Well, I've done it. I've gone down that desperate road as every other potential writer and freelance reporter. I walked into the Borders, asked for the writing section and picked up a copy of this years Writer's Market. It truly is the most depressing spot in the whole store--the writing section. If you want a book about how to write a children's book, it's there. Got a writer and the family and think they might need some pointers on the next great american novel, head over to that corner over there, the one on the other side of the self help section.
These things are expensive, too. Some publishing company makes a lot of money selling these things to people who probably will never open the damn things. But it's not all bad. Flipping through the thing, I found Mad Magazine. They are 100% freelance, and buy something like 400 damn manuscripts each year. Now I just have to write something funny . . . well damn.