The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines, Compiled and edited by Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland, and Doris Hall - Large Print Reviews

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The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines
Compiled and edited by Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland, and Doris Hall

The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines
Detailed writer's guidelines for more than 1,700 periodicals and book publishers
Compiled and edited by Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland, and Doris Hall
Quill Driver Books, (2007)
Standard Print Edition
ISBN: 1884956580
Genre: Writing & Publishing

Reviewed by Auggie Moore - December 26, 2007

No matter how skilled or talented a writer you are, if you are a freelance writer you cannot get your work published unless you first submit it to publishers. Yet, how do you go about discovering all the potential markets for your latest missive? Well, you could spend months searching the internet, ordering writers guidelines, and buying thousands of magazines to learn who all the various editors are. Or, you can let someone else do all the legwork for you!

If you are serious about having your work published, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, a book, a poem, or an article, I highly recommend that you get a copy of the The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines. This guide is updated yearly and the current edition is the 6th, and it covers 2007-2008. This is more than just a market guide that simply lists the name, address, and editor of a particular magazine or book publisher. Rather, this book contains detailed writers' guidelines, as well as advice from more than 1,700 magazine editors and book publishers. This advice ranges from insights into the type of material they are most interested in receiving - and what they don't want, to how best to contact them and submit your work.

The The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines 2007-2008, 6th Edition begins with a handy Author's Tool Kit. This kit illustrates how to format your manuscript, provides information on writing query letters, a list of authors' rights, tips on dealing with rejection, and other handy advice. A sample submission tracking sheet is also included.

The bulk of the book, however consists of the writer's guidelines, which are organized into two sections. One section deals with guidelines for periodicals, and the other with book publishers' guidelines. Within the two sections, the writer's guidelines are listed alphabetically, in addition there is a topical index at the end of the book, as well as an alphabetical list of publishers at the beginning of the book.

The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines 2007-2008, 6th Edition is an essential resource for anyone serious about seeing their work in print. While there are market guides that contain more listing, this directory is, in my opinion, a more useful and practical guide. The guidelines in this book are extensive, some running several pages. These guidelines provide detailed descriptions of precisely what a given editor or publication is looking for, and useful information such as the rights they buy, payment, response time, preferred submission methods, the editing process, artwork and photography, and so much more. As such, this directory will help you to effectively target your submissions and to get an accurate feel for exactly what editors are looking for. Most important, it provides guidance that will help get your work out of the slush-pile and into the hands of the correct editor, at the correct publication thereby increasing your chance of being published!

Related Reviews:

Guide to Literary Agents, edited by Chuck Sambuchino.
This edition contains more than 650 listings for literary and script agents and agencies, as well as listings for writers' conferences and articles on finding an agent, the role of an agent, writing proposals, negotiating a book contract, and more...
Writer's Market, edited by Robert Lee Brewer.
Completely revised and updated, the Writer's Market contains 3,500 listings for both fiction and nonfiction markets, plus helpful articles and information about literary agents, and more...

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