Finding the Bacon
By Kimberly Ripley
2-19-02
Greetings, avid freelancers, and join me as we embark upon a journey to the land
of parenting markets. Included within this foray will be publications for moms
and dads of infants, school-age children and even those venerable teens.
Don’t have kids? Don’t think these markets pertain to you? Think again! Are
you a sports enthusiast? Do you have a unique aptitude for creating and writing
about crafts? And how about those travels you’ve taken throughout the
years—did you find some family-friendly places? Got any new info on childhood
diseases, immunizations, or nutritional suggestions? If so, then you can write for parenting magazines. These, and numerous other options make
perfectly viable topics.
Never underestimate the power of being single and child-free. Just because you
don’t list “parenting” on your resume of proficiencies doesn’t mean you
don’t know a thing or two about the topic.
So buckle up, dig deep into your pool of creative writing resources and topics,
and join us as we explore a plethora of (some may appear peculiar!) parenting
publications.
********************************************************
Our first stop is at Family Fun. This is by far among the most creative and
family-oriented of all the parenting magazines. The editorial staff
stresses that any available photos increase the chance of publication.
Family Fun
244 Main St.
Northampton, MA. 01060
Although Family Fun is currently not accepting freelance feature articles, they
do accept queries and photos for the following sections:
Family Traveler
Family Almanac
Family Ties
My Great Idea
No unsolicited manuscripts. Send queries via regular mail and be sure to include
clips. Family Fun does not accept work from unpublished freelancers.
Hint: My Great Idea is by far the best way to break into the magazine. A column
featuring very short (approximately 200 words) ideas pays $50. A similar way to
break into this publication is to hone in on select family photos. Add a clever
inscription and send to Postcards from the Road. This pays $50 as well.
Send queries to Dawn Chipman.
E-Queries: No
Writer’s Guidelines online: incomplete guidelines are available at
http://family.go.vom/Resources/guidelines.doc
Pays: After acceptance. My Great Idea (800-1000 words) pays $1250. Average pay
per word for other pieces is $1.00-$1.25.
********************************************************
Children’s Better Health Institute is responsible for publishing several
magazines aimed at parents and children. Their needs are similar, and
submissions will be considered for all of their publications.
Children’s Better Health Institute
1100 Waterway Blvd.
Olympia, WA. 46202
Includes the following magazines:
Turtle Magazine
Humpty Dumpty
Children’s Playmate
Jack and Jill
Child Life
Needs health information including fiction, nonfiction, recipes, and puzzles.
Characters in realistic stories must be contemporary. Don’t lose sight of
working mothers and single-parent families. Editors are looking for this kind of
inclusive writing exuding good, wholesome values.
E-Queries: No
Send entire manuscript addressed to “Children’s Better Health Institute
Editors” via regular mail.
Writers Guidelines online: Not in entirety.
Pay: Upon publication. Varies by word for each magazine. Turtle Magazine pays
22 cents per word, based on 350 word articles. Humpty Dumpty’s rate is the
same. Children’s Playmate, Jack and Jill, and Child Life pay 17 cents per word
based on approximately 800 words.
********************************************************
Woman’s Day doesn’t appear to be a parenting magazine, but deep within its
folds is a section called WD Kid’s Day. This is a freelance writer’s
paradise. The opportunity to break into Woman’s Day via this route is sublime.
Woman’s Day
1633 Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10019
Woman’s Day features a parenting section listed in the table of contents under
"children." This includes children of many ages, and it is not
uncommon to find a craft for a five-year old in the same issue as a humorous
piece on the antics of teens.
Woman’s Day needs short projects, crafts, and activities, as well as
parenting advice and helpful hints. These run on average 500-800 words. An essay
on parenting closes the section with about 800-1000 words.
Helpful Hint: A great way to break into Woman’s Day is through their section
called Kidspeak. Everyone has certainly heard something clever or funny “from
the mouths of babes.” It could earn you $50 and a byline.
E-Queries: No
Submit queries on parenting topics to Ellen Breslau.
Writer’s Guidelines online: yes
http://www.womansday.com
Pays: Upon acceptance. $1 per word, with the exception of the above mentioned
“break-in” sections.
********************************************************
Family Circle is a bit less of a surprise than Woman’s Day. This predominantly
woman’s publication includes a monthly Family Answer Book with columns written
by noted contributors like T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., Vicki Lansky, and Judith
Martin. In addition to these notables, they also publish sections written by
freelancers.
Family Circle
375 Lexington Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10017-5514
Family Circle accepts freelance submission queries in for the following:
Humor
Inspiration
Money
Psychology
Marriage
Parent Know-How
Helpful Hint: Parent Know-How features short (almost filler-type) blurbs on
parenting tips, new products, and interesting tidbits of parenting info. This is
a good way to break in to the magazine.
E-Queries: No
Submit query via standard mail to Deputy Editor Nancy Clark.
Writer’s Guidelines online: yes
http://www.familycircle.com
Pay: Pays upon acceptance. $1 per word.
********************************************************
Good Housekeeping proves there is far more to life than keeping a “good”
house, and within their pages readers frequently find entire feature articles on
parenting. Freelancers are encouraged to submit queries with clips via regular
mail.
Good Housekeeping
959 Eighth Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10019
Query features editor Mary Kate Hogan with freelance feature article suggestions
pertaining to parenting. Features run 900-1200 words, and cover all ages from
infants to older teens. Articles on education, physical and mental health, and
specific parenting concerns garner more attention than tips and advice.
E-Queries: No
Query to Features Editor via regular mail.
Writer’s Guidelines online: yes
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com
Pay: Pays $1 per word upon acceptance.
Kimberly Ripley is a freelance writer and published author from
Portsmouth, NH. A wife and mother of five, her family's antics have led her to
write books like ''Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass',' a collection of thirty
tales of the trials and tribulations of parenting teens. She is the owner/publisher of
Writerip Publishing, and editor of a newsletter and web site called
''Freelancing Later in Life,'' based on her book by the same name. Visit
her site at http://www.freelancing1.homestead.com.
Raising Royalties
By Rusty Fischer
But It's Not A Bookstore!
We all know that selling a
self-published book can be a daunting task. Finding your way into the
Megabookstores, as nearly anyone can tell you, is a Herculean effort that
doesn’t end once your book gets placed on the shelf.
So how does a self-published author
rise above the depressing statistics and make his book one of the rare success
stories? Simple: Stop thinking of it as a BOOK! This may be a difficult task for
the literary professor who has just published his treatise on French Aristocrats
in Turkish Cinema, but for the rest of us, it gets a little easier every day.
To read the rest of the column, click
here.
Happily Ever Almost
By Christina Hamlett
In LOVE STORY, Jenny dies.
In TITANIC, Jack dies.
In ROMEO & JULIET, both Romeo and Juliet
die.
In WITNESS, John and Rachel return to their
respective worlds.
In MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, the best friend
marries someone else.
In CASABLANCA, Ilsa leaves Rick.
In SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, young Will loses the
love of his life.
In BRAVEHEART, William Wallace loses
everything, including most of his body parts.
In CAST AWAY, the Fed Ex guy doesn’t marry
his beloved.
In BICENTENNIAL MAN, Andrew learns what it’s
like to be human.
Do any of these endings make us feel sad?
Probably. Are they each the right
endings for the stories that have just unfolded? Yes, for even though they may fail the happily-ever-after
finale of a traditional fairy tale, they have nonetheless touched a powerful
chord of emotion and made us feel something.
To read the rest of this column, click
here.
