Have you gotten your 2008 copy of The Writers Market yet? As a newbie freelancer, one of the most often heard pieces of advice is to buy an updated copy of “the writers bible”, A.K.A. The Writers Market every year. I am told it is the best $25 investment I could make.

So I ordered my copy and when it arrived I immediately freaked out when I saw the size of it. At over 1100 pages, I had no idea where to begin. Do I read it cover to cover? Do I skim it for specific information? How do I make use of this industry behemoth? Here’s some basics to get you started:

Front Section The first couple hundred pages are perfect for a beginner. They are comprised of short informational essays about different aspects of the freelancing world. There are chapters devoted to query letters, formatting a manuscript and guidelines on what to charge for various markets.

Main Section The main section is the flesh of the book and what most writers buy the book for – the market information. You get the most recent (as of press time) listings with pertinent contact information for Literary Agents, Book Publishers, Canadian Book Publishers, and Small Presses. There is an extensive section on Consumer Market Magazines that are organized by subject (ex. Animals, Men’s, Women’s) and contain contact information as well as specific details regarding their query submission preferences. Finally, there is a section on Trade Journals which contain niche specific submissions information.

Back Section This section is relatively new to this edition. It contains submissions information for Newspaper markets, Screenwriting markets, Playwriting markets and Greeting cards markets. There is also a section on Contests & Awards for writers and a list of professional writer’s associations.

As an added help, there is also a book put out by the same publishers called Writer’s Market Companion (MSRP $19.99) which throughly covers all the basics of freelance writing. Combine these two books for a step-by-step how to guide to kick start your freelance career.

Photo courtesy of Amazon/Writer’s Digest 2007