Nearly three decades ago I was the editor of Leisureguide, a network of in-hotel-room city guidebooks. One day a letter came from Writer’s Market asking if I’d be interested in a listing in their annual publication. I couldn’t resist-mainly because I’d get to see my name listed in it. I did buy some freelance articles, but not many. But seeing those words “contact Bob Howells, editor….” in a fancy book-that was cool. I wrote a little paragraph about what I was looking for and the markets I dealt with — 13 U.S. cities such as Miami, Houston, and Chicago — and specified how to submit a query. Soon after publication, I started getting queries. Lots of queries. Most were from outer space. To wit, some were of this ilk: Dear Mr. Howells: The elephants of Gabon are among the most endangered in the world… Others were like this: Dear Editor: Please find enclosed a list of stories available for purchase….