That is, unless you are a Breatharian.
For the rest us, that’s not an option. And to eat, to survive in this modern world, one needs money.
Duotrope.com has succumbed to that reality.
For years since its inception (2005), this searchable online submissions database has been free for writers to use. Operating on donations alone (I donated, did you?), they provided their users with an excellent, easy-to-use interface for writers to search for magazines (and publishers) accepting fiction and non-fiction works. To top it off, they have a nifty system to help writers keep track of submissions, too.
I’ve used Duotrope for the past couple of years, and I do recommend the site, as I have done so in the past.
But come this January, it will provide most of its great services to paid subscribers only.
I have no problem paying their subscription fee. I consider it a donation sort of thing, and I am more than willing to help keep them online. The only other similar resource I know about is Ralan.com – which is great, but not nearly as navigable. So, I’ll pay up.
“Whoa!” you say. “I can’t afford $50/year for a service that I could provide myself by spending hundreds of hours scouring magazine and publisher websites for submission details!”
Yes, that may be true.
While I can afford it, I can’t really justify paying for Duotrope. I mean, this past year, I’ve made -$500 or so from my writing. (Yes, that’s a minus sign before that number.) So, I can’t say that using the service has raked in the dough. If I’m not careful, at this rate I’ll be forced into Breatharianism, but even so, I value the service.
The folks over at Duotrope do their best to keep on top of the ever-changing writer’s market, from traditional, literary print to obscure horror anthologies, they keep track of it all. If someone is looking for stories, they’ll be listed on Duotrope and you’ll be able to find them.
Check it out now while it is still free. You have till the end of the year. Not much time, but you’ll be able to use all the cool features like the weekly deadline calendar, and make an informed decision.
Until later, submit!
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- Duotrope charges fees, and Missouri Review (of all places) complains (snoekbrown.com)
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N. E. White 
That sucks, but things are pretty tough right now, so it’s understandable. I haven’t submitted anything for a while, but I have used that site, and it is very helpful. Too much is going on in my own life that I haven’t had the time or the concentration for it.
I can understand that. I am in the same boat at the moment.
I’m reminded of the various gold rushes: the miners, except for a lucky few, never made any money mining. The people who sold them supplies, they made lots of money.
In the writing world, there are sure a lot of people selling services to us writers 🙂
(gasp!) I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you are right! Hmmmm, will have to reconsider that subscription…
I’ve used it a little. 2013 will be the year that I start pursuing fiction competitions harder than ever before and i intended to use Duotrope (I browsed it before). I may pay up, depends if I can justify the expense.
Thanks for the heads up!
No problem. Just doing my public service. 🙂