|
| |
What's Missing?
by Kim Marie Wood
As writers, we read publications and writers' guidelines to better market our work. Yet sometimes, taking
notice of what's "missing" from a publication can land you a sale. That's how I got my first regular monthly
feature with a regional equine newspaper!
I subscribe to the Equine Times, a monthly equine newspaper that circulates in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio,
and Illinois. I read it from cover to cover each month. But I noticed that my thirteen year old daughter, a
full-time horse owner and horse lover herself (as well as an avid reader) showed absolutely
no interest in this publication!
I would point out news and stories she might be interested in, but again I got very little response from
her. (Even when they published a news article and photo I submitted!)
Something was missing! I decided to create a kid's mini-page. Since I was targeting publication for the
Equine Times April 1998 issue, I chose the Kentucky Derby as my theme. I wrote a 300-word piece called
"The First Saturday in May," aiming for the younger reader but still something an adult
might enjoy reading. I created a sidebar of Derby trivia, and added a crossword puzzle with a racehorse theme and a word
search with the names of all the Triple Crown winners.
Included in my letter to the editor was the Equine Times purpose statement: "to help identify horse owners'
needs and to offer services to meet those needs." My sales pitch pointed out that, not only would this type of
regular monthly feature appeal to younger readers, but adult 4-H leaders and horse
trainers would also be able to use this material with their younger riders.
I received a phone call from the editor five days after I put the proposal in the mail. He wanted to run my first
submission in the April 1998 edition, and contract me to do a monthly kids' feature in the same format.
When the April issue of the Equine Times arrived in my mailbox last week, I was thrilled to discover that the
editor has devoted an entire page to my new feature. The masthead said "YOUNG RIDER ROUNDUP by
Kim Marie Wood" in big bold print! And almost as thrilling was going to the mailbox today and
finding a check!
The only way to get your writing published is to buy stamps and send it out. I invested $1.34 in postage, and
now I have a regular monthly assignment that will earn the board for one of my horses. If you're reading this,
you are probably full of ideas, too. What are you waiting for? Good luck and happy
trails!
Kim Marie Wood has been an educator for 15 years and is the parent of two teenagers. She writes children's
fiction and nonfiction and has self-published 5 equine children's books. Kim is also the list administrator
for MICH-KIDS, a listserv sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the Society for Children's Book Writers and
Illustrators. She can be reached via email at Marienkafer74@aol.com.
Her books can be seen and ordered at Syncopated Press: http://www.syncopatedpress.com
Originally published April, 1998 in NATIONAL WRITER'S MONTHLY.
Reprinted with permission.
| |
Sponsored links
Ring binders
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!
How to find a
book publisher
|
