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Finding the Bacon Dear fellow
writers, Occasionally, I
get e-mails from writers asking me to critique a query letter that just received
a rejection from an editor. The
freelancer just can’t understand why they didn’t get the job. A recent
“conversation” occurred with a writer who had queried Early Childhood News (below).
The query wasn’t bad, but the writer assumed that the magazine is
published for children when in reality it’s a trade magazine for teachers (and
parents) of kids. Naturally, the
editor instantly popped a rejection form in the mail. When you get ready
to query, research the magazine and try to stay clear of preconceived ideas just
because of the title. The trade mag
Disaster Recovery Journal (also below) is – despite its name - not about
recovering from a disaster but planning and managing contingency resources, i.e.
how to continue to operate a business during a disaster.
Quite a different premise. As you scan titles
for possible markets, go beyond the title to assure yourself that you are indeed
spending your valuable time on the right publication. Meg Weaver CATS &
KITTENS Phone: (363)
292-4047 Website: http://www.catsandkittens.com
E-queries: No,
mail a query letter. Contact: Rita
Davis Writers'
guidelines online: http://www.catsandkittens.com/guidelines.shtml
Pays: $0.10 per
word Photos: $25-$50
for inside; $150 for cover. Rights: All Rights Description: Cats
& Kittens is a bi-monthly consumer cat magazine and caters to the higher-end
cat enthusiasts. Circulation:
75,000 Notes: Submissions may cover all aspects of cats such as breed profiles, breeder profiles, medical and training. **************************************** DOG & KENNEL Phone: (363)
292-4047 Website:
http://www.dogandkennel.com E-queries: No, mail a query letter. Contact: Rita
Davis Writers'
guidelines online: http://www.dogandkennel.com/guidelines.shtml
Pays: $0.10 per
word Rights: All Rights
Description: This
magazine is the source for the very best about
dogs and the people who love them. Circulation: 100,000 Notes:
Submissions for consideration may cover all aspects of dogs including
breed/species profiles, breeder-kennel profiles, medical-technical articles,
training, humorist, stories of pet dogs that go to work with their owners,
heroic tales, etc. **************************************** DISASTER
RECOVERY JOURNAL Phone: (314)
894-0276 Website: http://www.drj.com
E-queries: Yes Contact: Janette
Ballman Email: janette@drj.com
Writers'
guidelines online: No Pays: $0.05 per
word to $0.10 per word Rights: All Rights Description:
This magazine reports on contingency planning for businesses. Circulation:
58,000 Notes: This
magazine does not provide writers guidelines. The editor writes: "We are always looking for new stories or articles so please just e-mail us with any questions or comments." **************************************** DOG FANCY Phone: (949)
855-8822 Website: http://www.dogfancy.com
E-queries: No,
mail a query letter. Contact: Martha
Everett Writers'
guidelines online: No Pays: $0.20 per
word to $0.35 per word Photos: Photos
increase the chance of the article being accepted.
No additional payment. Rights: First
North American Serial Rights Description: Dog
Fancy is devoted to the care and enjoyment of all dogs, purebreds and mixed
breeds. Circulation:
293,000 Notes: The readers
are college-educated, middle-class adults. **************************************** EARLY CHILDHOOD
NEWS Phone: (831)
333-5505 Website: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com
E-queries: No,
mail a query letter. Contact: Megan
Shaw Writers'
guidelines online: No Pays
$0.10 per word to $0.35 per word: Rights: All Rights Description: Early
Childhood News is a publication for teachers and parents of young children, from
birth through age 8. Circulation:
65,000 Notes: This is a
trade magazine for teachers and parents; it is not a magazine for children. **************************************** These markets are brought to you by Wooden Horse Publishing - a news and resource site for article writers at http://www.woodenhorsepub.com. Check it out for the latest magazine news and markets, markets, markets. Air Mail Markets Wilkommen! This week's issue of Air Mail Markets is a grab-bag of
three very different publications geared towards writers of children's articles,
plays, poetry and stories, as well as those writers interested in literary
pursuits or golf. As always, all
monetary conversion to USD is dependent upon daily market rates at time of
writing and subject to change by the time your work is accepted and payment is
received. Bonne chance! **************************************** The School Magazine (New South Wales) Tel: (02)9889
0044 E-mail: school.magazine@www.det.nsw.edu.au
Contact: Johnathan Shaw, Editor Circulation: 50,000 (ten issues/year) Snapshot: Published
by the NSW Dept of Education and Training, The School Magazine is a literary
magazine of stories, articles, poems and plays for Australian primary schoolers. Writer’s guidelines online: Yes (http://www.hotkey.net.au/~schmag/Contributor.html) Rights: First Australian Serial; copyright remains with
author. Payment: Fiction
rates are $189.67 ($102 USD) per 1000 words; poetry rates are as follows: 1-12
lines $36.47 ($20 USD), 13-24 lines $70.20 ($38 USD), 25-40 lines $113.64 ($60
USD), 41-100 lines $153.94 ($82 USD). Author receives 2 copies of publication.
Payment made upon acceptance. Queries: No e-mail/fax
submissions accepted. Typed
double-spaced submissions should be accompanied by a SASE, including
international reply coupons. Word length: minimum 500, maximum 2000. Notes: Each issue of The
School Magazine offers four sections for different reading levels: Countdown for
8-9 year olds, Blast Off for 9-10
year olds, Orbit for 10-11 year olds, and Touchdown for 11-12 year olds or
advanced readers. According to the web site, "The School Magazine operates
within the non-sexist, multicultural and Aboriginal policies of the Dept of
School Education and Training." **************************************** Brick, A Literary Journal Website: www.brickmag.com
Email: info@brickmag.com Snapshot: A
Canadian literary journal publishing nonfiction, literature-oriented articles. Writer’s guidelines online: Yes (http://www.brickmag.com/about/submissions.html) Rights: Brick purchases first and second serial rights.
Rarely accepts reprints. Payment: A
flat fee depending on the length, from $100 CDN ($63 USD) to $500 CDN ($315 USD).
For reprint rights, from $100 CDN ($63 USD) to $250 CDN ($158 USD). Queries: Not necessary.
Send complete manuscript for consideration. No works of fiction or poetry
are accepted. Send typed, double-spaced manuscript, including disk with file in
Macintosh or RTF format. E-queries accepted.
For postal submissions, include SASE with appropriate Canadian postage or
IRC. Notes: Read
the magazine to get an idea of the kinds of things we like to publish.
Allow up to three months for a reply. **************************************** Golf Canada Website: http://www.rcga.org
Tel: (905) 849-9700 ext. 218 Contact: John Tenpenny, RCGA Publications Editor Email: tenpenny@rcga.org
Circulation: over 145,000 Snapshot: Published
four times per year (Apr, June, Aug, Oct.), Golf Canada is the official
publication of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, intended to inform RCGA
members of activities and events, as well as to support the sport of golfing in
Canada. Writer’s guidelines online: No Rights: First publication rights; Golf magazine also
usually negotiates for electronic rights, limited to the article's publication
on the Golf Canada website while the issue the article appears in is current. Payment: $.60 CDN ($.37 USD) per word Queries: E-queries preferred Amy Brozio-Andrews lives in upstate New York with her husband and daughter. By day, she's a Readers' Services Librarian in an urban public library. By night, she writes, practices yoga, plays with the cat, surfs the Net and procrastinates like crazy to avoid balancing her checkbook. Feel free to send comments and suggestions directly to her at corduroy74@yahoo.com. How To Win Screenwriting
Contests On any given day, a
screenwriting contest is probably being held somewhere.
Should you pay fees to enter them? Who
are the judges? Will you get a
critique whether you win or lose? Where
do you go from here with your winning (or losing) script?
Such are the questions which plague writers planning to put their
screenplays up against total strangers in a competitive forum. The enticement to participate, of course, is the fact that these scripts are actually being asked for, as opposed to the customary pitching route of writing copious letters, making telephone calls, and knocking on doors to see if someone, anyone might like to read your material. To read the rest of this column, click here. To read past issues, click here. |
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