Twenty Years of Equipping Christian Writers.

Countless books can help you hone your writing skills, but The Christian Writers’ Market Guide is the one reference tool that helps you get what you write into the hands of the industry’s top publishers and marketers. The most up-to-date marketing resource for Christian writer–and the only one written exclusively for this specialized market–the twentieth edition of this reference guide includes information on agents, editors, publisher guidelines, specialty markets, and more.

Whether you are a beginning or advanced writer, full-time freelancer, agent, editor, publisher, publicist, instructor, or student, The Christian Writers’ Market Guide 2005 is your best link to new or expanded publishing success.

REVIEW

The "Christian Writers' Market Guide" is still the reference book every Christian writer needs. Consider this a gimmee. Buy this year's edition. Buy next year's edition. Plan on the following year as well.

What you need to know about this edition:

• 1,180 markets. Pick a Christian denomination (Catholic and Protestant), and their publication is likely listed.
• Almost 700 periodicals, over 350 book publishers. Think of how many you are aware of? "Christianity Today," "New Man," "Decision" are probably at the top of your mind for periodicals. Tyndale, NavPress, InterVarsity Press are probably among the book publishers you know. Maybe you know a few more. Here, you'll discover how vast the Christian publishing world is.

Literary agents, contests, advice for various markets, editorial services, market analyses, specialty markets (like greeting cards) all have sections.

If you are looking to connect with other writers, you'll be happy to find the lists of writers' groups and clubs, and for conferences and workshops. A key group is the Evangelical Press Association, but there are smaller ones geared for denominations and market.

The structure is similar to previous editions, but, as always, the current year provides the most accurate data.

Each publication starts with symbols indicating if it is new, if the data is confirmed, and if they pay. There's the title, the contact info including a URL, an editor's name, a brief description, the page count and circulation number, the subscription cost, percentage freelanced, submission preference, payment style, and general content needs.

Missing but I hope soon changing, is a purely digital version. Searching through a book to find, for example, what periodicals pay for poetry, can be frustrating when I know a sensible CD version would allow me a complete list within seconds.

Weak also are listings for foreign markets, but this may as much a fault of the publisher as the guide's editor, or may be due to the limited number of international Christian publications.

Add up the above, and you will see how any writer aiming for the Christian market at large would find this an indispensable volume. It fills in the gaps left open by the very useful "Writer's Digest" market guides, and provides the required tools for connecting writer and publisher.

I fully recommend the "Christian Writers' Market Guide," as it remains the best option for any Christian writer.

Anthony Trendl