A few times over the years I’ve mentioned Duotrope as a good resource for those of us who write and submit short stories as they list markets and allow you to keep track of who you’ve submitted to, and what their responses were.
Duotrope has always been a donate if you can service, but starting on January 1st, they’re moving to a subscription model. They’re asking for $50/year, or $5/month.
If you can afford it and are willing to, go ahead and continue supporting them. However, one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about this move is that the submission stats, which they list on each market’s page, are going to become skewed as many users stop using the site. If you use these stats, then keep this in mind. (I don’t.)
If you are using Duotrope currently, you may want to back up your information in case you lose access to it when they go to the new model. More information on the changes can be found here.
Here are some alternatives if you don’t want to pay the subscription price (which, to be honest, is a bit steep for the service they provide, IMHO. I’d pay $10, $15, maybe $20 a year).
Microsoft Excel (or, alternatively, Google Drive’s spreadsheet function) can be used to track submissions.
Ralan.com tracks markets if you write speculative fiction.
The Black Hole at critters.org also keeps track of speculative fiction markets.
The forums at Absolute Write often keep track of new markets and anthologies that are currently looking for material, as well as many other useful things.
If you know of any other services that provide similar things, especially websites that keep track of non-speculative fiction markets, please share the wealth, Squiders.
