The 2007 Writer's Market
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?
It’s a new year which means it’s time for a new edition of Writer’s Market. Since 1921, Writer’s Market has been a writer’s best friend. The 2007 Writer’s Market is no different.
It hasn’t changed much over the years. Well, the information is updated of course, but the 2007 Writer’s Market is in the same format writers should find comfortable. It starts out with some great articles and then has a massive listing of publishers, magazines, agents, and more.
Great Advice in 2007 Writer’s Market
One of the great things about the Writer’s Market is that they attract some of the best freelance writers to draw from. Who better to learn from than someone that is successful?
The first 80 pages are packed with advice no matter where you are at in your writing journey. There is something for everyone here. The 2007 Writer’s Market starts out with a section called The Basics.
Great Advice for Beginning Writers
The very first article is called “Before Your First Sale”. There is some excellent advice in this article for writers that are trying to sell their first piece of writing. The advice is foundational in developing your ideas and getting your manuscript to the editors. A sample manuscript format is provided and can be the difference between looking like a professional or an amateur. The advice found in this short article is important for any writer, whether you are trying to sell your first piece or your 100th.
If you have read my article, The Benefits of Writing Contests, you already know I believe that writing contests can help you in many ways. The next article in the 2007 Writer’s Market backs up what I believe. Author, Sean Murphy, tells us how he used writing contests to get his novel exposure. “Use Contests to Jumpstart Your Writing Career” is an inspiring tale that gives you insight on one way you can use to get your novel into the hands of a lot of people.
Writing a good query can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. There is so much competition out there that you need to give yourself any edge you can. The 2007 Writer’s Market helps you out with a Query Letter Clinic. They give you tips on writing your query as well as samples of well written query letters and queries gone bad. This one article could help you get your manuscript or book proposal accepted.
Writing reviews for a newspaper, magazine or website is a great place for a writer to get their start. “Review This: Critics Roundtable” picks the brain of four successful reviewers. Frank Gabrenya is a film critic, Andrea Hoag reviews books, Terry Kirts reviews restaurants and writes culinary articles, and Mark Richardson is a music critic. You get a great mix of experiences with this group. The amount of knowledge in this interview is invaluable.
