Finding Writers' Markets

Last week I drove my son to buy art supplies he needed for a new class. We picked out the few items we didn't have at home already, including a very important sketchbook.

He hovered near the shelf, studying the different styles of sketchbooks, caressing the different types of paper. He held two or three of the books in his arms before he made his choice.

On the way home, he sat next to me. His eyes opened wide, he lifted the sketchbook out of the store's bag and ran his hand over the cover, then opened to the first untouched page. Page after page, he sighed over its pristine nature.

I smiled, quietly knowing how he felt. (And thrilled that he'd inherited at least one personality quirk from me.) I walk to the store every once in a while just to buy a new notebook. Spiral-bound on the side, with three or more sections – that's what I look for. I tend to prefer purple or blue covers but have been known to mix it up with a composition notebook, or green or red covers.

And just like my son, as soon as possible I hold the notebook on my lap, caressing the cover. I open the notebook slowly, happily sighing over the empty pages. I know they won't stay empty for long, and that is their magic. The pages beckon me to write down my hopes, dreams and wild ideas. I write statements of intention and lists of deadlines. I outline stories and magazine articles, and rumors about calls for submissions by magazines and anthologies.

If you are a writer looking for up-to-date market news for writers of all genres, here are two fantastic ways you can be the first on your block to know who needs what written.

- Subscribe to discussion lists for writers. There are many lists that are moderated and only solid leads get sent out. Others are loaded with lots of chatter (which can also be beneficial) with the odd call for submission included.

Want to keep your email from filling up with lists? Use a free email address (hotmail, gmail, yahoo) for your discussion list subscriptions. Find these lists by doing searches on Yahoo, Topica, or Google groups. My favorites are MWmarketslist (you have to apply to join MomWriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. After acceptance you may join the MomWriters Market list). Another list packed with support and information, and regular calls for submissions, is WritingMothers (Writingmothers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com).

- Find websites that are rich with calls for submissions and market information. Wooden Horse Publishing is a subscription-based website with a searchable database for market information. It also publishes a no-fee update on new publications and those seeking writers. Go to http://www.woodenhorsepub.com/archives.html to read back issues. There is also an opt-in box on the home page if you want the newsletters to be sent to you.

Anthologies Online is another website that lists calls for submissions from anthology publishers: www.anthologiesonline.com.

Keep searching lists and sites for new markets for writers and your notebooks will never be bare.

About The Author


About the Author: Pamela White is the publisher of The Writing Parent, the free bi-weekly ezine that supports and teaches (and provides writing markets to) parents who write. As a parent of three children, five cats and one dog, Pam understands the challenges of creating a writing career in the midst of family life and invites you to subscribe to the ezine at www.thewritingparent.net.

© 2006 Pamela White

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How to Find and Hirer a Great Freelance Writer/Copywriter

Seek and Ye Shall Find?

Sometimes finding a good writer can be harder than finding a soul mate because writing and copywriting are subjective arts and if you are not a writer, you can not see the difference between a good writer and an excellent writer. If you are looking for a writer on the Web by searching on terms such as writer and copywriter, there are few things you should look for once you find a writer’s website:

Excited, Delighted or Uninvited?

Excellent writing entertains and excites, quickly and concisely. When you read the writer’s website you should be drawn in. Does she ask the reader questions? Does he understand what you want? Does she seem friendly? Does he have relevant experience? Does she list what kinds of services she offers?

Location, Location, Location

Often businesses hiring a writer want to look for someone nearby so they search, writer, Los Angeles if they live in Los Angeles, if the writers don’t show an address or location where they work, you’ll never find then. You’ll be able to get a general idea of where the writer is by either the contact page or by references to work completed.

A Bad Writer Ain’t Hard to Find

If you notice grammar and spelling mistakes you are probably on the wrong page. Also if the style and design of a writer’s website looks bad, even if there writing looks good, you should be wary. Good writing is neat and pleasant looking.

Ample Parking and Samples

Excellent writing on the Web, gives the reader plenty of potential to stop, park, click and look for a while. If the writer doesn’t link to more writing and industry resources, she/he is less professional than the ones who do know that linking is best form of networking around. You ought to find several kinds of writing samples. If you don’t find the kind of samples you like, e-mail or call the writer and ask for exactly what you want.

RSVP

Response is also important to you and the writer. Although a few second e-mail response-time is possible, a day or overnight return time is reasonable. If you want a faster response, be sure to tell the writer that you are in hurry and on a deadline. When writers don’t respond in a timely manner, they miss out on your work.

Check References

Once you locate the name of the writer, do not hesitate searching for other references of the writer on the Web. Type the name in a search engine with an appropriate word such as writer. For example, when I searched my name Lynn Walford with the word writer, along with my website http://www.freelancewriternow.com, a photo of me standing next my former editor Michael Goldstein at a Justice Magazine party appeared. I never saw the photo until I searched my own name! Of course writers and authors names should also appear on magazine articles and bylines in other media. I also found myself in an article on naming books by Robin Quinn at the PMA website.

Titular Savvy or Tense---What’s in a Name?

Look at the title of the writer’s website. Is it catchy? Memorable? Does it Make Sense? Of course when someone is born Anna Matto Poeeah, (pronounced just like onomatopoeia, the poetic word for when something also sounds like its name such as whispering or clang) you can’t hold it against her. However, when writers don’t take the time to name their websites appropriately they can’t write a title for you.

The Price is Write

Some writers charge by the hour, by the piece or by the word. Whomever you choose, she/he should be able to give an estimate on how much your project will cost. Vagueness usually means no experience.

Rewrite Right?

Most excellent writers and copywriters will give a free rewrite if you don’t like what they do. Always ask if they will rewrite it for you if you don’t like it.

Test, Quiz

If you are planning a major project such as a white paper, which can be expensive, look for a writer in advance and ask him/her to write a small project for you first, then you can see if you can work with him/her and also test knowledge.

Well, Well, Well.

Writing well is a precise art with a sense of urgency and a taste of the divine. You should be able to tell good writing when you find it. It comes to life, sings and shines. When you read something like ” Avoid cliches like the plague,” found on 26 Golden Rules for Writing Well you are definitely in the wrong place.

About The Author

Lynn Walford (lw@freelancewriternow.com) is a freelance writer/author and Webmistress of http://www.freelancewriternow.com. She was a technology columnist for Investors Business Daily and her writing has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Success, Dig-iT, UPI, and New Age Journal. She wrote the winning entry for the Consumer Electronics Show Best in Show and her poetry has appeared in Heart’s Voice and The San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly. She is currently working on the book “Dance Like the Stars – Learn from the Pros.”

lw@freelancewriternow.com

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