Comments on: Review: LDS Writer’s Market Guide 2010

By: Th.

Th. — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:06:16 +0000

Well, you could do it on a cycle. Check a quarter of the listings per six months or something. Include on the site when the info was last verified. Not so bad.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:17:12 +0000

MoJo (17), I think the work is a bit more effort than you are implying. Believe it or not, the listings in the book also need to be checked to make sure that they don’t need to be removed because they are no longer valid.

For example, there were 235 Booksellers listings in the 1st edition, but only 214 in the new edition. Do you really think any of the 21 bookstores no longer listed notified JB’s people when they went out of business?

The only way that you can maintain accuracy is to do some kind of check of all the listings before publishing each edition.

That sounds to me like a lot of work.

By: MoJo

MoJo — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:05:12 +0000

The impression I have is that updating the database only happens once every couple years.

Yes, I know. Which is why I think an online listing would be of benefit to them ($$) and those who might use it.

And really, 8x the work? I doubt it. To insert a few new (unsolicited) addresses every 6 months? Really?

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:54:56 +0000

I agree, Th. (14), Duotrope is da bomb.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:52:49 +0000

Mojo (11), I think JB would have to weigh in on whether this is even possible. The impression I have is that updating the database only happens once every couple years. You’re talking about JB’s people updating the database quarterly. That’s as much as 8 times the work for them. On that basis, I don’t know if JB would be willing to do it, no matter how much he charged for subscriptions.

It would be nice, though.

By: Th.

Th. — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:26:55 +0000

. Yeah. I stopped using WD a few years ago. Duotrope, baby.

By: MoJo

MoJo — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:04:01 +0000

I think that’s comparing apples to oranges. This is a 2-year LDS-only compilation. Some of the stuff in it isn’t easily googled, so an online version would be a good resource–

–unlike Writer’s Digest, where there are online directories of agents and publishers for free, and you can actually bypass Writer’s Digest completely if you wanted to.

I think there’s enough of a difference in what information is offered that it’s a viable option for this whereas not for Writer’s Digest.

By: Th.

Th. — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:52:49 +0000

What about Writers Digest? Its online version didn’t get off to a great start. How’s it doing now?

By: MoJo

MoJo — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:38:48 +0000

Oh, I don’t know, Th. I mean, it only takes one person to say something that an idea takes hold. I’d be willing to bet it either A) hasn’t been thought of or B) the idea didn’t make it around to enough people to make a decision that way.

Say you set up the little directory website, right? And you charge a little less for access than you do the paper book. Then you just charge, maybe $5 or $10/year for quarterly or semi-annual updates.

If the book only comes out every 2 years, I think it’d be a good solution for a lot of people, especially in these precarious publishing times when we’ve got renegade publishers and their off-the-wall offerings. As POD technology gets easier and e-books catch on, there will be more. In 2 years, the size of that book could double.

By: Th.

Th. — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:48:48 +0000

I think you’re still in the minority there, MoJo. Most people still aren’t quite willing to pay for online content, or so it seems from here.