A Review of Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009

Have you seen Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009 by Sally Stuart? What an amazing resource with a wealth of information! In previous years, I've used the regular Writer's Market (I actually just got rid of my 2003 edition), and I have to say that the Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009 is easier to use by far.

The guide breaks the writing market into three broad categories - book publishers, periodicals, and specialty markets (greeting cards, gifts, software, games, CD/DVD/Video).

The book publishers section starts with a listing of topics and the names of publishers interested in that topic. Over 150 topics are included ranging from autobiography to fiction for teens to marriage to self-help to worship resources. What a great way to find publishers to target!

Following the topical listing is a detailed listing of each book publisher. The alphabetized listings detail contact information, basic guidelines, special needs, and lots more for each publisher. A separate section is devoted to subsidy publishers. Those publishers that do not accept unsolicited manuscripts and require an agent are noted along with those who accept book proposals via The Writer's Edge and Christian Manuscript Submissions.

Next is a list of book distributors followed by a market analysis. This section is useful for the discerning writer who wants to target the best publishers. The analysis covers the number of books published, what topics are most popular, and who had the most bestsellers.

After book publishers comes the periodical section. The divisions are similar to publishers - topical listings, alphabetical listing, and market analysis. The major difference is within the alphabetical listing, the periodicals are alphabetized within their type, such as children's, pastor/leadership, music.

Because of this method of organization, when I found a periodical in the topic listing that I was interested in, I turned to the index for finding the detailed listing of the magazine. Otherwise, I would have to look in each periodical type for the name.

The back section of the book contains valuable information for writers - conferences and workshops, writers' groups, editorial services, literary agents, and contests. With the exception of literary agents and contests, the groups are organized alphabetically by state location.

As a special bonus, a CD is included with the book. This CD is perfect for the writer that travels frequently and doesn't want to lug around the actual book. What's on the CD? The entire book in a searchable format along with additional resources for writers! I could spend hours pouring over the additional resources and have barely comprehended all that is included. To say that the CD is priceless to a freelancer, a beginning writer, or an author doing his own promotion would be an understatement.

The big question on my mind about Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009 was "Is it usable?" Not having an immediate project that I needed the guide for, I put myself in the shoes of a friend of mine who recently wrote a short story and needed possible magazines for submission. The problem is her story is a little longer than what the average magazine accepts.

I flipped to the teen section of periodicals since her story is geared for that age level. A couple of minutes of scanning gave me information for 2 magazines that will accept her word count. Then I looked at the topical listing section for periodicals, cross-referenced the names to the alphabetical section, and found another possible magazine for her. Two of the three magazines are ones that I've never heard of so probably wouldn't have found otherwise.

If you're concerned about the cost of a book that will go out of date in a year, realize that the detail listings for most companies include their website addresses. While the contact information, such as the editor, might change over time, a website address will probably remain the same and give you a good starting point for finding the current information in the future.

If you are a writer interested in the Christian publishing world, buy your copy of Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009. You won't regret it!

Product Details:

List price: $34.99; Paperback: 560 pages; Publisher: WaterBrook Press; Pap/Cdr edition (January 13, 2009); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0307446433; ISBN-13: 978-0307446435