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Some great resources for writers!
by Janet leister

No doubt you are all aware of the bibles for marketing one's writing: Literary market Place and Writer's market. At $300 and up, LMP should offer every publisher under the sun, and it pretty much does. (get the International LMP at an additional $280 for everything else, I suppose).But the price is prohibitive -- even for the older, and consequently less useful -- editions. And who has time to burn at the libarary photocopying away?

LMP offers in addition to its hard copy version, an online subscription service. The online version has the advantage of timeliness and offers the convenience of searching for publishers based on user-selected criteria. Again, as with the print version of LMP, the price is prohibitive for all but the most well-kept writers.

Some areas of the service are available without spending $389...but with only Publisher name and address provided, you still need to check the hard copy for individual publisher specifics.

A much more affordable alternative is Writer's Market's online version of their directory. while perhaps lacking in the comprehensivity department, it also lacks the sticker shock effect: The price of an annual subscription is only $30. An alternate monthly payment plan is also available.

In addition to the paperback and online versions, a cd-rom edition that comes with a year's membership to the online service is also being marketed.

Our recommendation: if you have nearly $400 to spend on a marketing guide and another $300 for the international component, go for the LMP. For nearly everyone else, Writer's Market, whether online, cd, or hard copy, will present the better value.

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