From Writer’s Market to REAL WRITER’S MARKET: the miraculous rebirth of the Writer’s Digest books?

I was saddened to find out a few years ago that they discontinued the old writer’s market guides by Writer’s Digest Books. In fact, it seems the whole Writer’s Digest Books division went the way of the Do Do bird. I had every edition since 1978.

Then I got all excited. I heard it was back! Not exactly.

So the story goes, F+W went belly up and got its bones picked by Penguin Random House. Penguin decided, however, while keeping Writer’s Digest Magazine open, not to keep publishing the old writer’s market books. Sad.

Why? Some say we don’t need these books anymore. Just build a website. Google it. But we’re writers. We write books. We read books, too.

Why wouldn’t writers want books?

Right? Doesn’t make sense. As writers, we write books. But writers are readers, too. I think somebody is trying to pull a fast one.

I like to think REAL WRITER’S MARKET picks up where the old Writer’s Digest books left off, only without all the gratuitous how-to articles and other distractions. I never met one fellow author who said how much they liked all those info-pieces and interviews. I did meet quite a few, however, who said over and over, “Just get on with it.”

So, in that spirit, we’re just getting on with it.

I grew up with those WD books. That one especially, the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market, never left my side. We all jokingly refered to them, one and all, as The Bible.

Back then, Robert Ludlum was the big thing. James A. Michener. James Clavell, too. Back then, there was no such thing as an unsolicited submission. Back then, there was no such thing as the Big Five.

I remember stuffing my Smith Corona-typed ms (SASE included) into that big fat yellow manila envelope, slathering a bunch of stamps on it then riding my bike down to the post office and dropping it off, thinking it wouldn’t be long until I got the call, that I was going to be the next Stephen King. I’m still waiting on that call.

All fond memories aside, the awful truth is those writer’s market books had real flaws. They were seriously lacking in the one thing they were made for in the first place: Market Listings. Books especially. With all the droning on, that book was more busywork than it was business. Sorry, but it’s the truth. The problem was: back then they could do whatever they wanted; they were the only game in town.

The reality is, according to J. Paul Dyson, managing editor at firstwriter.com, that almost 200 pages of the now defunct Writer’s Market wasn’t even market listings at all, but instead a long procession of advertisements and lit-fomericals. Info-articles, like writing for one cent per word in your spare time, or becoming a blogging pro in just ten days. We’ll all miss those. Ronco, too.

Another well-known writers’ market over the years (that other one) is said to have dedicated only a quarter of its 800 pages to actual listings. 25%. The rest was the same meaningless bunk, tips from persons you never heard of, advice from people you never asked for. I got just one word for books like that: lay z.

I vaguely recall the topics of those articles. I remember there was a piece on overcoming writer’s block. I’d love to have the answer to that one today. Or how to deal with rejection. Throwing my old Corona No. 3 out the window, that’s how I dealt with rejection. Didn’t see that solution in there. Or, just blame it on the postman. Maybe the old Mitrailleuse will hit him on the head and put him out of his misery.

I remember there was a feature on how to choose a title, like it was some big book of baby names. I recall one time somebody even going on about the weather.

To tell the truth, I don’t think I ever read past the first paragraph of any one of those articles. Not in 40 years. Making it through one of those would be like coming down Christmas morning and going for the stockings first.

And 25% listings? With numbers like that, they shouldn’t even be allowed to be in the writer’s market business.

In contrast, the new REAL WRITER’S MARKET is 99% listings. What happened to the other one percent? You’re reading it right now.

There are no articles in the new REAL WRITER’S MARKET. It’s lean and mean. Listings Only. I like to think that if the old Writer’s Market was all sleek and sexy like a sports car, then Real Writer’s Market is all muscle and meat, like a dragster. Real Writer’s Market is for the serious author.

Writer’s Digest Books published their very first writer’s market guide way back in 1921. In a time before TV, print media really was the only game in town. I can’t even imagine the possibilities the first writer’s market book opened up. Writer’s Digest helped sell a lot of books, and to their credit they made it a hundred years before finally going gutter up.

RIP, Writer’s Digest Books. I certainly was a huge fan for almost 50 years. It was the one book I kept on my person at all times. You will be missed. In the end, I guess this new, global market was never meant for someone as beautiful as you.

Real Writer’s Market is the official writer’s market guide for the 2025/2026 publishing season. Over 1 million submissions already accepted.

The independent publishing industry is alive and well and as our good friend Kim Dodsworth likes to say, “Today, we’ve gone international.”

Keep the indie spirit alive!

Happy Publishing —Philip Loyd

Look what I found!