Where to Find Free Market Listings

Note: I last updated this post in May 2014.


Most writers are aware of Writer’s Market, the annual directory and online database that offers more than 8,000 listings of where you can get your writing published. It costs $39.99/year to subscribe online.

There are also many free resources are available. Here are the best free sites that I’m aware of. Some of them feature submission trackers, community message boards, and interesting statistics gathered from official site members.

If you know of free marketing listings on other sites, and have found them to be reliable, please let me know in the comments.

Free Listings of Book Publishers

Be aware that most New York publishers do not accept unagented submissions, so sometimes “searching for a publisher” really means “finding an agent” (see next list).

  • QueryTracker.net. About 200 publisher listings.
  • Preditors & Editors. Hundreds of listings; been going since 1997. Waves a red flag on publishers to avoid. However, unclear how often the information is updated.
  • Ralan.com. About 100 listings, focused on science fiction & fantasy.
  • AgentQuery.com. Useful to preview the landscape.
  • WriterMag.com. If you subscribe to The Writer magazine, you get a few thousand market listings for free. Vetted list.
  • Poets & Writers. Hundreds of listings, serving primarily the more literary side of the writing community.
  • If you have a bit of money: Duotrope. This resource was once free, but it’s valuable enough to pay for.

Free Listings of Agents

  • AgentQuery.com. About 1,000 listings.
  • QueryTracker.net. More than 1,000 listings.
  • Preditors & Editors. Hundreds of listings; been going since 1997. Waves a red flag on agents to avoid. However, unclear how often the information is updated.
  • AAR Online. This is the official membership organization for literary agents. Not all agents are member of AAR.

Free Listings of Literary Journals

  • Poets & Writers. Hundreds of listings, serving primarily the more literary side of the writing community.
  • Again: Duotrope. This resource was once free, but it’s valuable enough to pay for.

Free Listings of Magazines & Periodicals

  • Ralan.com. Several hundred listings, focused on science fiction and fantasy.
  • WritersWeekly.com. Offers weekly updates of markets looking for articles, as well as writing opportunities.
  • FreelanceWritingGigs.com. Focuses on timely freelance opportunities, usually online.
Know of other resources? Let us all know in the comments!
The following two tabs change content below.
Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has more than 15 years of experience in the book and magazine publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. She speaks around the world at events such as BookExpo America, Frankfurt Book Fair, and Digital Book World, and has keynoted writing conferences such as The Muse & The Marketplace. She currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia. Find out more.
Posted in Getting Published, Writing Advice.

49 Comments

  1. Pingback: Links: Hello, October 2011 Edition

  2. Pingback: Creativity Tweets of the Week — 9/30/11 « The Artist's Road

  3. Pingback: Los Links 9/30 | En Tequila Es Verdad

  4. Pingback: How Do You Know If Your Agent Is Any Good? | Jane Friedman

  5. Pingback: My Best Advice for Writers From 2011 | Jane Friedman

  6. Pingback: Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published | Jane Friedman

  7. Pingback: Writing & Publishing Terminology 101 | Jane Friedman

  8. I really want be one of the youngest writers in the world. Don’t worry My story isn’t full of fantasy, it contains humor and has a serious storyline and suspense. The narrator is a kid himself. I just don’t know whom to contact to publish this book.(its not complete though)Please help me. I don’t know who to turn to.My name is Abel Mathew Francis Please help me,this my email address: speedracer.no1@gmail.com

  9. Pingback: An afternoon on the dark side « Audrey Kalman: Writing of Many Kinds

  10. Pingback: Start Here: How to Write a Book Proposal | Jane Friedman

  11. Pingback: A Publishing Professional Speaks | write something worth reading

  12. My mom wrote an amazing book when I was younger, I would like her to publish it.. it’s really good, but she doesn’t think it will go anywhere. What should I do to get her book published? Thank you Jane.

  13. I write all kinds of work, from murder mysteries to childrens fantasy, anyone that reads my work loves it but i can never seem to find a publisher that doesnt need me to invest thousands into my work to be published. How can the poor creative writers still get published?

  14. I know this probably sounds really silly, but do you know anyplace that will give you good advice about publishing in the UK, because it seems as if most of who seem like my dream agents (I write fantasy) are in America.

  15. Thanks Jane for this informing article. I live in Damascus, Syria. I’ve been working on a fictional material and due to the raging civil war, I’ve been unlucky in submitting my work to publishing agencies. What do you recommend me to do ?

  16. I write time travels, romance suspense/thrillers, ww2 romances, poetry, etc. I just want a publisher or a good agent to read just one of my chapters. Everybody tells me how great my novels are, and I have placed in 3 of the RWA contests in the past, but getting someone to read it that’s in a position to make things happen is too difficult. Ron

  17. Thank you so much for all of this information. I have questions about finding the right agent. There are SO many to choose from. How do you know who to pick? Even in breaking it down by genre, there are 100’s. I would like to find a successful one, obviously. Do the sites share that kind of information? Or can you look up agents by whom they have gotten published? I have a similar writing style to a couple of authors and if I can find who their agents are then maybe that could give me some sort of idea? Or should I just send out as many query letters as I can? Sorry for the overload. Thank you so much for giving your time to help other author-wannabes. =)

    • You might begin by reading this post:

      http://janefriedman.com/2012/01/03/how-do-you-know-if-your-agent-is-any-good/

      You can use PublishersMarketplace.com (fee-based) to research agents that are actively announcing what deals they’ve made; it’s probably the best research tool for finding quality agents. (And yes, it’s a good starting strategy to research agents based on who else they represent, but of course you need to read their submission guidelines, make sure they’re open to submissions, etc.)

      Don’t send out as many queries as possible; be very targeted and only query the agents you think are a good fit for your work.

  18. Hi,
    Is there any chance you know of any agents or websites in Australia? I have an interest in producing a unique set of travel books in the mold of “Lonely Planet”.
    Also, I am curious about what can be done to protect my intellectual property rights when pitching this idea to a publisher.

  19. Thanks for all your excellent advice. I just completed my first novel and haven’t sent out any query letters yet. I have an offer to do a book signing at someone’s store here in NH. It is in a tourist area and summer would be a perfect time to do it. Your thoughts on me self-publishing the book and doing a book signing this summer versus waiting to see if I can get an agent?

  20. I just sent out a first wave of query emails, carefully following each agent’s submission guidlines. In doing research for the second wave, I’ve come across agents who specifically ask for a synopsis of the book. In the initial wave I did like a book jacket type tease and a writing sample. Should I send the first wave agents a reminder email with the synopsis or just let it be? And in the future should I include a synopsis even if the agent doesn’t ask for one?

    • Hi Glenn, I wouldn’t send a synopsis unless it is specifically requested in the guidelines. As far as following up with agents who didn’t respond, I’m afraid that silence is the new rejection. You can try following up (it doesn’t hurt), but I wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear back.

  21. I have been working on a few fiction pieces for a while now. I have not published anything in the past. I have one project that I would really like to see put on the shelves, and initially taken down to be purchased. I have no idea where to start, except for Google, which lead me here. Thank you for writing this article. I have a lot to learn it seems, and a lot more to keep writing..

  22. I lost my teenage daughter recently and I have had the opportunity to meet many parents going through many stages of the grieving process. I have been told to write a book or a blog. I truly want to put together stories and advice from those that have lost children. I want to provide something to grieving parents to let them know that they are not alone. Any advice on where to start with this?

  23. I’ve always loved to write long stories and I really want to write a book ( chapter book.) Though I have started one and in my thought the series is called “Dark Savannah” with the title “Back to the Wild”. Here is a short paragraph of what its about, ” After many Blue Moons of being held in a zoo for No-Pelts a prophecy is told to the healer from Stormpride that a cub will lead their pride to a forever home. But will they be safe, or will they find trouble?” Its of course about a pride of lions cause I adore lions so much. On typing I have used a size 16 and I have typed over 60 pages. I’m 11 years old ( almost 12). Jane, am I getting my hopes too high? I really want to make books that interest kids my age and teenagers and possibly adults ( I have some other ideas for books.) I write because I love the thought of what I can create. ( also for that short paragraph I’ll explain some of the words, Blue Moons = Several months, No-Pelts= humans, Storm pride is the name of that pride.) Please reply if you can. Thanks :)

  24. Hello, I am a thirteen year old girl with a huge dream. I am currently writing a book and I have written already 70,000 words. It’s slightly romance, slightly fantasy and throughout the whole book there’s so many beautiful quotes that I hope will inspire people. If the book actually comes out, that is. For example:
    I was bleeding in the dark and you have shown me the light. The world is a cruel, dark place and I am here to make it brighter for those who fear the dark.
    I have done my first draft and now I am currently on the editing stage. But I have a few questions to ask about this. I would like to know if age matters because I have read through a few websites that you have to be older than eighteen to publish a book in specific publishing companies. Is that true? Another question is, how can I find and attend writing conferences? And last of all, if I contact a publisher or an agent will they respond back. I don’t want to waste anytime and I don’t want to rush the process but I’m just dreading that maybe my book that I’ve been dreaming about for months and months lately will never be sold in a bookshop. Maybe my dream will never come true. And I have one final question. How do specific books become so popular? And why do they become so popular? Is it because of the book itself and the way the story is told or is it because of the marketing? Thank you.

  25. Thank you so much. I am so desperate to write my bleeding heart out. Writing isn’t just my specialty… it’s my life. I will try my best. Again, thank you.

Join the conversation
http://janefriedman.com/2011/09/26/free-market-listings/
janefriedman.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2015-11
142939
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:4LSA2IBLIUAQ27KU2TBLAHTRIB46CC4O
<urn:uuid:3eb8b14d-3a27-4349-b195-46b804cac165>
2015-02-26T22:52:15Z
184.168.47.225
sha1:AUGHWMCGS2W2KJYTNJEQ6ANDDUVWBKKK
<urn:uuid:cccdfd07-4d65-4b4d-98a3-4e64466acb80>
http://janefriedman.com/2011/09/26/free-market-listings/
response
<urn:uuid:3b458eb0-3de2-44b9-928f-0ea21da61c0d>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-11
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web with URLs provided by Blekko for February 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf