I have a very low threshold for B.S. in the writing game. One of my all-time pet peeves? For-pay services that actually deliver very little useful information. There are plenty of books, websites, and blogs offering products and services, but the signal-to-noise ratio makes investing in them a potentially risky proposition for the new writer. Want to cut through the crap and find the guides that actually have something to offer? Here are my top five strategies:

5. Do your homework. Become a rabid consumer of all free market listing services including Craigslist, the Absolute Write forum section, and Writer’s Weekly. All of these offer excellent information for free.

4. Compare notes. Once you gather a nice collection of free market listing sites, compare any for-pay site with the information you already get for free. Are you seeing more duplicated markets than new opportunities? A good writer’s market service will give you something for your money you can’t get for free. The nature of the writer’s market listing business insures there WILL be duplication–that’s not the issue. If you see too much duplication, that’s when you should start considering a different service. Believe me when I say there ARE writer’s market services worth subscribing to. You just have to evaluate each one according to your research.

3. Always take the trial version first. Chances are you read #4 above and wondered, “how the hell am I supposed to compare the freebies to the for-pay without shelling out?” Take the no-risk or trial version. Pay the absolute minimum and do your comparison. Good sites offer some listings for free, and if you are seeing plenty of surprises before you even sign up, chances are you’ve found a winner.

2. Take the road less traveled. The most popular market guides are sometimes slower to update with current information. The ones who suffer from this problem the most are hamstrung by their own volume and can’t wade through the hundreds of market listings to update editor names, contact e-mails and other critical data. Smaller market guides are often a better value if they have both good updating and fresh content.

1. Obey your instincts. If you read a market guide that feels too overwhelming, or has a confusing layout, find one that works better for YOU. Never mind that the most popular market guides all look a certain way. The two most important things in your writing work are time management and access to critical data. Combine the two by using market guides that are the most accessible for YOU. Some people prefer to get market info in e-mail updates instead of wading through a huge database of names. If that approach works for you, use it–and never mind what everybody else is doing. Don’t stay married to an approach for finding new places to sell your work if that approach is eating up your valuable time.

Don’t forget that any writer’s market you subscribe to is a business expense, and therefore a tax write-off. If you shelled out large dollars for a market guide book or web subscription you regret later, you haven’t really lost any money. You can never get back your time, but at least you can add another figure in the “deductions” column.