Thoughts About Marketing Your Writing

This man is marketing his fresh fruits and veggies. They aren't just any fruits and veggies. He has something special to offer. Organic produce grown without chemicals of any kind. His stuff is a draw to those patrons who are into healthy eating. 

We writers market our stories, essays, poems and articles instead of food. Wouldn't it be nice if we could set up a stand on Saturday morning and have a hundred editors file by to test our wares and pick out which ones they want to purchase? An impossible dream but why not give yourself a few minutes to think about the joy it would bring. 

Now, let's move on to the way to actually market your work. Yesterday's post was about what to do when our submissions don't make it to the first place we send them. You thought it a perfect fit but you and the editor were walking down different paths. So, what do you do next?

Where to look for markets:

1.  Subscribe to  several writer's newsletters that list markets 

2.  Try a few search engines with the topic of your story as part of the keywords

3.  Ask other writers for suggestions

4.  Use a search engine (or more) with keywords like markets for writers or freelance writing markets

5.  If you read a magazine that you like, check out their writer guidelines to see if you might fit with them.

6.  Don't simply scan or read the guidelines of markets you find. Study them!

Writers today have advantages that those of long ago did not. Years ago, writers purchased huge marketing guides that were darned heavy, cost more than you wanted to part with and became outdated very quickly. Some went to the library and painstakingly copied the information needed from those guides. Took time and effort but saved the price of the guide that came out annually. 

There was a time when all submissions were made by snail mail and had to include a SASE if you wanted any kind of answer. A lot of steps in subbing that way. Then, writers waited and waited for the mailman to bring them the envelope that held good or bad news. 

We take our technological abilities in making submissions and hearing from an editor for granted. Maybe we should be a bit more appreciative. Technology has made the submission process simpler and cheaper. 

The farmer above offers something special. How about you? What is unique about your writing that will up your chances of your work being published? Look for something special to offer an editor and you move many spaces up in the long line of hopeful writers who submit.