June 11, 2010

After the post a month ago on WriterMag.com: A Place to Learn, I was asked if this was the best writer’s magazine. The student could only afford one magazine, so which one (he asked) would give him the most for his money?

Bear in mind that the following is only my opinion. When my writing students graduate, I recommend that they continue learning by subscribing to a writing magazine. The two most popular are The Writer and Writer’s Digest. I subscribed to both for over twenty years. Just two years ago I dropped my subscription to Writer’s Digest.

Why? Two reasons. (Or really just one reason, and a sub-reason of that reason.)

What Are You Paying For?

The Writer has very little advertising. Most of the magazine consists of articles on the craft of writing. There are lots of interviews, practical tips, and great advice. By contrast, the last few issues of Writer’s Digest, before my subscription ran out, was overloaded with advertising. That was my main beef. I know magazines need advertisers to keep publishing, but it was pages and pages before you found the writing articles.

My “sub-reason” for cancellation was this: a large amount of the advertising was for self-publishers. Not the occasional small-to-tiny black-and-white ads like in The Writer, but many large (sometimes full-page) colored ads. These businesses might call themselves self-publishers, or independent publishers, or vanity publishers, or co-op publishers. All of them wanted the writer’s money.

Feels Misleading

Based on the large number of ads for such printers, I felt that it could give my students the feeling that “this is the way to go” and “everyone has to pay to publish.” Each year shows an increase in the stories of innocent writers who believed everything they read and got taken.

I know this sounds more like a rant than a blog post today, but I do honestly think The Writer is a better buy–and well worth your money. Just this week in my copy were several articles that I’ll be tearing out and filing: an excellent article on setting, an article on how to make your story about loss into a universal story, how flexibility and adaptability helped a writer break in, a method for revision, and how to know if feedback is toxic or not. (And that’s not half the articles in the magazine.)

If you can afford it, subscribe to both writers’ magazines. If you need to choose, I’d recommend The Writer.

11 Comments »

1. 

   Good observation, Kristi. I also prefer The Writer.

   But really, I think having a subscription to Children’s Writer is a MUST for us children’s writers. It’s the only one out there really that is focused on the craft of writing for children.

   Full disclosure: I am teaching at ICL.

   Comment by Vijaya — June 11, 2010 @ 10:47 am

2. 

   Vijaya, that’s a good point. We need publications especially for us too. Children’s Writer always packs a lot into each issue. Also, hopefully everyone belongs to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and receives their free monthly bulletin as well.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 11, 2010 @ 11:02 am

3. 

   I agree with you, Kristi. The Writer is the one. However, if you specialize in a certain genre or niche, for instance children’s writing or religious writing, you may prefer publications aimed specifically at those areas. Your local library may subscribe to The Writer or Writers Digest either in print or online. Whatever you do, keep reading, learning, and being inspired!

   Comment by Jane Heitman Healy — June 11, 2010 @ 11:04 am

4. 

   Jane, that’s a good point about the library. Ours here doesn’t have a magazine section anymore, and it never occurred to me to ask if they had the magazines online. They certainly have enough computers! Yes, specific publications for specific genres are great as well.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 11, 2010 @ 11:15 am

5. 

   Hi Kristi.
   I second the opinion. I subscribe to both free E-newletters. The Writer is far easier to read & find useful info, though I do find useful info from the Writer’s Digest too, just harder to find…
   I’m saving up for a subscription to The Writer…
   Cheers

   Comment by AllyM — June 11, 2010 @ 11:32 am

6. 

   Thanks, Ally. I didn’t even think to compare the free e-newsletters. I’m in favor of anything free!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 11, 2010 @ 12:49 pm

7. 

   I still have piles of old issues of The Writer from years ago. Love them!!! Haven’t looked at them in years, though. I also get the Children’s Writer e-news, and the e-news from Children’s Book Insider (CBI). I’m a graduate from ICL, as well. It wasn’t until after I had children and became a teacher that I feel like I found my niche. And I’m saving up for a subscription/membership to SCBWI!

   Comment by Christie Wild — June 11, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

8. 

   I love The Writer! I enjoy the variety of topics that are covered every month, and I really enjoy the marketing section in the back.

   Comment by Amy Tate — June 12, 2010 @ 4:44 pm

9. 

   I accidentally deleted a comment from someone from Philadelphia, and I’m really sorry!

   It was a great post on the comparisons of the magazines she had done for a college course. I can’t find it anywhere, but if you’d like to post it again, I will look for it!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 12, 2010 @ 6:12 pm

10. 

    Hi Krisi,

    I’m the post-er from Philly. Haha, unfortunately, I didn’t save my post. (

    But, if I can reiterate briefly, I mentioned that I whole-heartedly agreed with your analysis of the Writer magazine. I’ve had both subscriptions for two decades on and off and I did two comparison papers in two different college classes and found the results the same. The Writer less ads and more trade articles.

    Again, it’s not that Writer’s Digest is a bad magazine — it is flashier with more ads, and a different format. The Writer really feels like a trade magazine and it is more substantial in the amount of stories presented.

    I believe though that the websites are comparable and chock-full of wonderful tidbits and advice.

    But, if you go by magazine alone, my opinion is that the Writer is the solid, dependable boyfriend and Writer’s Digest is the jock with the flashy car haha.

    Thanks,

    Maria K.
    Philadelphia, PA

    Comment by Maria Konidaris — June 18, 2010 @ 8:12 am

11. 

    Maria, thank you so much for re-posting. For the life of me, I don’t know what happened to your post before! But your actual studies fascinated me. Loved the comparison of the solid dependable boyfriend to the jock with the flashy car. And yes, the free websites are comparable and full of good stuff!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — June 19, 2010 @ 8:16 am

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