10 Markets, 10 Strategies

I love chasing markets. There’s something challenging, invigorating about coming across a magazine issuing a call for manuscripts. Writing shorts—poems, fillers, articles or short stories—teaches us to make every word count. Writing and marketing shorts is how many writers first get published. It adds to our writer’s resume and builds confidence. With a few bylines beneath our belt, we’re not afraid to call ourselves a real writer.

Take a look at the 10 markets below. There’s something here for everyone. Before you send your work to any magazine, newspaper or publisher, study their writing guidelines. That’s called doing your homework.

10 MARKETS, 10 STRATEGIES

1. The Sun – http://thesunmagazine.org/ – The Sun has been around for forty years. It describes itself as personal, political, provocative and ad-free. Writing from this well-put-together magazine have won notable prizes included in prestigious anthologies. The Sun is extremely “new writer” friendly.

2. Woman’s World – This tabloid can be found at the checkout counter of most grocery stores. It’s one of the few magazines that publish a romance and a mystery. They have very strict writer’s guidelines but GREAT pay. Here are two blogs that dissect and evaluate WW’s fiction. You can learn a lot from reading these two blogs, and they also have the magazines guidelines posted. http://womansworldstyle.blogspot.com/p/workshop-info.htmlAND http://womansworldstyle.blogspot.com/2013/08/womans-world-mini-mystery-guidelines.html

3. True Story and True Confessions http://www.truerenditionsllc.com/write-for-us/ – In these two confession magazines, you’ll find approximately eight markets. Check your grocery store or bookstore and browse through them. Don’t be embarrassed to pick up a confession magazine. They published positive, inspirational-type short stories, and some great columns like My Moment with God.

4. First Line Literary Journal http://thefirstline.com/index.htm – This great little literary magazine publishes stories all using the same first line. This is a great writing credit!

5. The Good Old Days http://www.goodolddaysmagazine.com/ – A nostalgia magazine that’s really fun. Read the guidelines and remember, if you send a picture with your article, send a copy—not the original!

6. Regional magazines and Newspapers – Bayou Living Magazine http://www.bayoulivingmagazine.com/ – A new online magazine that covers territory from Beaumont, Texas to Lafayette, Louisiana. Query the editor.

7. Helping Hands Press http://www.myhelpinghandspress.com/ – A Christian publisher. Visit them on Facebook every Thursday night.

8. The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ – TWRP has been voted Best Publisher by Preditors & Editors Poll seven years straight!

9. Listverse   http://listverse.com/write-get-paid/ – Study this online site carefully. It’s fun and self-explanatory.

10. Letters to the Editor (magazines & newspapers) One of my favorite markets is the letter section of any magazine or newspaper. Sometimes a great letter can evolve into an op-ed piece. The Sun publishes letters, but they also run a column called Readers Write—and that column has a theme. Click the link to read their guidelines and see what that theme is. http://thesunmagazine.org/about/submission_guidelines/readers_write

And good luck!