THE FIRST LITTLE PIGGY

by John M. Floyd

Last September I did a column about reference books for the craft of writing, which included resources like Stephen King’s On Writing, Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages, etc. I have a weakness for that kind of how-to book, and as you might expect, some of them are better than others.

The same is true of books and web sites that assist writers in finding markets for their work. There aren’t as many of these “how to sell” resources as there are for “how to write,” but they can be just as important. Today I’ll mention several that have helped me find places to sell my stories, and if you’re a writer looking for publication and don’t use them already, maybe they can help you as well.

They — like the markets themselves — come in two flavors: print and online. The best print resource, in my opinion, is the annual Novel & Short Story Writers Market, published by Writers Digest Books each year. It used to come out in September or October, but lately I think I’ve seen it on bookstore shelves as early as August. It sells for around $25, and is worth every penny.

To the short story (non-nonfiction?) writer, its advantage over the huge — and hugely popular — Writers Market book is that N&SSWM focuses on fiction only, and provides lists of magazine markets, novel publishers, and literary agents. And the index is structured such that you can also look up markets by category; if you’ve written a short mystery, for example, you can see a listing only of magazines that accept that genre.

Other print resources include publications like Writer’s Digest, The Writer, and Writers’ Journal. The first two of these magazines come out monthly, and all three regularly list markets and contact information. Every issue of WD also features a fiction-writing article by Nancy Kress, who usually names several current markets in a sidebar.

The last print resource I can think of (not the last resort; the last resource) is the publication itself. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to put your hands and eyes on an actual copy of the magazine that you’re thinking of submitting to, read all the stories in that issue. It’s probably the best way to determine whether that market will be receptive to your kind of work.

As for online resources, here are a few that have been helpful to me. Some of them say they’re specific to certain genres, but they often list publications that accept other genres as well. Story Pilot, for example, lists Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, even though the site description says they feature only SF/fantasy markets.

Duotrope Digest
Story Pilot
Writers Write
Jacqui Bennett Writers Bureau
Jan Christensen’s mystery links
Ralan’s Extravaganza
Towse’s links
Fiction Factor
Short Mystery Fiction Society

The other tried-and-true way to find markets (both print and electronic) is to just do an online search with keywords like “short story markets” or “short fiction markets.” I did this a few weeks ago to try to find a place to submit a western story I’d just finished. A Google search for “short western markets” revealed a web site for the print magazine Prairie Times, in Colorado. I submitted the story and they bought it — but without the Internet I might never have known the magazine existed.

According to John McCollister, in his book Writing for Dollars, two things separate those who are published on a regular basis from the “wanna-be” writers: “The first is a passion for the craft. A second key to success . . . is to know how to market your material.” If you write the best story ever written and then keep it in your sock drawer, or send it out to the wrong places, the world will never see it. It might remain the best story ever written, but you’re the only person who’ll know that.

The point is, take your stories and go to market. Don’t be like the second little piggy: he’s the one who stayed home.