Ralan.com

For those of you who weren’t already aware, http://www.ralan.com is what many freelancers consider the “writing opportunities” site bible.

There are quite a few reasons why Ralan.com is beneficial, and has been invaluable to find new and emerging markets. When you think about the number of small press, vanity press, and other print companies out there that have virtually no reputation nor do they have any history with authors, your prospects can get pretty scary.

The truth, the cold, hard truth, is that small press publishers and newly-established publishing companies are an excellent place to start. However, like many writers, you probably don’t want to run the risk of submitting a story and never hearing anything back again. Enter Ralan.com, a site run by Ralan, a writer who offers his information for free. Yes, you heard me correctly. For. Free.

On Ralan.com, there is a host of information you just can’t find anywhere else. Things like response times, payments, deadlines, submission guidelines, etc. are all published and updated frequently.

One of the mistakes that many new authors make time, and time, and time again, is to “freak out” over where they’re sending their work because of how important they perceive their work to be. Ralan.com answers some of those questions for you and, if I were you, allows you to build a list of places to read, research, and target.

This month, Ralan.com is hosting a fundraiser in order to keep the site active, updated, and free for everyone. I recommend giving, if only a little, because this is the cheapest resource that’s out there on the web.

If you have a writing-related website or blog that you’d like me to check out, feel free to send a link my way and I’ll try to cover it.