From the way editors talk, you might think guidelines are actually worth something. "Don't you dare submit a query," they tell you, "until you've acquired, studied and memorized our guidelines."

They say it like it's easy. But you know better. You know the truth of writing a request for guidelines one week, and perhaps getting a response three weeks later. That's if you're lucky. And by the time you've actually read through the thing and conformed your query to its constrictions, they're probably out of date.

You can always buy a collection of guidelines from a bookshop, but its contents are usually hopelessly out of date by the time you crack the spine.

Here's your action plan for finding the right guidelines:

E-mail a request for guidelines.

This is one sure-fire way of getting the best guidelines from the editor's desk (or the office peon's) onto your desktop. Send a quick and cheery note to the editor asking if he or she can provide you with an electronic version of the submission guidelines or if they can point you to the area they're stored on the website. Suggest that if guidelines aren't available in e-format, the editor send you a copy directly, and provide your mailing address. Sometimes an editor will spring for the stamp and send it on, but more often than not, you'll wind up with an updated copy of the guidelines in your inbox by the end of the week, if not the end of the day.

Another bonus of this strategy is you'll sometimes wind up on an editor's call-for-submissions mailing list, or they'll throw in a copy of the editorial calendar. Freelancing gold.

Other people's bookmarks.

If an editor blows you off, or you want guidelines right away, use other people's hard work. Check out del.icio.us to see what other people have bookmarked. Type in EDITORIAL GUIDELINES, and see what other people have found. You're likely to find markets you never knew existed.

Go hunting.

Say you don't know who the editor is, and you don't have the gumption to find out whom to e-mail. Just type WRITER GUIDELINES into your fave search engine, and away you go.

But don't stop there. Try the keywords

WRITER MARKETS
STYLE GUIDE
EDITORIAL CALENDARS
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Enter a topic area, such as FOOD or TRAVEL, and you can somewhat target your search. Once you've found a list of submission guidelines for magazines you want to write for, you can start to compile your own list, either on a Web page or in your bookmarks file.

Remember, however, that although these sites may house many guidelines, there's no guarantee they're up to date. You still might follow up with direct contact with the publication's editor for the most recent version.