The Best of the Magazine Markets for Writers: A directory of Publications That Buy Freelance Material [ペーパーバック]

Best of Magazine Markets is a good reference guide for freelance writers who wish to find appropriate publications in which to sell written material. The bulk of the pages in this guide feature listings of actual magazines and it is here that most freelancers will turn for some quick information on specific publications. This section is very helpful because it breaks down the vital statistics that are important to freelancers in determining whether or not to submit an article. Knowing the circulation, the target audience, and the frequency of publication is one thing, but it is also nice to know the chances for success for a freelance writer and this and other important facts are covered in the "Freelance Potential" section for the majority of the featured magazines. At a glance, an interested writer can quickly see what percentage of the articles are written by non- staff writers, the percentage of articles submitted by authors who are new to the magazine, and other helpful stats.

Magazines that are new to this year's edition are highlighted in one large listing (they also have a star next to their names in the individual listing, for quick reference) near the end of the book. There is also a listing of publications that have changed their names; publications that have changed their editorial focus; and magazines that are no longer published. In addition, there are two miscellaneous lists titled "Best magazines for first- time writers" and "Best for Unpublished writers". Again, these listings help to make the process easier for the freelancer by providing a quick summary of magazines that fit a given category or interest. My only complaint here is that there are not more listings. With these "best of" listings, for example, the book could have been more creative and devised several more categorical listings.

The first part of the book talks about the basics of freelancing and the right way to compose an article on a specific subject. This section isn't as helpful as it could be because it is far too brief. The way it is now, the 2006 edition includes only a tiny amount of material covering these basics; like resume submission, effective writing, copyrights, contracts, etc. This is far too little for a guide like this. True, most people who read this book will be looking at the individual magazine listings more than anything but there really needs to be more information at the beginning of the book to provide a good background into the freelance profession and to make the book more rounded and complete.

One other problem with a reference guide like this is that it becomes outdated quickly. Certain facts, like the magazine's name and its web site, will likely remain the same for a long time but other things like the percentage of non- staff writers, the pay rate, etc., are likely to change in a very short period of time. For these reasons, this is the type of reference guide that some readers might not want to purchase. If you're serious about selling your articles to magazines then I think it is still worthwhile to own a copy for easy reference but some might consider buying this book a waste of money due to the inevitability of change.

Freelance writing can be a good career option and/or a good second income source for others who already have an established career. Whether your writing interests cover a broad range of subjects or satisfy a smaller niche, selling your writing is critical if you want to make a serious effort at writing for a living. Best of Magazine Markets for Writers 2006 is a good starter's guide with some helpful facts about hundreds of publications. It isn't the perfect guide and it isn't as well- rounded as it could be. But it does provide the basic information needed to find the right magazines to sell your articles.

If there were more than five stars available, I'd use more to rate the importance of this book. For a novice writer, this is an absolute necessity. Contains everything (almost) one needs to know about 'getting published'.

This book contains MANY more magazines than the same year's Writer's Market, and is a much better value for the dollar. They even have hints for Query letters and many other suggestions in the front. Everybody in my writing class borrows this book from me whenever I'm not looking, even though they all have the Writer's Market. It's just so much more useful!