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Market Watch

Nancy B. Leake

Matching markets with your work

When you have edited your stories and they are ready to be published, it is time to choose a market. There are a couple things to do before submitting your polished work.

1. Decide to what type of reader your work is of interest: sex, age, occupation, genre, and type. For instance, a Vietnam War story may interest middle-aged men and be suitable for publication in a military or history magazine rather than in Women’s Day. A poem about raising children in 1950 would interest older women and be more suitable for a poetry magazine or a woman’s magazine, depending on the slant of the article.

2. Know the market: There are several ways to accomplish this. The best way is to order a copy of the magazine. Many companies offer free or low-cost sample issues of their magazine. Study the magazine for content, style of writing, genre, type: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, if they accept freelance material, if they accept unsolicited manuscripts or prefer an outline first, and the size of the articles.

   Many companies have web sites that will also give you general guidelines on the magazine, but this is not as thorough as studying the printed magazine.

   If the market is an e-zine, study the Internet site for the same types of information as above.

3. Once you know your reader and market, re-edit your story to meet the requirements of the market you have chosen. An existing story’s slant can be changed for a specific market by making slight changes in content.

   Remember when you submit your writing, always enclose a query letter that looks professional and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelop (SASE), if you want a response or want your manuscript returned.

Creativity is really the structuring of magic. Anne Kent Rush

I would like to hear about your experiences in submitting your writing, whether good or bad.

When you send your suggestions to me please enclose: The name and type of the market, What type of writing they publish and the word count, The guidelines for submission or how to get the guidelines, How to contact the company, and whom to contact, What they pay, and If they accept submission from new writers, if noted.

Print Markets:

The Bark is a quarterly magazine on modern dog culture that brings a literate and entertaining style showing an appreciation for dogs. They accept fiction (400-1,200 words), nonfiction (600-1,700 words), poetry, and fillers (100-600 words). Payment is $50-$400 depending on type of article. Fillers pay $25-$150. They accept previously published submissions. Mail to: Claudia Kawczynska, editor, The Bark, 2810 Eighth, Berkley, CA 94710, www.thebark.com. E-mail: editor@thebark.com. A sample copy is $3.00; 50% Freelance written.

Stovepipe is a quarterly journal of "little literary value" that enjoys fiction: experimental, literary, humor/satire, short-shorts, and poetry under 3,500 words. Payment is 1-3 copies for one-time rights. Include a short biography, cover letter, and SASE, or they will not respond. Mail to: Stovepipe, Troy Teegarden, Editor, PO Box 1076, Georgetown, KY 40324. Single copies are $2 US, $2.50 Canada/Mexico, $3.50 World.

Futures is a magazine published every other month. It is recommended by several of Writer’s Village writers who state that the magazine is "beginning writer friendly." There is even a column for first-time writers called "The Starting Line." A variety of fiction is published at 500-3,500 words; if any longer query them. They have been known to run serials. For nonfiction stories query as well. Payment is $10 after Oct 1. Full guidelines are available online at www.firetowrite.com. Mail single submissions to Babs Lakey, Editor, FUTURES, 3039 38th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55406-2140 or BARBL@tela.com. Sample issues are $4 plus $1.65 postage; outside USA ask for the postage fee.

Bear Deluxe is an environmental magazine that needs investigative reporting, fiction, essays, poetry, news, opinions, reviews and interviews. Query editors with a story idea accompanied by samples or send completed manuscript with SASE, include a short biography. Length varies according to topic: 100-4,000 words. Payment is $.05/word, ($10/poem), contributor copies and a one-year subscription for First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). Return time is 3-6 months. Mail to The Bear Deluxe Magazine, Editor-in-Chief: Tom Webb, c/o Orlo, PO Box 10342, Portland, OR 97296; send to appropriate editor, poetry, fiction, or nonfiction editor. URL is www.orlo.org/beardeluxe. Sample copies are $3.

Freelance Markets:

Love Poetry for the Media Age will be published in Spring 2001 and is looking for poetic musing about love in the media-saturated age in the form of irony, quirky, weird, and/or wonderful poetry. Submit 1-10 unpublished pages with a short biography. Payment will be an advance and royalty-based, depending on pages published for rights. Deadline is October 31, 2000. Mail to Ripple Effect Press, 216 West 12th Ave., Vancouver, BC Canada, V5Y 1T8. Email for information at info@rippleeffectpress.com.

Anthology for Stepmothers is a book to comfort and enlighten stepmothers taking on this challenging role. The editor seeks poems, essays, short fiction, limericks, and interviews. Humor is encouraged. Payment will be in copies. Include a brief biography and mail to Anthology Editor, Flynn Publications, 173 Lamont Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 or email to flynnpub@mindspring.com.

Fillers:

Family Circle pays $50 if they print your tip. Call 1-888-216-7219 for examples. Bright Ideas, PO Box 5028, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017.

Adventure Journal the adventure travel magazine, is looking for anecdotes, facts, newsbreaks, and short humor (50-150 words). They pay $50-$150. Mail to Adventure Journal, The Adventure Travel Magazine: Travel Publishing Group, Inc. 50 Oak Street Suite 30, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Web Markets:

Inkspot and its publications, Inklings, The Ink Blotter, Global Writers’ Ink, are a group of publications devoted to writers and the craft of writing. Inklings is a biweekly newsletter that addresses the craft or business or writing (800-1,000 words). The Ink Blotter publishes short fiction, essays, humor, and poetry relating to writing. Inkspot has a newsletter and features on their website addressing any aspect of the craft and business of writing and the development of writing skills for all levels (800-1,300 words). They are also developing specific genre sections. Global Writers’ Ink is a section of Inkspot that covers issues of interest to international writers (800-1,300 words). Payment is $.08/word and, if published in both Inklings and Inkspot, $.12/word. Ink Blotter payment rates vary. E-mail all submissions or queries in text to Moira Allen, Managing Editor, at moira@inkspot.com, other than Ink Blotter, which goes to inkblotter@inkspot.com. The response time is two to four weeks. No reprints or simultaneous submissions are accepted.

Writer’s Hood is a year old monthly e-zine recommended by "Predators and Editors" that supports amateur writers by providing a free critique of all submitted work. The writer keeps all rights and the editor helps promote your writing by allowing a link to Amazon or your home site for sale of your story. Short fiction of any genre is preferred, but longer works or novels can be serialized. This is a non-paying market, but can help get you polished for the paying markets. Submit online at www.writershood.com.

Gang-Related: Urban Horror Gangster style is a quarterly webzine that accepts crime, crime-noir, and horror that involves a gang and uses modern city settings, (preferably inner-city), 2,000-5,000 words. Nothing worse than an R-rating for language and violence is accepted. Pays $.01/word up to $50 for first electronic rights from new and established writers. E-mail in body; no attachments are accepted. Label subject as "Gang-Related Submission" to Jason Duke, Editor, at nosellout@prodigy.net. Denote italics with one asterisk and bold­type with two. No simultaneous, multi-submissions, or reprints. Website at www2.11net.com/j85051d.

Don’t Bother:

iUniverse.com - M.J. Rose states, "The National Writers Union has been investigating iUniverse.com for several months and is now prepared to present a list of grievances to company management later this week, said Harry Youtt, a union representative." One of the charges is the company’s failure to notify more than 400 authors that their titles disappeared from their site’s database.

Write Image has failed to fulfill its contracts with numerous defrauded writers. The Edmonton newspapers and the Better Business Bureau have issued warnings about staying away. This site is being run by the publisher of Commonwealth, a subsidy publisher that went bust in 1999 after failing to fulfill its contracts with hundreds of writers, according to the National Writers Union. Thanks to N’omi for the tip.

Email your markets to me.

All opinions stated in this column are my own and not opinions of T-zero or Writer’s Village University.