Magazines: A Writer’s Oasis

“Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it.”  William Knowlton Zinsser

All writers wish to see their name on a creation of their own imagination. It’s ego that drives the need, though current ‘supply and demand’ pummels our ego into fairy dust. Instead of brushing the remaining particles into the trash bin, we should instead sprinkle the fairy dust into the medium of magazaines.

Of course, we won’t see our name on the cover, will be limited in size/scope, and we won’t enjoy a  flow of royalties. But writing for magazines  provides a cushion of cash, while still reaching audiences with your creativity. Much like aspiring entrepreneurs, writers would rather have their ‘own business,’ than go to work for an existing enterprise. If anything, writers should see magazines as sports franchises. Become a fan of a few, and try out for the team. You never know, with enough practice, you may be under their spotlight.

The road to publication does not entirely center on the quality of your writing. Every book publisher takes a huge financial and professional risk on a new author, by providing a reel of magazine credits you prove that you’re level of writing and professional has been honed by the publishing experts. While an agent is a crucial piece of the puzzle, magazine writing credits may prove to be an equal weapon towards convincing an editor you’re a safe bet.

Having written over 60 picture book drafts, I’m now going back to see which ones don’t necessarily need 32 pages of pictures. Also, if your manuscript doesn’t lend itself to page-turning, you may also want to consider sending the manuscript to a magazine. In addition, you work doesn’t even need to be fiction. Magazines accept poems, puzzles, games, photos, and even recipes.

While I would love to provide a list of useful links, I’m so happy that others did their homework and are allowing us to cheat off of them. Please visit the two sites below for information regarding submissions for children’s magazines or consult Writer’s Digest Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market.

Kid Magazine Writers: An epic resource of links and submisison guidelines for children’s magazines.

Children’s Magazines: Kathy Temean provies a helpful list at her blog “Writing and Illustrating” listing the average payouts for various children’s magazines.

Happy submitting imaginators!