Submission Guidelines for Regional Parenting and Family Magazines

In an ideal world where you might have unlimited time, you would be able to read back copies of every regional family and parenting magazine in existence to get a feel for what kinds of articles they publish. But with so many demands on our time, that's just not possible. So if there are no writer's guidelines available for a regional parenting magazine, follow the rules below:

Make sure you have a copy of the Associated Press Stylebook because most RPMs like articles to follow "AP style" (a few prefer the Chicago Manual of Style).

Always include your name, address, phone number, email address and word count with every submission.

Use one space after periods so your piece is print-ready for most publications. RPMs like to  save  as  much  space  as  they  can,  and  that  gives  them  more  room  for  advertising  and sidebars.

Include a general service sidebar of where readers can go to get more information (websites, books, etc.).

If you can, include either local quotes in your article or quotes from experts around the country, not just from your hometown.

Photos  may  be  submitted  with  the  story,  but  since  many  editors  don't  read   email  with attachments (or it goes to their Spam folder),  just offer and describe the photo in your "cover letter." I sometimes put a fitting photo on my author site with the synopsis of the story.

Unless otherwise stated, the subject line in your email should be "Submission: [Article Name]."

Submit a "cover letter" in your email. Unfortunately, you will also have to add something to it like "Please let me know if you plan to use my article, as I want to make sure two magazines in the same region don't use it at the same time. Also, I need to send you an invoice because my work is not free " It's sad, but some magazines will use your work without telling you and without paying you and you need to point back to your original email.

Submit seasonal pieces (e.g., Christmas, Mother's Day) three months in advance as a general rule, unless writer's guidelines state otherwise.

Add a one to two sentence bio at the end of each article. For instance, "Kerrie McLoughlin is the homeschooling mom of five naughty kids and wife of Aron. Catch up with her at www.TheKerrieShow.com."

Make sure your submission says it's available for "purchase."

You'll save hours if you make every piece general, but put in your cover email letter that you are happy to include a local sidebar of resources (e.g., local meal prep stores, local food bank donation centers, etc.) depending on the topic of your article.

Don't submit your article as an attachment unless the editor asks for it that way in written guidelines, or it may end up in the editor's Spam folder. Instead, place the submission in the body of the email. (Update: I recently sent out SIX different birthday reprints AS ATTACHMENTS to everyone on my submission list as a last-ditch effort and also so as not to bug them with six different emails. The result? So far I heard from one magazine wanting to buy all six at $25 each, and then I heard from a magazine I never worked with before - that is in this book, of course - wanting to buy print and online rights for one article for a total of $5O! So far so good!)

Keep your piece under 1,000 words unless guidelines state otherwise.

OTHER INFORMATION

Editors always reserve the right to edit for clarity, length and style.

Most publications receive many more submissions than they can use.

Check out this post on my 12-step process for getting published!

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 resource with 600 markets! (use promo code PPBLOG20 for 20% off) You can order "TheMother of All Writing Market Books" here.

The 12-Step Process for Getting Published

In my book How to Get Published (and Paid!) Writing About Your Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Selling Your Stories to Parenting Magazines, I share not only 382 markets with hyperlinked websites, submission guidelines and email addresses, as well as pay information, but I also share a wealth of knowledge from over a dozen years of working in this niche.

I'd like to share these steps with you here, but please know I go into MUCH more detail in the book and answer questions about previously published work versus new work, blog posts as articles, etc.

Below is a typical process I follow when submitting to regional parenting magazines. This might go in a different order for some.

1.     Read magazines you want to write for.

2.   Brainstorm. Check out my blog post called Generating Ideas for Articles and Blog posts here.

3.   Get the bones down.

4.   Call for quotes (only if necessary).

5.    Research. (some do this right after the Brainstorm step and some prefer to do it later). 

6.   Check out the General Submission Guidelines here.

7.    Read the Writer’s Guidelines in the book.

8.   Finish, proofread, read it out loud, give it to a friend.

9.   Add it to your writing website.

10.  Keep good records.

11.   Enter the email addresses and prepare your message.

12. Hit Send!

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 resource with 600 markets! (use promo code PPBLOG20 for 20% off) You can order "The Mother of All Writing Market Books" here.

Do You Need a Website as a Freelance Writer or Author?

Even though the pay is relatively low, writing for regional parenting magazines can earn you valuable publishing credits. You'll need those clips and credits in order to make your move to writing for national publications in the future. Don't think an author website is unnecessary and too costly for you to set up. You don't need a professional website developer to showcase your writing credits and synopses of your published pieces. For now, in fact, my author website is on Blogger, and I hear amazing things about WordPress, whether you host it yourself or let them do it.

Once you get a decent body of work, you'll want to periodically send an email to editors to let them know about your freelance writing (author) website, which will list all of your available reprints. (If you don't have time for this now, just send out your reprint list every few months and call it good.) The reason you do this is to keep your work fresh in their minds for when they need filler pieces.

Your writer website is important and should include the following:

• Something about you as a writer and a person. Are you a new parent, mom of triplets, single full-time dad?
• A photo of you.
• Summaries of articles you have written or have had published.
• Links to the places where you have been published (your publishing credits), serving as a type of online resume.
• A list of available reprints you have for sale. How you organize these is up to you. I organize mine by month because editors are often looking for something for a specific month's issue. Then I also have a category called EVERGREEN, plus sections for BIRTHDAYS, CAMP, and HOMESCHOOLING. I also add the word count and a snippet of the article or a synopsis.
• Testimonials/references. Don't be afraid to ask for these from editors you have worked with. I have found LinkedIn to be a great resource for asking for recommendations.
• Links to any other online writing you have done so editors can see your writing style.
• Contact information. Once an editor falls in love with your writing style, they want to be able to get in touch with you!
• Social media links.

I like to keep a post on my author site dedicated to projects that are in the works. Articles, books, etc. For instance, one magazine routinely asks me to write a fresh piece for them for $40-50 each month. It's only 500 words and doesn't take me long to research and write. I don't like to sell it as a reprint until it is actually a reprint (meaning, the magazine has published it), which might be a couple of months away. I like to post the title of the piece and the approximate word count on my site so other editors know it will be available soon and coming their way via email.

With a little patience and a lot of hard work, your writer website will grow as you write more pieces, are published more places, and as you gain testimonials.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THIS
I honestly have not gotten many sales with my reprint list on my author website but I leave it there anyway and attempt to update it. I have much better luck keeping my work in front of editors by sending out my entire reprint list every few months. I also make sales when I send a wrap-up of articles that might fit for the next few months. For instance, in early February I might send out articles for March through June.

It might sound crazy to send out March pieces in February, but you'd be surprised how many editors DO NOT work ahead six months or who might have a last-minute space to fill. I have received many emails right before an issue goes to press because an editor realized they had room for a piece and I had sent them something recently enough that I was still on the top of their mind.

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 resource with 600 markets! (use promo code PPBLOG20 for 20% off) You can order "The Mother of All Writing Market Books" here.

Check out this article on Writer's Digest called A Step-by-Step Guide to Build Your Author Website

171 Parenting Magazine Publishing Credits (Mostly Paid) and How You Can Also Get Published!

Do you want to get paid for your parenting and family articles and stop giving them away for free or getting paid pennies per view?

Below are the just the first 50 of my publishing credits. You'll see that most of them are paid. When I was starting out I would give a piece for free very now and then for the byline but I don't do that anymore. Once you get to the bottom of the list you can hit the link to see the rest!

These are great places to work for, and they are all in my book, the 6th edition of "Make Money to Write About Your Kids: Get Published in Regional, National and Online Parenting and Family Magazines" on Kindle or Cloud (you can read it on your laptop if you wish). The print edition in 6x9" is also ready and it's a hefty little dude that you can highlight and put sticky notes in and mark up when you get published in certain markets! Check for changes and updates here! 

Keep in mind I have been published in some of these magazines up to 30 times with 30 different articles (actually, sometimes they'll use the same piece in different years and pay me twice, which is fair).

I might write a piece and have it published up to 30 times as a reprint. Magazines know you are sending your work as reprints to other magazines so why are you writing something ONCE and only letting it be used ONCE? Recycle that puppy as a reprint!

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.

1. About Families
2. Alaska Parent
3. Arizona Parenting
4. Athens Parent
5. Atlanta Baby
6. Atlanta Parent
7. Auburn Opelika Parents
8. Augusta Family
9. Austin Family
10. Baton Rouge Parents
11. Bay Area Parent Silicon Valley
12. BC Parent
13. Bermuda Parent
14. Birmingham Parent
15. Black Hills Parent
16. Boom!
17. Bowling Green Parent
18. Bronx/Riverdale Family
19. Brooklyn Family
20. Calgary's Child
21. Carolina Parent
22. Central California Parent
23. Central Penn Parent
24. Charlotte Parent
25. Child Guide
26. Cincinnati Family
27. Cincinnati Parent
28. Colorado Parent
29. Columbus Parent
30. CT Parent (Connecticut)
31. Cy-Fair Parent
32. Eastern Shore Parents
33. Edmonton's Child (nonpaying)
34. Family Time
35. Family Times
36. Findlay Area Family
37. First Coast Parent
38. First Time Parent
39. Flagler Parent (I do not recommend working with them)
40. Florida Family News
41. Fort Bend Parent
42. Fredericksburg Parent
43. Genessee Valley Parent
44. Georgia Family
45. Greater Fort Wayne Family (nonpaying)
46. Greater Pensacola Parents 
47. Growing Up in the Valley
48. Houston Baby Guide
49. Houston Family
50. Hudson Valley Parent

Check out the rest of the 171 parenting and magazine publishing credits here! I wrote the post over at my main blog a long time ago and just keep updating it. I started the post just to keep track of where I had been published.

Can You Consistently Write 500 Words a Day?

THE DREAM
Imagine if you could crank out 500 words every single day. Let's say you were working on parenting magazine articles. You could easily get one article done every week (1,000 words is a long one) with time to edit, research, then submit. Every. Single. Week. That's 52 articles a year working for you as passive-ish (you still have to send invoices)/residual income in the form of REPRINTS.

This could also translate into several blog posts per week (one day to get those 500 words out and one day to edit/research/create graphics).

This could also mean 50 days to 25,000 words of a book. Even if you then take another 50 days to work on a cover, get the book proofread, make sure it is all coherent, etc., you have a book in 100 days.

Let's say you're a blogger AND a magazine writer AND a book author. In just ONE YEAR, how many books, blog posts and articles could you knock out if you could just make sure to sit down and get 500 words written every day?

THE PROBLEM
Time. Time is always the problem. And interruptions. And life in general, intruding with its obligations like laundry and dishes and cooking and hygiene and weddings and funerals and parties and errands and clogged toilets and car problems. Oh, and sometimes also those cute children running around and also sometimes that pesky little thing called a full-time job that pays the bills while we chase our writing dreams. And yes, I do realize that even when my kids are grown and gone from the house, I will still have lots going on pertaining to them.

THE SOLUTION
Have you tried dictation using your smartphone? Not some fancy machine and not even some fancy app. I'm just talking about maybe using the Notes app on your iPhone that comes pre-installed. I am a huge fan of walking outside for my FitBit steps while writing at the same time by dictating my articles and books. I feel super amazing on those evenings when my 8-year-old has soccer practice and I can walk the track ... he's happy and I'm getting exercise while getting work done.

I also dictate while driving, which I know might be controversial, but before I got a phone I was writing all my notes long-hand in my lap on a notebook. Tell me which is more dangerous! I don't actually look at the screen while I'm dictating, which often makes for some funny untangling of words later on, but I can just talk and talk stream of consciousness style, and end up with something I can work with later.

When the file is done or when I get home, I just send the note to my email box. Then I grab it and put it in the correct project file on my laptop (you might be more progressive and use Google Docs).

You could dictate while nursing your baby, while making dinner, while folding laundry or waiting for your kid to get out of a drama rehearsal.

*This post was 511 words and I cranked it out super fast over our Homeschool Lunch Break, then edited later.

I would LOVE to hear how this works out for you or if you already do it!

The Nifty 15 by Honoree Corder and My 100 Days Chart

I have a new writer girl crush and her name is Honoree Corder. You can check out The Nifty 15: Write Your Book in Just 15 Minutes a Day here and then I suggest you also follow her on Amazon so you always know when she comes out with something new. While I'm driving home from taking my teens to jobs and countless activities, I am also reading/listening to her Prosperity for Writers and You Must Write a Book.

Here's the review I left for this book, but please know that I am also planning on applying this to my article writing as well. Fifteen minutes a day carved out just for that purpose would yield an article every couple of weeks pretty easily. That could mean 12-24 articles for your stable of articles every year, depending on if you are writing quick regional parenting pieces or longer, national pieces that require queries. Every single year! You are not some flash in the pan writer ... you are in this for the long haul and you need to write every day to keep up the habit.

"Just the kick I needed. Yes, I already have a couple of books I have self-published and I did those in increments of whenever-the-baby-is-sleeping or early-in-the-morning until I couldn't think anymore. Lately I'm finding it harder to focus and needed a set amount of time to just sit and do it. And know that I had done it that day and that I didn't have to do anymore. But once I get started, it's like sex ... you get going and you want to keep going. I'm excited to see what happens with each of my projects in 100-day sets. I found a 100 days of school graphic/game that I printed out to color in each day that I do what I'm supposed to do. I'm actually coloring in every 15 minutes I do. I could do days or increments, either one works to make progress. I just like to see that I'm doing SOMETHING; otherwise it's easier to only do my proofreading work or find excuses to watch Scandal. Rock on, Honoree! Moving on to your next book and the next ... thank you!"

So instead of making my own thing from scratch, I Googled "100 Days Writing Chart" and came up with a 100 days of school chart! It printed a little grainy but it will work for my purposes. If I miss a day, I have to write for 15 extra the next day. I printed one out for each project. I'd love to have a full hour a day to work on 4 different projects because it's hard for me to focus on just one thing to completion, but we all work differently :-)

Write for Babybug Magazine -- Submission Writers Guidelines

Grab my resource with 600 parenting, family and lifestyle markets here! Free updates and a Facebook group!

Thank you for your interest in writing for Cricket's family of award-winning children's magazines! We welcome submissions from writers of every level of experience, and we assure you that your manuscript will be read and reviewed when submitted. Unless otherwise noted, we consider all submissions for all our kids' magazines, so if you submitted an article for publication in SPIDER, we may deem it more suitable for LADYBUG, CRICKET, or another of our publications.

 Submission Guidelines for BABYBUG magazine for babies ages 0-3

BABYBUG, a listening and looking magazine for infants and toddlers ages six months to two years, is published by Cricket Magazine Group. BABYBUG features simple stories, Mother Goose rhymes, short poems, words and concepts, illustrated in full color by the best children's artists from around the world.

BABYBUG measures 6-1/4" x 7", contains 24 pages, and is printed in large (26-point) type on high-quality cardboard stock with rounded corners and no staples. The paper and colors are non-toxic.

Editorial Director: Alice Letvin

Managing Art Director: Suzanne Beck

Published: monthly except for combined May/June, July/August, and November/December

Price: $33.95 for 1-year subscription (nine editions)

Manuscripts

Stories: very simple and concrete; 4 to 6 short sentences maximum

Poems: rhythmic, rhyming; 8 lines maximum

Nonfiction: very basic words and concepts; 10 words maximum

Activities: finger plays, parent/child interaction; 8 lines maximum

Art

By assignment only. Artists should submit review samples of artwork to be kept in our illustrator files. We prefer to see tear sheets or photoprints/photocopies of art.

If you wish to send an original art portfolio for review, package it carefully, insure the package, and be sure to include return packing materials and postage.

Author-illustrators may submit a complete manuscript with art samples. The manuscript will be evaluated for quality of concept and text before the art is considered.

Rate: $500/spread ($250/page).

We purchase all rights; physical art remains the property of the illustrator and may be used for artist's self-promotion.

Comments

Before attempting to write for BABYBUG, be sure to familiarize yourself with this age group and read one or more past copies of the magazine.

PLEASE DO NOT QUERY FIRST.

We will consider any manuscripts or art samples sent on speculation and accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Submissions without a SASE will be discarded.

Response time: Please allow 6 months for manuscripts and 3 months for art samples.

We do not distribute theme lists for upcoming editions.

Submissions from outside the U.S. should include an International Postal Reply Coupon.

BABYBUG normally purchases the following rights:

1.    For previously unpublished stories and poems, BABYBUG purchases all rights.

2.    For stories and poems previously published, BABYBUG purchases second North American publication rights. Fees vary, but are generally less than fees for first publication rights. Same applies to accompanying art.

3.    For recurring features, BABYBUG purchases the material outright. The work becomes the property of BABYBUG and is copyrighted in the name of Carus Publishing Company. A flat fee per feature is usually negotiated.

4.    For commissioned artwork, BABYBUG purchases all rights plus promotional rights (promotions, advertising, or in any other form not offered for sale to the general public without payment of an additional fee) subject to the terms outlined below:

1.    Physical art remains the property of the illustrator.

2.    Illustrator may use artwork for self-promotion.

Please address all MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS to:

Submissions Editor, BABYBUGCricket Magazine Group

70 E. Lake St.

Suite 300

Chicago, IL 60601

Please address all PORTFOLIO SAMPLES to:

Art Submissions CoordinatorCarus Publishing

70 East Lake Street

Suite 300

Chicago, IL 60601

Direct inquiries regarding PERMISSIONS to:

Mary Ann Hocking

Rights and Permissions Manager

Carus Publishing

315 Fifth Street

Peru, IL 61354

Did you know that you can write one article and sell it again for money to dozens of different magazines all over the world? And yes, the editors know we are doing this. It’s not a secret, just something that's not very well known. Check out my resource with 600 markets! (use promo code PPBLOG20 for 20% off) You can order "TheMother of All Writing Market Books" here.

Write for Redbook -- Submission Writers Guidelines

For more markets, please check out this page. And to download my book full 600 more markets, please head here!

And to write for Redbook's The Mix, check out this post!

REDBOOK is targeted at women between the ages of 25 and 45 who define themselves as smart, capable, and happy with their lives. Many, but not all, of our readers are going through one of two key life transitions: single to married and married to mom. Each issue is a provocative mix of features geared to entertain and inform them, including:

■ News stories on contemporary issues that are relevant to the reader's life and experience, and explore the emotional ramifications of cultural and social change

■ First-person essays about dramatic pivotal moments in a woman's life

■ Marriage articles with an emphasis on strengthening the relationship

■ Short parenting features on how to deal with universal health and behavioral issues

■ Reporting on exciting trends in women's lives

Writers are advised to read at least the last six issues of the magazine (available in most libraries) to get a better understanding of appropriate subject matter and treatment. We prefer to see detailed queries rather than completed manuscripts, and suggest that you provide us with some ideas for sources/experts. Please enclose two or more samples of your writing, as well as a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Send queries to:

Articles Department
REDBOOK
300 West 57th Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10019

Check out this site for an interview with the editor-in-chief!