Second Bible

There are two books I use nearly every day:  The Bible, and Writer's Market.  As for the former, makes sense.  As for the latter, The Writer's Market is what I use for my light reading:  casually thumbing pages when I watch TV or have a spare moment to relax.  I dog-ear those pages that have some connection or appeal with my work:  editors I hope to contact; unique publishers; magazines or journals that seem right up my alley.

But The Writer's Market is a big book and my wife is always telling me to put it back on the office shelf.  She doesn't like to see if lying on the floor next to the couch (where I normally keep it); nor is it welcome on the center table, where I often leave it spread open to some juicy description of a new publishing venture in Sweden.

Becky is always complaining about this book:  "Why can't you put your things away?" or "Do you really need to leave that book in the center of the couch?"

Answer: Yes . . . and yes!

Information/education is the key to success (or one of the keys anyway) . . . and so I am always trying to improve upon my knowledge of editors.  I want to know who they are and what they do.  I try to keep up with publishers.  I try to learn as much as I can about trends in publishing, gaps and opportunities in various genres and niches, and I read as much as I can about the people who are working in the industry.  Sometimes I send them candy.

The Writer's Market is one of those books that any chap can find in the library. But spending the $25 annually for my own copy is a bargain.  I don't want to go searching for a phone number or web address when I need it.

So . . . for now the book sits under the couch.  It's there when I need to reach for it.