FROM MY MAIL:

A Famous Screenwriter and Writing Academy teacher is having a Columbus Day Retreat & workshop at his Santa Barbara Hillside Writer's Ranch. Attendees usually have rave reports of their wins and gains and enjoyment. For further details, please send your name, tele-no. and best time to contact, and Bill at the ranch will get a hold of you with info & details. e-mail: batch1@btamail.net.cn

Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr., 8605 Explorer Dr., Colorado Springs CO 80920: Annette Bourlanc, Editor. This Christian publication (see above for general info) uses articles of 100-500 words, fiction of short beginning reader stories and 600-1000 read-alouds. 4-8 year olds. Uses rebus stories to 200 words. There is a link to this magazine at the url above.

Becoming Family, 633 Skokie Blvd., Ste 430, Northbook IL 60062: Peg Short, Editor. This family magazine is listing a special need for teen stories--inspiring stories of outstanding students and athletes; inspiring stories of teens saving the world; and role-model stories for teens--athletes, artists and entertainment personalities. They pay varying rates on acceptance for all rights.

Courage, 1300 N. Meacham Rd., Schaumburg IL 60173-4888: Joan Alexander, Editor. For 9-11 year old Sunday school students. Uses fiction and true stories 400-1000 words; some serials. Pays .04/word and up for all rights. They accept reprints. Write and ask for an information packet. They are most open to Regular Baptist authors.

Readers Digest has an Anglican/Evangelical publishing arm: Readers Digest Children's Publishing, Readers Digest Rd., Pleasantville NY 10570: Beverly Larson, Editor. They want unique, novelty-type books that bring the stories and truth of the Bible to life for young children. Imprint is Reader's Digest Young Families. They also produce board games. Most open to writers who are excellent at rhyming and can write for preschoolers. They mostly commission authors to write books they originate and suggest writers send a chapter of their best work, rather than a specific proposal.

CHECK OUT my classes for children's short story writers:

Janni wrote the Aim Magazine website I reported earlier is not functioning. Does anyone have a current one?

Georgia shared the guidelines below. Thanks!

Thank you for inquiring about freelance opportunities at FamilyFun, the country's number one magazine for families with children ages three to twelve. Founded in 1991 and with a circulation now exceeding 1.45 million, our publication celebrates all the fun things families can do together, from throwing parties and making crafts to taking trips and cooking great food. Our goal is to inspire families to spend time together by providing the sure-fire ideas and activities that will make that time a success. In other words, we take fun seriously. Please note that our heavy emphasis on activities and ideas distinguishes us from other parenting and family magazines (as one of our descriptive slogans points out, we provide "100% activities for 100% fun"). This format means that we are always looking for freelancers who are experts in the art of being a fun-loving, creative parent.

We accept submissions by standard mail from published writers. Queries should describe the content, structure, and tone of the proposed article. Since we receive many queries on the same topics, please be as specific as possible about what makes your idea unique and your qualifications to write it. If appropriate, include photographs or sketches of the finished project, food, or craft. Also, with each query, please enclose two or three relevant clips for our review. Unfortunately, we no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts for feature stories. We will continue to accept manuscripts for the following departments: Family Traveler, Family Almanac, Family Ties, and My Great Idea (please note department on envelope). Unless otherwise indicated below, articles are scheduled and assigned at least five months in advance of their publication date. We generally take at least four to eight weeks to respond and regret that we cannot, under any circumstance, consider queries over the telephone, via email, or fax. Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope with correct postage for our response to your query.

Our features present activities that are entertaining for the whole family, relatively inexpensive, and easy to do. The specific topics include food, crafts, parties, holiday celebrations, sports, games, creative solutions to common household problems, and educational projects. Our travel features highlight moderately priced destinations, generally within the United States, that offer an exceptional value and specifically cater to the needs of families. Similarly, our food features present recipes that have a proven track record with families, dishes that are fun both to make and to eat. In all our articles, our style is upbeat, personal, and straightforward. Features generally run 850 to 3,000 words and pay $1.25 per word upon acceptance. We consider ideas in query form only. Please direct queries to Features, Food, or Travel Editor.

Family Almanac provides readers with simple, fun, practical, and inexpensive ideas and projects (outings, crafts, games, nature activities, learning activities, kid-friendly recipes, and so on). Its tone is direct and cheerful. We read both freelance manuscripts and queries for Family Almanac. Pieces are assigned from 100 to 300 words; we pay $1 per word upon acceptance. We also pay $50 to $75 for ideas in the event that we decide to use a staff writer. We consider ideas in query or manuscript form.

Please direct submissions to Nicole Blasenak, Assistant Editor.

Family Ties is a first-person column that lets our writers speak parent-to-parent to our readers about the distinctive pleasures, humor, frustrations, and struggles of family life. The topics vary from column to column, but at the heart of each essay is insight into the emotional relationship between the writer and his or her children. Family Ties runs 1,300 words and pays $1,500 upon acceptance. We consider ideas in query or manuscript form.

Please direct submissions to Kathy Whittemore, Senior Editor.

Family Traveler consists of brief, newsy items about family travel ˜ what's new, what's great, and especially, what's a good deal. We cover festivals, civic and cultural events, museum exhibits, family hotel packages, state and national park programs, and more. We also present longer (up to 1,500 words), highly formatted articles on road trips, city weekends, and roundups of themed attractions or destinations. Because we are budget-conscious, we rarely cover international travel or expensive American resorts or programs. We read freelance manuscripts for Family Traveler and pay $100 upon acceptance for 100- to 125-word pieces. We pay $1.25 per word upon acceptance for all Family Traveler articles. We also pay $50 for ideas in the event that we decide to use a staff writer. We consider ideas in query or manuscript form.

Please direct submissions to Jodi Butler, Assistant Editor.

My Great Idea showcases a practical, innovative idea that the writer used to solve a common household problem: a chart that got the kids excited about doing chores, say, or a trick that persuaded some reluctant letter writers to keep up their correspondence with Grandpa. Each essay also presents the story of how this Great Idea changed or inspired the family. The column runs 800 to 1,000 words, and pays $1250 upon acceptance. We consider ideas in query or manuscript form.

Please direct submissions to Dawn Chipman, Senior Editor.

In addition, following the column we publish My Great Idea: From Our Readers, which consists of ideas and solutions from writers and readers. These too showcase simple, clever ideas that solve common household problems, but they are presented in an abbreviated format with less narrative detail. My Great Idea: From Our Readers runs 100 to 150 words and pays $50 upon publication.

Please direct submissions to My Great Idea: From Our Readers.

Please address all submissions to:

ATTN: [name of appropriate editor]

FamilyFun

244 Main Street

Northampton, MA 01060

If you would like to receive a sample copy of our magazine, send a check for $3 made out to FamilyFun to:

FamilyFun

P.O. Box 37032

Boone, IA 50037-0032

The url I have for Discovery Trails doesn't work. Does anyone have one that does?

Melanie, please email me. My delete finger got too active or I filed your letter about Story Plus in the wrong place. A reader would like more information about it. Thanks.

From Georgia: Does anyone write children's fantasy? Anyone know of a good site to learn more about this genre for children? (If you know of this type site, please share and I'll list them in a future column.)

Hi, Sudipta.

Thanks for writing. Since the answer for this seemed very timely, I've already emailed the information below. I think it's something other writers can benefit from, too, so I'm using it here. If nothing else, it should encourage writers to send good cover letters with submissions, giving specific areas of expertise.

First, I'd go to the library and check Books in Print. Then try to find several of this publisher's books (interlibrary loan if the library doesn't have them) to actually study. Do this fairly quickly so you can respond quickly. You might also see if they have an online page that lists some of their books. This will give you a better idea of what they need.

Check Writer's Market for their general needs, as well.

Then write, say you are interested and request specific guidelines and/or themes. They will tell you if they only want authors who can write to their specifications (many specialized publishers do want this), but be familiar enough with what they do publish so you can toss out at least one brief idea in the letter, making it clear that you can also work on publisher-oriented projects.

Go for it!

Margaret

Hi, Geary. You always have interesting projects going! On this one I'd like to request reader help, too, since I haven't done anything in that word range. (HELP!)

My own feeling is that booklets would be under 10,000 words. Maybe even less. Many religious publishers do use short books. Good luck with it--and I'll print any reader responses I get in the "Thank You" section.

Margaret

Dear Wendy:

First of all, you must have a good book if Scholastic has expressed interest. I'm not sure how long they've had it, but if over four to six months, politely inquire about their plans. Publishing money has been tight all over this year and that could be the hold-up.

As for agents--sometimes they're harder to get than publishers. You can try, though, and with agents, I'd send a query letter and whatever else they request for first contact to a number all at one time. Writer's Digest Books has a new book of agents. As with market guides, make sure you get the newest edition.

Books often are sent to more than one publisher. Worst case (or best case?) would be that more than one wants it. It is desired that you indicate you're doing this when submitting. A lot of authors don't, but it truly isn't uncommon practice so unless a publisher states they don't want simultaneous submissions, I'd include the information.

Finally, I'm so glad you found your way to becoming proud of your mixed heritage. As a writer, you'll find many publishers who want other culture books (like yours sound) and also those directly about mixed heritage.

Best of luck!

Margaret

Hi, Shirley.

I am including this as a letter instead of a thank you item since I wanted to feedback a few things for you and other readers.

I knew Guide was moving more and more in this direction--in fact, I may have mentioned it a few months ago. (So is The Friend, by the way.) I agree that it's limiting. This used to be one of my best markets. Primary Treasure also wants true stories, but they still are using some fictional formatting. So is Our Little Friend, but right now they aren't buying anything except reprint rights to things they've used before--and now they are buying the right to reprint more than once. Still, I've sold them a lot of material so it's some income, at least, from what otherwise would be a closed market and they pay decently. (In a second email Shirley pointed out that Primary Treasure is buying, but in limited quantities and now holds manuscripts longer before replying. I agree.)

Primary Pal and Junior Companion have bought things from me after holding them--with them, one eventually just gets copies and payment, not a notification of acceptance. What you could do is submit as "one-time" rights stories and note that you are also submitting them elsewhere. Not that they pay much, but I find them a place where one can submit after using all the other reprint markets. Interesting thing about them, too; they are one of the few publishers around that pays in cash.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Margaret

OCTOBER TIP:

It's ghost and goblin time--and a good time to write stories for next year's markets. Just don't send the ghosts, etc. to religious publishers. You can find great markets there, though, for alternate ways kids can celebrate Halloween. This year, for instance, my church's Kid's Club is asking congregation members to bring their goodie bags for trick or treaters to the church parking lot. We'll have a "tailgate" type party parents (neighborhood as well as church members) can bring their children to without having them out on dangerous streets. Yes, I plan to write it up. Some churches don't encourage trick or treating at all--but probably would be interested in some alternate type party for teens on the same night. (One year mine did a backward party, where kids came with shirts, hats and anything possible worn backwards. Another church did an All Saints party.) Check around to see what churches in your area are doing.