It’s here! My copy of the ‘2015 Writer’s Market’

Last week I was excited to receive my copy of the “2015 Writer’s Market: Deluxe Edition,” though a bit peeved that after I ordered it — talking within a couple of days — they proceeded to drop the price by $9. But that’s just my luck: I have none. At least, this year I got my copy. Last year, you see, I had ordered one, but after a week or two, the vendor canceled the order, and I never got around to getting another one since at that time I figured just wait for 2015. So here it is!

I will admit that I have not had much time to go through it yet; I became pretty sick after receiving it, plus work has been beyond hectic since we are severely understaffed at the moment (let’s say, shit hit the fan really good). But I’ve taken the time to really thumb through it today, and eventually, as I use it more, I will post a full book review that includes my experiences using WritersMarket.com; hopefully answering the question: Is it worth purchasing the Deluxe Edition to get free access to this website?I’ve purchased two “Writer’s Market” books in the past: one when I was in high school and then the 2013 one in eBook format (I strongly recommend the actual physical copy). This is my first time with the Deluxe Edition. I figure if I aimed to stay true to my goal to treat my creative writing as a business, I needed to get serious and break out the big guns to help me find viable markets or contests. The aspect of getting a free membership to WritersMarket.com — meaning updated market listings and industry news — was icing on the cake.

So far, I’ve been using the book to narrow down markets for a few short stories, in addition to looking at contests. However, skimming through the list of articles that appear at the beginning of this market guide, I see several that really interest me, including some geared toward success in a freelance career, utilizing social media, a self-publishing checklist and a topic that I’ve always struggled with: How to price services that you are selling (aka. editing, writing press releases, etc.). I’m really looking forward to taking the time to sit down and read through them.

There are of course other editions of the “Writer’s Market” out there, including the regular edition that pretty much has everything that the deluxe version has; “Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market”; “Guide to Literary Agents”; “Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market”; “2015 Guide to Self-Publishing — Revised Edition”; “Songwriter’s Market”; and “Poet’s Market.” All of these titles can be viewed here. These books are all geared toward different types of writers, and if you get one of the more targeted books (like if you are only interested in poetry, for an example), you will save yourself money since the smaller editions are cheaper.

For me it was a no-brainer to go with the main “Writer’s Market” book since I’m targeting many different markets in 2015.  However, last year I might have just purchased the literary agent one, because that was who I targeting at that time.

While this is not a full review, from past experience, I can say that “Writer’s Market” books are incredibly useful. If you have reached a point in your writing where you want to publish, you should seriously consider picking up a copy of one of the editions that works best for what you are trying to achieve. Stay tuned in, a full review of the deluxe edition will likely be coming in a few months once I get some use out of it.