offers a separate book entitled "Novel and Short Story Writer's Market."

Consumer and trade magazines - The most comprehensive listing I've found to date.

Playwriting and scriptwriting - Although the entries here are far from comprehensive. There are specific books on play and screenplay markets that I've found to be much more useful. There just wasn't enough information here.

Greeting card and gift ideas

If you're writing in another niche, you may find these books helpful:

Poet's Market
Novel and Short Story Writer's Market
Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market