Review: Writer’s Market Companion
I picked up The Writer’s Market Companion after having obtained the Writer’s Market to get the detailed information and guidance on writing, getting it published and getting paid for it as well.
This 344 page book by Joe Feiertag, Mary Carmen Cupito and the editors of Writer’s Digest Book has great contents, divided into four parts. If you are looking for a book that helps you on the technical aspect of how to write your query letter or how to prepare your manuscript this book is definitely worth looking into. Here is the list of the parts of the book:
Part 1: Preparing yourself for the work ahead. This part has three chapters that discussing the writer’s world, you, the writer and your writing plan. This part is gives an introduction about starting a career in writing.
Part 2: Building a strong foundation by researching your ideas and conducting interviews. This part is one of the important elements for your writing and will help you to decide where to start, how to find the right information and tips about doing research and conducting interviews.
Part 3: Taking your work to market. This part consists of seven chapters which include selling your articles, selling your nonfiction book, selling your fiction, selling your scripts, selling to corporations and selling your work online. It is very helpful if you’ve already done all the research of what topic you would like to write and what magazines you would like to submit your query.
Part 4: Protecting and developing your work. You need to know your rights when you publish your work in the magazine or online. It also helps you to understand the contract between you and your publisher. This part 4 helped me to understand my legal rights and how I can cover myself.
The other chapter included in part 4 is about promoting you and your work, your writing business, finding a writing community and grants, fellowships and prizes.
This book has definitely helped in my preparation to enter the business aspects of writing for publications. I know I have a long way to go, but just reading what the market expects from writers, how to plan your writing, the query letter samples, as well as how to read and interpret contracts have set me to be ready with realistic goals.
Writing is easier when you have the right book to guide you in the right direction. This book is indeed an excellent companion to the Writer’s Market book. So, yes I highly recommend this book for your writing companion.
