Finding the Bacon: Market Listings

Sable Jak, Editor

Snug as a Bug

Every fall I think about the story of the grasshopper and the ant. You know the one: The industrious ant works hard through summer and fall to store food and get his house ready for the winter while the grasshopper goes around having fun and goofing off. Of course, Mr. Grasshopper stops having fun at the first blast of a winter wind.

September heralds fall and what better time to seek out venues devoted to the home? I haven't aimed this column only at handyperson writers, though. After all, if bad weather is going to keep people inside, a home's interior should be as spiffy as the exterior, right? Check out the following magazines and see if you don't agree.

Victorian Homes Magazine
Y-Visionary Publishing L.P.
265 S. Anita Dr.
Suite 120
Orange, CA 92868-3310 USA
Ph: 714-939-9991
Fx: 714-939-9909
http://www.victorianhomesmag.com (still under construction as of this writing)
E-Queries: Yes. Also by snail mail and fax.
Contact: Erika Kotite, Editor
Email: ekotite@pacbell.net 
Writer's guidelines online: not as yet
Pays: Pays on acceptance. $300-500 per 800-1,800/words. Note: manuscript is published one year after acceptance.
Photos: YES! One-time rights, payment negotiated individually.
Rights: FNASR, one-time rights. Byline given. $50 kill fee. Seasonal material should be submitted one year in advance. Accepts simultaneous submissions.
Description: Published six times a year. Victorian Homes covers everything from restoration of your Victorian home to history.
Circulation: 100,000. Readers: Victorian home-owners, restorers and lovers.
Needs: This is not only a magazine of "how-to" but "how-they-did." They need articles on how to decorate and restore home of the 19th and early 20th century, from curtains to the loo, and articles on Victorian homes that have been restored and are enjoying a second life providing a warm home for their new family. From their webpage: "Regular departments cover Victorian furnishings, antiques, collectibles, lighting, flowers and food of the Victorian era for today's home."
Of special note: Victorian Homes does not want articles on people of the time period nor lifestyles. They prefer articles dealing with structures.

Design Times: The Art of Interiors
Regis Publishing Co., Inc.
1 Design Center Place
Suite 249
Boston, MA 02210 USA
Ph: 617-443-0636 Ext. 227
Fx: 617-443-0637
http://www.designtimes.com 
E-Queries: Yes. Also snail mail and fax. For a sample copy send a 10 x 3" SAE with at lest ten first class stamps. Accepts simultaneous submissions. Provide published clips with query.
Contact: Louis Postel
Email: louis@designtimes.net 
Writer's guidelines online: Unable to find.
Pays: Pay varies and is on publication. Note: publication is four months after acceptance. Columns and Departments articles pay $100-150 for 1,200-3,000 words.
Photos: One-time rights are purchased. Individual payment negotiated.
Rights: All rights. Byline given. 10% kill fee. Seasonal material should be submitted six months in advance. Make sure to include captions, model releases and, of course, subject identification.
Description: Published six times a year. Design Times focuses on high-end interior design for residential living.
Circulation: 100,000. Readers: Anyone with an interest in fine interior design for the residential home.
Needs: Articles about celebrity homes. Especially interested in "design emergency" articles. Terrific photos are a big plus.
Editor's note: As an ex-architectural secretary I love building, architectural and design magazines. I love getting this one just to look at it.

Log Home Living
Home Buyer Publications, Inc.
4200-T Lafayette Center Dr.
Chantilly, VA 20151 USA
Ph: 703-222-9411
Fx: 703-222-3209
http://www.loghomeliving.com 
E-Queries: No. Snail Mail only. Send #10 SASE for writer's guidelines.
Contact: Peter Lobred, Editor
Email: plobred@homebuyerpubs.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Not found
Pays: Pays on acceptance. $250-500 per 1,000 to 2,000 words. Accepts reprints. Make sure to provide information as to where and when your work was published. Payment for reprints is 50% of what an original article would get.
Photos: Provide information on availability with query. One-time rights are purchased with payment individually negotiated.
Rights: FNASR and second serial (reprint) rights. Byline given. $100 kill fee. Seasonal material should be submitted six months in advance. Manuscripts are published six months after acceptance.
Description: Published monthly. Log Home Living is for all of us who dream of having our own log home, or those who are lucky enough to already live in one.
Circulation: 132,000. Readers: Log home enthusiasts, younger and older.
Needs: This is a magazine about modern log home living. Editors do not need historical pieces, but indications are that with a proper query, pieces on reconstructed home or one-of-a-kind log homes may be considered. The interest, however, is more with today's log home owners, their personal experiences, technical aspects, travel, how-to (from building to maintaining) and interviews with log home owners.

Cottage Life
Quarto Communications
54 St. Patrick St.
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1V1
Canada
Ph: 416-599-2000
Fx: 416-599-4070
http://www.cottagelife.com 
E-Queries: No. Snail mail queries should have published clips and SAE with Canadian postage (or if you're sending from another country) IRCs.
Contact: Penny Caldwell, Editor
Email: Editorial@cottagelife.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Not found.
Pays: Pays on acceptance. $100-2,200 for assigned work. $50-1,000 for unsolicited work. Articles run 1,500 to 3,500 words. Columns are open to freelancers and pay varies from $100 for "On the Waterfront"(with a maximum word length of 400) to columns on cooking, real estate, and personal cottage experiences. These column/departments pay between $100 and $750.
Rights: FNASR. Byline given. 50-100% kill fee.
Description: Published bimonthly dedicated to who spend time (whether owning or renting) cottages throughout Canada and the Northern United States.
Circulation: 70,000. Readers: Cottage owners and lovers.
Needs: If you've ever stayed in a cottage, or been lucky enough to live in one for a season you'll know a wide variety of information is of interest to cottage dwellers. (As an ex- Wisconsin Lake Country girl I can assure you this is true.) Needs will include book excerpts, historical information, how-tos, humor is greatly appreciated, environmental issues of importance, and interviews and profiles of people involved in cottages are always of interest.
Editor's note: I've queried Cottage Life and have not heard (as this is being published) as to whether or not payment is in Canadian or U.S. dollars.

Natural Home Magazine
201 East Fourth St.
Loveland, CO 80537-5655 USA
Ph: 970-669-7672
http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/ 
E-Queries: No information available on the website. Snail Mail queries only.
Contact: Maren Bzdek, Managing Editor
Email: Editor@naturalhomemag.com 
Writer's guidelines online: Yes. On the homepage click "Contact Us" on the right side of the screen. When the contact window comes up, click on "Natural Home Editorial." A little pop-up will appear with Natural Home's snail mail address, and a "Writer's Guidelines Click Here" link. Click the link and there the guidelines are in a little window without their own URL.
Pays: Pays on publication unless other arrangements are made with the Editor. Pay is $0.33 to $0.50 per word for articles of 250 to 1,500 words. The magazine reserves the right to edit your material as necessary to fit their style, format and requirements.
Photos: From the website: If you wish to provide your own visuals, please send samples of finished publication-quality photographs (35mm, 2 1/4 or 4x5 transparencies, please) or artwork; we will determine what best suits the material and our design requirements. All artwork and photographs will be returned promptly and appropriately insured.
Rights: Not listed so make sure to ask!
Description: Natural Home is devoted to health-conscious, earth-conscious readers who are concerned with the quality of their personal environment. Published six times a year in: January, March, May, July, September and November.
Readers: Mostly adults.
Needs: Articles about natural living, from gardening to refurbishing furniture with natural products. One testimonial on the home page is from a man whose wife suffers with multiple allergies and, as a result, they look forward to every new copy.

As a child I remember a friend's father fixing up their house for winter. When he saw her concern for her own home, he made sure it had a new coat of paint and all the windows had storm windows. Thus her dollies were snug and warm for the winter.

In honor of all those fathers who take the time to weather-proof their little girl's prized possessions, I'm proud to include the following:

Dollhouse Miniatures
Kalmbach Publishing Co. Inc.
Customer Service Dept.
21017 Crossroads Circle
P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187 USA
Ph: 262-796-8776
Fx: 262-796-1383
Customer Service: 800-446-5489
http://www.dhminiatures.com 
E-queries: Yes. Also accepts queries via snail mail. Send #10 SASE for writers guidelines (or look online). Free sample copy available. Query with or without published clips.
Contact: Candice St. Jacques, Managing Editor.
Email: cstjacques@dhminiatures.com 
Writer's guidelines online: http://www.dhminiatures.com/Submissions/Guide.html 
Pays: Pays on acceptance. Average is $50-350 per 500-1,500 word articles that are assigned. $0-200 for unsolicited articles. Payment for specific articles is negotiable with the Editor.
Photos: $10 per photo used. Cover photo and illustrations are negotiable. Buys all rights.
Rights: From the online guidelines: "Articles and photographs published in Dollhouse Miniatures are copyrighted by Kalmbach Publishing Co., Inc., which retains all rights in the field of miniatures. Articles may not be published elsewhere without the Editor's permission. Rights may be reassigned upon written application to the Editor."
No simultaneous submissions. Byline given. 10% kill fee. Submit seasonal material six months in advance.
Description: Published monthly for international miniature enthusiasts, collectors, crafters, hobbyists, dabblers, beginners and artisans.
Circulation: 45,000. Readers: See "Description" above.
Needs: How-to articles, profiles with other collectors or artists, museum photographic features. Please do not query regarding articles about miniature shops, or essays.
Editor's note: According to the online writer's guidelines: "Dollhouse Miniatures is a form of entertainment for our readers. Articles should be fun to read, not a recitation of facts, a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy or a sermon. Even the most basic do-it-yourself instruction article should still be interesting to read."

Okay, everyone, that's our listing for this edition. Several of you have contacted us to let us know you like the diversity of our lists. I try to cover the full financial spectrum because, as much as we'd all like to be making the big bucks, not everyone pays them. And, I like to cover venues I haven't seen anywhere else. The next edition is going to focus on fiction and I promise, I'll try to find some unusual places for your work.

Until then, remember this great quote: "You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club." --Jack London

Sable

-- SJ
©2001 Sable Jak

Sable Jak is a freelance writer with a special love for radio drama and screenwriting. She writes for Absolute Write www.absolutewrite.com  and Script Magazine's ezine www.scriptmag.com, is a charter member of The Screenplayers www.screenplayers.net/screenplayersnet.html and has a mystery radio series, "A Phil Byrnes Mystery," on www.virtuallyamerican.com.  She's also an avid crafter. Sable lives in Seattle with her actor-husband and their kitties. In the language of her ancestors her name "Sable" means "sword." She feels it's an appropriate name for a writer and her mighty pen.