Posts tagged ‘Duotrope’
STRUGGLING TO GET IT PUBLISHED: REVISITING DUOTROPE
I had promised to return to the purpose of this blog, writing and publishing, to relay knowledge gained in having my work published, and on more occasions that I like to recall, rejected. So with this article I shall return to that purpose. But my mind is disrupted by the state of our beloved country. Need I say more?
Now, on to Duotrope, one of the most useful tools a writer can use to get his work published. If you have a piece you desire to publish, please give the site a look. You will be more than satisfied.
Duotrope is a website discussed in the past. I wish to renew that discussion and provide new information.
At one time Duotrope was free, a great source for finding publishers. A few years ago they began charging $50/year to use their service. That small price is more than worth the benefits provided to help you find a home for your work. They provide publishers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. They provide a survey for you to characterize you work and zero in on publishers who may in interested in publishing you. When you initially check out the site, you are allowed limited use to explore the value they provide. Duotrope constantly upgrades the information they provide so the list of publishers remains current.
A new feature, offered in addition to the published work, is the category of visual arts. With this new addition you are able to search for sources to publish of your art; magazines etc.
Duotrope is an essential tool to those writers and artists wanting a chance to expose their work to the world.
Here is a link to the site.
STRUGGLING TO GET IT PUBLISHED: MARKETS AND AGENTS
This piece is a sample of upcoming posts to this blog.
The following is a list of websites to help writers find markets and agents. In the future I will discuss each site in more detail, but I thought I would offer this piece for writers to explore these sites, if they want, on their own.
First, I am sad to say that one of my favorite sites to explore the validity of markets and agents no longer exists. The site is Preditors & Editors, a site I have looked to over the years for their opinion about markets and agents. They will be sorely missed.
Now let’s deal with markets.
To my mind, Duotrope is the go-to site for seeking markets for fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Once free, it now charges 50$ a year to use it. Although there are some that argue about the fee, I think, for the service they provide, it is well worth the cost. This site is a fantastic search-engine to find markets specific to your work.
Here is the site:
https://duotrope.com/index.aspx?bp=search
Here is a site to find markets for science fiction and more. I have yet to become acquainted with it, but I will before I report on it.
http://www.ralan.com/index.htm
Now for agents.
In my opinion, this is the site to first visit when seeking an agent. The site is for the Association of Writers Representative. You can search the site for your specific genre and be connected to the agent’s site. You should never have to pay an agent to read your work. With the agents associated with this site, you never will. They have taken a pledge of honesty.
Here is the site:
Next is a site devoted to the writer to query other writers about their experience with publishers and
agents. Great place to check on honesty.
Here is the site:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/activity.php
Finally, here is a site to use to see an agents background. I will discuss this site in greater detail in a later post.
Here is the site:
http://www.agwentquery.com/default.aspx
I hope this helps my fellow writers on their journey to publication. As promised, a more extensive look at each site will follow. I want to help my fellow writers to be where they want to be.
STRUGGLING TO GET IT PUBLISHED: THE SMALL PRESS
Between major houses and self-publishing there lies an alternative which is the subject of this piece.
As far as the major publishing houses are concerned, most cannot be approached unless you have an agent and the agent makes the contact. But acquisition of an agent is not an easy task. An aside, for those writing in my genre, science fiction and horror, the major house, TOR, does accept unsolicited manuscripts. I read an article not long ago in which writers talked about obtaining an agent. In almost every case it was ‘I know someone, or I have an agent. Let me talk to them.’ You get the idea. Yet I’m still naïve enough to feel if your work is good, something good will happen. I could be labeled either a dreamer or an idiot, been called both by those who know me.
The far-end of the spectrum from the top houses is self-publishing. I’ve dealt with this topic in past posts, and will surely again in the future. What typifies my thoughts on self-publishing is an ad I see constantly in Writer’s Digest. In the photo accompanying the ad is a middle-aged woman with short gray hair sitting cross-legged on a mound of earth in the middle of the great outdoors, I can only assume there must be a Starbucks within Wi-Fi distance. She has her arms raised triumphantly while gazing at her laptop nestled in her lap. The ad proclaims, ‘Write anything. Publish everything.’
Really?
I don’t know if this woman is supposed to have just finished writing a classic, or just sent off the classic to be published. ‘Write anything’ I have no problem with, but ‘Publish everything’, give me a break. Does everything written need to be published, especially by someone unencumbered by the process of discovering if what they write is publishable? If you feel everything you write, that is not exposed to scrutiny, is publishable, you can stop reading now.
If you are still reading and feel the product of your mind should be self-published, please, please, please have someone other than your mother or your spouse read your work with a critical eye and who will be gentle, yet honest, with their opinion. Join a writer’s group or seek an online critique. I’ll these options in future pieces.
The purpose of this article is to discuss small presses, and now I will focus on that topic. There are a multitude of small, legitimate presses you are able to approach directly. I was fortunate enough to be accepted as an author by Melange Books. They provided help in editing, designing a book cover and distributing my book to online sellers, Barnes & Noble and Amazon, all free of charge. There are a host of publishers out there that want to publish good work, but do your homework. As with any industry, there are those that are less than honest.
My favorite source of publishing opportunities, Duotrope, https://duotrope.com/, is one place to begin your research. There are many other resources, but I find Duotrope the most complete and easiest to use.
At the same time, I must caution you that all small presses may not have the best interest of the writer in mind. As with any business, there are the unscrupulous and the scams abound.
Do your homework!
In past articles I have discussed Preditors & Editors, http://pred-ed.com/pubagent.ht, and Absolute Write Water Cooler, http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/. Both are fantastic and constantly update their information. Preditors & Editors provides information on publishers, along with agents. This is a site you must use if you want to publish your work and do not want to be taken due to an ego trip. The site provides recommendations and warnings of the unscrupulous.
Absolute Write Water Cooler offers writers’ experiences with publishers and agents. This site is a must if you plan to publish. If you search the internet for a specific publisher or agent, often some of the first references will be from Absolute Writer. Always check these comments by writers who have used these sites and provide first-hand information on their experiences. Both Preditors & Editors and Absolute Write Water Cooler and places you should investigate while seeking to publish your work, and they are FREE.
Good luck fellow writers.
STRUGGLING TO GET IT PUBLISHED: FINDING MARKETS, DUOTROPE
Back in the day when I was on the road to becoming a famous poet, a hint on where that road led – picture the final scene in the movie Thelma & Louise, I used books and magazines to fine markets where I could submit my work. Pounding out poems on my electric typewriter, going through gallons of white-out, off they would go along with the required SASE. This was long before the home computer came into existence, before the internet was even a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye. How things have changed since my early writing years. The books and magazines still exist, but I can guarantee, at least for the books, by the time they are published much of the information is outdated, unless the book is accompanied by a website to maintain currency, save your money.
My go-to source for finding markets for my work nowadays is the website Duotrope, providing over 4000 markets for poetry, fiction and non-fiction and constantly updated. Up until a few years ago it was free, now it will cost you $5 a month or $50 a year. If you register, you can get a free trial. If you are serious about submitting your work, you can’t go wrong giving this website a try. I’ve included a link at the end of this piece.
The site offers searches by the publisher’s name, or if you want to search all markets for your specific piece, you can do that too. In the later type of search, you are given the options of genre, length, pay scale, and a more specific breakdown within your genre. You can also query to see if the publisher accepts reprints, simultaneous and multiple submissions. Also available for most publishers is their response time and percentage of acceptances.
Upon completion of your search you are provide with a list of primary and secondary markets that meet your criteria. On the Duotrope page listing the publisher’s specifications you will also find a link to the publisher’s website. This feature saves tons of time in your submission process. Your search and then be saved if for some reason you first offer of the piece is rejected. I’m trying to be both ironic and humorous.
Finally, you receive a weekly email listing current market updates. One look at this list of weekly market activity will clearly demonstrate how rapidly a book of markets becomes outdated.
If you want to stay on the cutting edge of where to submit your work, I highly suggest you look into Duotrope.
READERS AND WRITERS CORNER
READERS AND WRITERS CORNER
My name is Walt Trizna. I am a longtime member of the Wordwrights, and during the course of my writing career, I have gathered information on many aspects of publishing material. I am also an avid reader and would like to share free sources I have found where novels, short stories and poetry are available. My hope is that both readers and writers will find this information useful.
The subject of this article is Duotrope.com (http://www.duotrope.com/). This is an excellent resource for writers. A host of online and print publications are referenced that accept novels, short stories, flash fiction and poetry. For the reader, it offers many online sites where short stories and poetry are available, all for free.
Writes can explore the site by genre, theme, word count and pay scale. Duotrope lists over 2400 sites and is updated on a regular basis. Other information beneficial is the publisher’s policy in simultaneous submissions, reprints and multiple submissions. With feedback from writers, Duotrope also tracks response times and rate of acceptance. Also available is a connection to the publisher’s website offering information about the publication and further information on what they are seeking.
This website should be in every writer’s go-to list for places to publish his work.
Future articles in this series will deal with great resources for readers, sites for reference and finding agents.
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