Market Database Comparison: Duotrope vs. Submission Grinder vs. Chill Subs
I completely understand why writers might find the process of submitting overwhelming. It's not a lack of resources. I'd say it's the opposite problem. There are so many newsletters and online listings for finding publishers that it can be hard to even figure out where to start.
Currently, I’d say there’s three clear top publisher databases: Duotrope, Submission Grinder, and Chill Subs. All three have built-in submission trackers, which means they provide user-reported stats along with info on submission guidelines and other relevant details. I've used all of these sites at various points but I wouldn't say that any one of them is perfect, or even the definitive best option for every writer. Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of each site and which situations, genres, or types of writers it's the best for.
Duotrope
This was the first online market database, founded all the way back in 2005. It's also the first one that I became aware of, and as a result is the one where I track my submissions. I also gravitate toward it when I'm researching markets. This is partially out of habit, but also because it has a lot of features that I find useful, like:
- Generally very accurate listing information. None of the marketplaces are 100% accurate, but in my experience Duotrope gets the closest with info like submission periods, demographic restrictions, submission fees, and the user-reported statistics on response times and acceptance rates. They're also very quick to update listings that haven't published in a while or may be defunct.
- Easy-to-use search functions for quickly finding open markets. The Smart Search function was a very nice addition, and is a great way to get a quick, manageable list of places to check out. When I have more specific criteria, I find the options on their Advanced Search give me everything I need.
- Excellent info on publishers. The listings on Duotrope are well laid-out, leading with the key info then getting more granular as you scroll down. Flags at the top of the listing tell you about submission caps or demographic limitations, along with info on any submission fees they charge. The new-ish Stastitics Synopsis section gives you a sense for how the publisher compares to others in terms of response times and acceptance rates. I also find their editor interviews to be very helpful as a way to get first-hand insights.
- Useful weekly newsletter. You can pick which day of the week you get the newsletter, which is helpful. You can also have it focus on specific genres (fiction, poetry, etc.). The newsletter includes recently opened calls, recent closures (both temporary and permanent), and upcoming theme deadlines. Paying markets are separated from non-paying ones and they also say in the newsletter whether it has fees, both features I appreciate.
You'll notice a couple of the things I mention there are new features, and in a broader sense that's something else I like about Duotrope: it's not just well-maintained but actively and regularly improved. There are enough strong features of Duotrope that it's the database I'd recommend using the most for the majority of people, especially writers of literary fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
That said, it does have some downsides. Notably:
- It's pay to play. You can see bare-bones listings without a subscription, but to access all of the most useful features of Duotrope you need to be a paid member. It's not much ($50 a year if you pay annually) but if you have a tight budget or don't send submissions regularly, that might not be worth it.
- It's got some blind spots. All of the established genre publishers are listed on Duotrope, and so are a lot of the smaller journals or anthology series. Even so, there's a definite tilt toward literary publishers on the site, which impacts the accuracy of the submission stats as well as the calls you'll find listed. Newer markets often take longer to show up on the site, too, and historically it's been skewed toward US, UK, and Canadian publishers, although recently I've been seeing more international representation.
The Submission Grinder
The second-oldest market database, established in 2013. The Grinder is run by the team at Diabolical Plots, a speculative zine, who started it specifically to help writers of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror find publishers. That's still its primary user base, though you'll also find many literary publishers listed here, too. The main strengths of the Grinder are:
- It's completely free. You can track submissions, search for publishers, and sign up for the newsletter, without ever paying a dime. They do take donations, and if you have the means and use the site it's nice to toss them a few bucks now and then, but you never have to.
- It has a huge number and variety of listings. Since it's skewed toward the speculative genres, you'll find the widest variety of listings in those categories. It has listings for smaller and newer anthology series, online mags, zines, etc. in the genres that you won't find on Duotrope.
- The search function and newsletter have helpful customization features. The newsletter includes info on recently opened calls, recent closures, and upcoming status changes (markets about to open, approaching deadlines, etc.). You can set it to send info on just certain genres, or only paying markets, so it only includes markets you might actually want to send stuff to.
The flip side of the fact that Submission Grinder is free: it's run by volunteers, not a paid staff. That means they're not as proactive about updating market changes, and leads to the main cons of the database:
- It's the least accurate of the three. For markets that have a regular submission schedule, The Grinder is usually spot on. It's slower to mark markets that have gone defunct, though, and doesn't always catch changes to submission schedules right away, so you're more likely to see a market that looks perfect only to find out that they're not actually open.
- The listings aren't as detailed or informative. The Grinder's listings are the most bare-bones. There's a brief description followed by info on the genres and lengths they publish, pay rates, and basic details like if they take simultaneous submissions or translations, then it ends with user-reported stats. That's it. For me, the listings on the other sites are more useful for doing my initial screen-out of new publishers, before I go to their website.
What both of those cons mean is that you'll need to do more of your market research on the publisher's site instead of through their listing, which can slow down your submission process. That said, you can't beat the price, especially if you mostly write in the genres.
Chill Subs
Chill Subs is the new kid on the block, founded in 2022, and I would say it's risen already into the slot of most ambitious market database. I say that because that's not all they do. They also have workshops, a literary journal incubator program, and online groups for writers to submit work together. Similar to Duotrope, Chill Subs is constantly adding and updating stuff, and I appreciate that they're so willing to try new, cool things. Some of the other things I like about Chill Subs:
- They have a lot of useful newsletters. Like the other two sites, Chill Subs sends weekly mailers of recent call openings. But they also have a weekly list of writing jobs and internships, along with other lists focused on agents or specific call themes. They actually have so many newsletters it can be a bit much if you get them all, but you can select and unselect specific ones in your profile to make things more reasonable.
- They're a great place to find new and international markets. New places often find their way to Chill Subs before they end up on other sites. I think this might be because of a feature on their submission tracker that let users add a market that's not currently in their listings, but it could also be a result of the Chill Subs team's aforementioned gung-ho-ness. Whatever the case, you'll see a lot of journals in their listings that were founded within the last couple of years, as well as a good number from beyond North America, that aren’t yet on the other sites.
- Very useful listings. Chill Subs updates its listing format quite often, and usually those changes are helpful (or at least a lateral shift). One recent addition was a recommendation option at the top of the listing, where you can see what other users have said about the publisher. They also have all of the most pertinent info quickly summarized early, like which calls are open, whether they charge and/or pay, and their genres of focus. Elsewhere on the listing is more detailed info on their open calls and submission guidelines, which the editors are able to edit themselves if they want to, increasing the odds of accuracy.
- Double the user-reported stats. Chill Subs tracker stats are under the “Stats” tab of each listing. If that publisher also has statistics on Submission Grinder, you'll see those underneath the stats from Chill Subs so you can compare and get info from a broader swath of writers.
Chill Subs is also mostly free. They do have paid tiers that unlock extra features, like the “See similar markets” portion of listings, free access to their workshops, and more newsletters (although IMO the free tiers come with plenty). You don't need to pay to use their tracker or browse the database, though.
As far as downsides of Chill Subs, the main ones I see:
- Accuracy of information varies by market. Since they let editors control their own listings, it's not always Chill Subs' fault if the info on the listing doesn't reflect reality. It could be that the journal's editor forgot to update their listing when they made changes elsewhere. But that still means that you can see a listing marked as open on Chill Subs then find out the journal is closed after you've already put some time into checking them out. Many listings are managed by Chill Subs, and those are usually correct but can take a little bit to catch up to recent changes, similar to Submission Grinder. In terms of overall accuracy, I'd say Chill Subs is in the middle—not quite as good as Duotrope, but better than the Submission Grinder.
- Internal stats can't always be trusted. Chill Subs is growing, so this issue is becoming less pronounced over time. The more people use its submission tracker, the more accurate its stats will become. As of right now, though, the user-reported acceptance statistics on most listings should be taken with a grain of salt. The fact that you can see The Grinder's stats too helps to mitigate this a bit, but not every listing has submissions reported on their Grinder equivalent, and overall I'd still say Duotrope's statstics are generally more accurate (especially for publishers of literary fiction).
The tl;dr summary
Duotrope is the best database IMO, and worth the annual payment. For free options, I'd go with Chill Subs over Submission Grinder unless you're primarily submitting sci-fi, fantasy, or horror fiction. Of course, there's also no reason you have to limit yourself to one. I primarily use Duotrope but get the newsletters from all 3 and vary which ones I open and check depending on what stories I'm shopping around at the moment. From an aesthetic standpoint, I really enjoy the listings on Chill Subs, and I'm excited to see how that database continues to improve over the coming years.
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