Monday, February 13, 2012

Market Slump

For those of you looking for markets, the pickings have been a bit thin of late. There are quite a few anthologies listed over at Duotrope, but they're mostly non-paying from new epublishers. And after the Trestle Press fiasco, I'm not eager to link to them. If you're of a mind to check them out drop on over to http://www.duotrope.com and click on the new listings or check out the calender page.

As always check out the publisher before submitting, read their "about" page. If you have questions, ask them. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, don't submit. If the only payment is a discount for the copies you buy - you're the target market. Of course, that's just my opinion.

2 comments:

EA said...

Just my 2 cents Sandra: you have always reported news on markets and leads. You've never said they were vetted in advance. The onus is on writers to make choices, and sometimes when we're getting started, even a shaky little start-up venue is better than no venue at all. My vote is to keep reporting the way you always have, while cautioning writers that they must make every effort to make sure they are getting what they expect. Scammers and rip-off artists will eventually be outed, but without a free press that gives publicity to newbie publishers, good venues will die on the vine and our current "golden age of short stories" will end.

sandra seamans said...

What you're saying is true, Elaine, but I remember some of the stupid mistakes I made with publishers when I was starting out. It makes me cringe now, and it also makes me wary of who's out there. Not all newbies think that way. All they can see is getting published. I try very hard not to point writers in the direction of that type of press while still passing along leads.


In the end it is up to each writer to check out the market they're submitting to. And no matter how hard you try, you're probably going to get skinned in one way or another. We all do, and it's a learning experience that you take with you.