A few years ago I made a post about different websites for
your submissions (post can be found here).
One of the websites is no longer free, Duotrope.
Duotrope was (and presumably still is) a wonderful website
for writers. Not only was it searchable for open markets, it had a wonderful
search engine for putting in specifics such as pay rate or whether or not said
markets accept reprints, it was also a database where you could store your
submissions. Sadly Duotrope became a pay service, I believe early this year
(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).
There is nothing wrong with Duotrope charging for their
service. They have almost 5,000 markets listed and help you keep track of where
you are sending your stuff. Besides it doesn't actually cost that much, $50 a
year. If you are on staff somewhere or are regularly selling stuff to pro and
semi-pro markets, bite the bullet and get a membership. Or you can always ask
an understanding family member for a birthday/Christmas present in that amount.
For the service they offer it is a really good deal.
However, if your writing income makes up less than 5% of
your yearly income (like mine does) you'll want to know where else to go to
submit your stuff. I've used Ralan's for
years.
I check it every day I'm submitting. You can join his Facebook that he updates
frequently. Ralan's is nice. It has led to quite a few acceptances for me over
the years (and I've paid back the favor by donating some money to him). But it
doesn't have the nifty search engine or tracking abilities of Duotrope.
Recently I kind of bumbled along and found The Submission
Grinder.
The Submission Grinder is a free alternative to Duotrope.
Not only does it work in a very similar manner, you can actually import your
information from Duotrope into The Submission Grinder. The Submission Grinder
only has about 2,500 markets listed at the moment but you can help by dropping
emails to them about markets you've found and if you have a magazine get it
listed.
Is it perfect? No. But it is free and it is pretty cool. And
it is one more tool to help you get your stuff out into the world.
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