UPDATES to the 7th Edition of Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids

Updated as of February 19,2019

Buy the book in print! Get published! Make money!

UPDATES:

Charlotte Parent email mhuggins@charlotteparent.com (9/10/18)

Cincinnati Family, North Cincy Family, Northern Kentucky Family (Daycom Media) editor is Amanda Hayward (Sherry is gone), and her email is amandahayward@daycommedia.com (9/10/18)

Curious Parents: 7/16/17 seems to no longer be publishing.

Family Fun is no longer publishing :-(


Giggle is now natalie@irvingpublications.com (9/10/18)

Jersey Shore Family is not accepting articles at this time ... updated February 2017

Little Rock Family magazine update 2/19/19 new owner

Palmetto Parent is now estevenson@indexx.com

Parenting OC is now jessica@parentingoc.com 8/7/18

Piedmont Parent editor email bounced back. Try the publisher at katie.reeves@morris.com (9/10/18)

Playground ... delete hyphen in email address from book. (9/10/18)

Red River Family publisher@redriverfamily.com (9/10/18)

The Village Family Magazine is currently on hiatus and thus, will not be accepting reprint materials at this time

Volusia/Flagler/St. John's can be found at https://www.parentmagazineflorida.com/

Wiregrass Parents is another publication affiliated with DeAnne Watson of Montgomery Parents (10/30/18)

Wisconsin Family email aschwabe@gannett.com (9/10/18)

Davler Media acquires Staten Island Parent so delete SI Parent email from your contacts since Davler will be taking over all of that and will handle your submissions :-)

NEW:

Growing Up Roseville (sister to Growing Up Chico) ... pays $35 reprints for each publication. Writers are reporting $35 per reprint per publication.

Self-Sufficient Kids pays $75 per article (1,250 words long) and their guidelines can be found here.

DELETED FROM BOOK FOR NONPAYMENT

Utah Family: They used my pieces without permission and then did not pay. I have heard from several writers about this as well. I’m not going to recommend a magazine that does business this way.

Valley Parent Oregon: They have used my pieces without permission and then did not pay.

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

Sign up for an email subscription to The Published Parent and get two amazing freebies: 10 Parenting Markets That Pay $100+ and 10 Markets That Pay Writers to Write About Writing! And join my Facebook group called Parenting Magazine Writers ... it's FREE and full of tips and tricks and markets and like-minded writer friends!

Your Writing Journey: Keep Driving by Patrick Hempfing

Keep Driving

By Patrick Hempfing

http://patrickhempfing.com

            In June 2011, I attended Southeastern Writers Association’s (SWA) annual conference on St. Simons Island, my first writers conference.  A little over an hour into the trip, about halfway to my destination, Mr. Doubt visited. 

What are you doing?  Don’t you know you’ll be surrounded by writers with talent?  Catch the next exit and go home? 

            After a 20-year career in banking, accounting, and auditing, with college degrees in accounting and management, I had traded in my business suit and briefcase for an apron and diaper bag.  When my daughter began Pre-K, I, a stay-at-home dad since her birth, attempted to turn my writing into a career, while having flexible hours to maximize time with family.

            Prior to attending my first SWA conference, I had completed a manuscript, but was unsuccessful in landing a publisher or literary agent for it.  I should have attended the writers’ conference sooner. 

In addition to a fantastic learning experience and meeting new friends, I left the conference with an idea for a monthly column.  My hopes of earning a few publishing credits turned into a little business.  From September 2011 to January 2018, my monthly column, “MoMENts,” was published over 500 times in regional parenting magazines across the United States and Canada, and Tribune publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, Carroll County Times, and Capital Gazette.

To date, “MoMENts” has been published in 23 states and two Canadian provinces.  In addition to attending writing conferences these past years, another source that helped me publish my columns was Kerrie McLoughlin’s Make Money to Write About Your Kids.

            But the story gets even better.  In 2016, I compiled my monthly columns, added new material, and published my first book, MoMENts:  A Dad Holds On, a great gift for mothers and fathers.  At the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition, a contest sponsored by the Florida Writers Association, MoMENts:  A Dad Holds On took Second Place in the General Catch-All Category.

            Since my book’s release, I’ve also spoken at libraries, my daughter’s school, and the SWA conference.  Another highlight of my writing career occurred this past September in Orlando when I was honored to be the closing speaker at the National At-Home Dad Network’s annual conference.

            Could the journey get more exciting?  When my daughter was nine, one of my writing friends (Yes, I met her at SWA) suggested I write a column with my daughter, with each of us sharing our perspective on a topic – Dad’s view versus the tween’s perspective.  Up to this point, my “MoMENts” column had shared the joys and challenges of being a stay-at-home dad from the father’s perspective only.

            Last February, my daughter and I debuted our co-authored column, “Tween Daughter and Dad.”  After one year, our joint column has been published 38 times in 11 publications, spanning 7 states.    

Will my daughter and I make a lot of money from our co-authored column?  Though she negotiated a sweet deal for how we split revenue, our chances of earning a ton of money aren’t great.  However, “national columnist” will be a nice item to add to her college application in a few years.

            Where will my writing journey take me?  Only time will tell.  But I know it’s been an exciting “drive” so far, one that wouldn’t have occurred had I turned my vehicle around in the summer of 2011.  I even became SWA’s Treasurer in 2014.

            Drive.  In my opinion, even with writers’ conferences, investment in resources like Kerrie’s book, and some good fortune, one of the key ingredients to success is drive.  Drive is needed to finish a tough column or that challenging manuscript.  Drive comes into play when publishers pass on your work.  Drive is required when book sales are disappointing, yet book two needs written.

            Will a career in writing have speed bumps?  Indeed.  Pot holes?  Many.  Times where you’re running low on gas?  For sure.

            Fill your tank and keep driving.  And remember to cherish the moments during the journey. 

4th Quarter + 3rd Quarter Work-from-Home #IncomeReport 2018

Writer friends, the McLoughlin household is healthy and happy and ready to start 2019 and I wish the same for you!

I am still blessed to be able to work from home proofreading, blogging, writing articles and writing books and to be able to do it in my sweatpants or swimsuit, out on the deck or at the dining room table, at my house or traveling with my kids and husband for his work to places like Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Chicago, Florida and more.

I like to share my income with you to show you that I am a real person with real challenges and successes. No, it is not a full-time income, but I am not aiming for that. I am thankful and grateful that my husband has a good job, and my main job is homeschooling. Words are my part-time job for now. When the kids are grown I foresee working more hours with my word career and helping to pay for travel and retirement. But that's at least 10 years away :-)

I do not have income for the entire year because my laptop died in May and I have yet to get the figures off of that. Better do that before tax time!

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

Sign up for an email subscription to The Published Parent and get two amazing freebies: 10 Parenting Markets That Pay $100+ and 10 Markets That Pay Writers to Write About Writing! And join my Facebook group called Parenting Magazine Writers ... it's FREE and full of tips and tricks and markets and like-minded writer friends!

Dads Can Write for Parenting Magazines Too!

If you think of a parenting and family magazine writer sitting around in HER jammies while kids run underfoot or that same writer dropping HER kids off at school then going home to write and take care of the house, you are just a little off in your thinking.

It does appear for now that the parenting and family market is dominated by females, but there are plenty of heartfelt and funny and dead-on awesome writers in this niche who also happen to be fathers! Here's why I think dads do great in this market:

Perspective
Dads have such a unique perspective, that's for sure. Something that would send me to seek out a Xanax prescription has my husband saying, "The kids are fine!" And they are. Mostly :-)

Where I feel guilty having the kids help me with chores sometimes (they have so much homework plus activities!), my husband has no problem asking them to pitch in. And they do. Happily. As they have grown into teenagers who volunteer in the community and at church, and gladly help out on our 8 acres, I see he had a point.

Many magazines actively seek out submissions from fathers for just this reason. They love the stories dads tell about parenting, whether poignant or humorous.

Write-at-home Dads
The stay-at-home dad is becoming more common, and so it would follow that we have the write-at-home dad making his appearance in magazines around the world more often!

We also have the dads who write in their free time ... late at night, early in the morning, dictating into their phones during a commute, etc.

Check out Patrick Hempfing here. And a fabulous guest blog post by him on my site here.

Here's William R. Bartlett from my own local Kansas City Parent.

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

Sign up for an email subscription to The Published Parent and get two amazing freebies: 10 Parenting Markets That Pay $100+ and 10 Markets That Pay Writers to Write About Writing! And join my Facebook group called Parenting Magazine Writers ... it's FREE and full of tips and tricks and markets and like-minded writer friends!

"How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Selling Your Stories to Parenting Magazines"

Get those articles and ideas out of your computer, out of your brain, and out of your paper files and into the email inboxes of editors! Result = get published, collect tearsheets, and watch the money hit your account and mailbox from reprint sales!

How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Selling Your Stories to Parenting Magazines will change your writing life! The 7th edition of this invaluable resource that has already helped so many writers get published includes information on how to get started selling your original and reprint articles and essays. It goes on to cover everything related to writing for this market, including keeping good records, setting up a freelance writer website, invoicing, and so much more. Then comes the best part: the 384 paying markets. Writing success is waiting for you!

Check out what previous buyers had to say:

"Kerrie's book was my introduction to the world of writing for regional parenting publications. Her encouraging tone comes through to readers ... She is helpful to readers who ask questions, funny as can be on her blog, and doesn't hesitate to share her real-life experiences to help her readers succeed. Who doesn't want that?" — Rhonda Franz, writer, CaptainMom.net

"[How to Get Published (and Paid!)] is a phenomenal resource for both those just beginning to toy with the idea of trying to get published and experienced writers alike. Kerrie McLoughlin's advice launched my writing career to a whole new level." — Rachael Moshman, writer, ShrinkingMomster.com

"Kerrie makes it easy for aspiring writers to break into regional and national parenting magazines. Full of information, awesome tips, and positive energy, this book was a great source of inspiration and encouragement. I sold four articles quickly and easily as a result of her timely tips. And that's just for starters!" — Christine Shuck, author and blogger, TheDeadlyNightshade.com

"Are you a writer who wants to be published in regional parenting magazines? Then this book is for you. No question. The information in it is worth every penny and as soon as you make ONE sale, it pays for itself." — Jan Udlock, writer/virtual assistant, JanUdlock.com

This version is available only in PDF format, so you can print it, 3-hole punch it, pop it into a binder, and get working. Refer to the PDF on your computer for the helpful bonus content hyperlinked from the document. Links include: sample cover letter, sample query letter, freelance writer site info, how to generate ideas for articles, podcast interviews and posts with editors by Susan Maccarelli of Beyond Your Blog, and so much more!

It also includes:

225 regional parenting magazines, most of which take reprints and know that your work has been used somewhere else and they are fine with it.

159 national and online markets which can't wait to see your work, mostly original pieces, often you query them first.

FREE updates ... you just have to keep track of them in your printed version of the book in your Get Published binder :-)

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

How I Got My Start as a Paid Parenting and Family Magazine Writer

Everybody is different, so how we go about launching a writing career is going to be a different story for everyone. For some of you, a quick query to Working Mother might be the first you’ve ever written. You nervously hit the SEND button on your email program and go about your life. You check your email later that day and find an acceptance of your pitch at a pay rate of $1.00 per word! You create an article based on that piece that’s just different enough to send to the regional parenting magazines, and you sell nothing … for a week. Then the acceptances come pouring in.

Or maybe you always got As in college writing classes and everyone you know says you rock as a writer. But you are having trouble getting any of the RPMs to give you even so much as a nibble. Then you try an online literary magazine that pays and you have found your niche. You go on to sell many pieces to Chicken Soup for the Soul, then try the regionals again and find even more success.

This is my Writing Story because I think it’s important to remember how you started doing something you are very passionate about.

I always thought of myself as a writer growing up, but I didn’t think I was that great at it … nothing special. I got good grades in English and Creative Writing classes in school and even wrote some decent papers during my community college years. I was always observing, journaling, venting on paper. Interesting things happened to me, but I didn’t know how to craft them into something people would want to read.

I had three kids when I started writing for money and was a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom with a husband who traveled frequently for long periods of time. I loved being a mom more than anything in the world, and I also loved recording every thought in my head while I held my nursing baby during her naptime and her big brothers watched TV nearby. Trying to not let Caillou suck out all my brain cells with his whining was a top priority back then.

We had a little paper in my city called Mother and Child Reunion that was like a regional parenting magazine only smaller and more like a little newspaper. I always found helpful parenting articles in there and wondering if I could offer them something of value. In 2006, I submitted a series on how to make money with your kid on your hip. They were only used online, and I was too chicken to ask for money. I was just happy to have a writing credit.

Next I went after my local RPM, Kansas City Parent. I had whipped up a piece about stocking up on meals (kind of a passive aggressive vent, unfortunately!) and sent it off. It ran in the January 2007 issue, I received a $25 check, and I was on top of the world.

Next up was New Beginnings (La Leche League’s magazine), and I sent off an essay on how much I love having my kids nap on me. It ran in the March/April 2007 issue, I got 2 free copies, and I was ecstatic again.

Then I stumbled upon an article online about selling reprints and started trying to send out my Stock-up-Mentality article. I made many submission mistakes, receive one kind rejection, and didn’t hear from anyone else.

After that, I got fired up about kids and fundraising, pounded out a piece, submitted it to my local newspaper, and saw it in print 6 months later, in January 2008. The pay was the satisfaction of my family knowing I could write and hearing my name on a local radio station when the host agreed with my stance.

Time to head back to the regionals, I told myself, because I loved writing articles and decided I should be writing for an income. I enjoyed some success with various magazines and kept collecting information for new markets.

Then I got pregnant with this guy, my fifth child (below) in 2009 and thought it might help other writers to learn from my mistakes and to have the list of markets, guidelines, and pay information I had compiled.

I headed into the land of ebooks while also submitting magazine articles and doing some other things on the side, like writing for Contently.com and Scripted.com and proofreading on Fiverr.com and Scripted.com.

Honestly, some of my most successful paid parenting articles came about because of annoyance at other people. I channeled my frustration into my writing, as I had done since I was a little girl, and I found that sometimes venting pays. Some examples:

·         I thought my friend was nuts for grocery shopping daily with her small children in tow, so I wrote called Stock-up Mentality, sharing tips for meal planning and stocking up on groceries and meals to save time and money.

·         I was getting frazzled about expectations put on my family to be several places at once on Christmas morning, so I wrote 8 Tips for Holiday Sanity. I have since earned $954 from this one article, selling it as a reprint all over the United States. And it still sells every year. Talk about residual income!

·         Even though my kids were not in school, I was still affected by fundraisers through activities they were in. Instead of giving up on the whole process, I wrote Rock the Next Fundraiser and also Fundraising Life Lessons Learned. These were to put a more positive spin on that newspaper op ed.

From there, I headed in a more positive direction and started penning informational pieces: conquer the kid clutter, how to get started homeschooling, traditions (birthdays, seasonal, holidays), and so much more. Now I’ll write just about anything, including humorous listicles (Parenting by the Numbers is an article I wrote that’s humor + list + article = listicle), essays, and informational pieces on things that have zero relevance in my life (Co-Parenting Best Practices, Kindergarten Separation Anxiety, etc.).

My love for words remains all these years later. I love writing ebooks and want them to be as helpful as possible. I love writing regional parenting magazine articles and working with amazing editors. I also love connecting with other writers J

What’s your Writing Story?

*This was an excerpt from the PDF and ebook versions of my book, but it had to be omitted from the print edition due to space!

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

Sign up for an email subscription to The Published Parent and get two amazing freebies: 10 Parenting Markets That Pay $100+ and 10 Markets That Pay Writers to Write About Writing! And join my Facebook group called Parenting Magazine Writers ... it's FREE and full of tips and tricks and markets and like-minded writer friends!

Keep Writing Despite Rejection

I'm watching my 10-year-old daughter draw in front of me at the dining room table while I'm writing on the laptop across from her. She is being critical of her flowers, but to me they are beautiful. They are nothing like anything I could ever do. I am no artist for sure. But she has talent and is so hard on herself. And I tell her, "I could never do that. You are so amazing. Don't stop because you will only get better and better with practice."

Sometimes in my Facebook writing group there will be someone who just isn't getting articles accepted. And I ask some questions like, "Are you sending to just a few at a time or doing a BLAST to like all 200 regional parenting magazines on the list? (it's a numbers game) Are you following the general submission guidelines? Don't stop because you will get better and you will get a piece accepted and then the snowball will start."

And I wondered ... how do you get someone to stop being self-critical? How do you convince them to keep going?

Then I realized that the same things I say to my kids and to my writing group members to be encouraging, I should also be saying to myself.

I have 175 publishing credits to my name over the last 12 years. I have clearly not given up, but I feel like I should have MORE publishing credits, and some of them should be national magazines. Then I attempt to go easy on myself. "Kerrie, you homeschool 5 kids and make that your priority. You are married. You have other family and friends you love spending time with. You have to keep up with This Is Us and blow through The Haunting of Hill House. Oh, and you proofread for income to help your family. Go easy on yourself. Slow and steady."

It's easy to get caught up in the things we ARE NOT DOING. I am not publishing a book a month. I am not writing an article a week. I am not writing features for Parents Magazine at $1,000 a pop.

Ah, but I am still making a small income from reprints that are 10 years old. I am enjoying life and writing when I can and putting love and spirit into it.

What one small thing can you do each day to keep your writing career moving forward? Can you write 100 words today? Then again tomorrow? You could have an article written by the end of the week and ready to submit. Then you can take a week off and do NOTHING. Or you can do another 100 words and keep up the momentum.

If magazines aren't picking up your work or paying what you think you are worth ... keep going anyway. You know in your heart that this is what you are supposed to be doing, so keep doing it no matter what.

Have files of article reprints that you own but have no clue where to start reselling them? Have ideas for some fantastic new pieces but no idea who might want them? Check out my thick 441-page print book of tips, tricks, and insider information, as well as 384 paying parenting and family markets! You can order "How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids" on Amazon here.

Sign up for an email subscription to The Published Parent and get two amazing freebies: 10 Parenting Markets That Pay $100+ and 10 Markets That Pay Writers to Write About Writing! And join my Facebook group called Parenting Magazine Writers ... it's FREE and full of tips and tricks and markets and like-minded writer friends!