Friday, May 10, 2019
Write for Narratively -- Submission Writers Guidelines
Just got this information in my Parenting Magazine Writers Facebook group from one of our writers. She's going to be working as a guest editor for Narratively, "a digital publication focused on ordinary people with extraordinary stories." Amazing news!
She's looking for "first-person stories in the parenting space or hybrid first-person/reported. I'm also looking for other stories, so it doesn't need to be parenting-related. Stories should be framed around active, narrative scenes. I need drafts of first-person stories and will consider pitches for reported. Looking for quirky, weird experiences (not anecdotes or think pieces) that transformed you or shifted your perception in some way."
Friday, March 29, 2019
Kerrie McLoughlin's Books
FULLY UPDATED with recipe descriptions/stories and meal planning advice in general plus more desserts and a new tater tot recipe!
What could be better than 35 tater tot casserole recipes all in one place? In addition to the naughty versions like Bacon Ranch, Fully Loaded, Buffalo Bleu Cheese, Chicken Alfredo and all sorts of other happy deliciousness, this amazing cookbook also contains dairy-free, skinny, gluten-free and vegetarian options for those times you want to (or have to!) eat in a more healthy manner!
And of course you have to top off a tater tot casserole meal with one of the 13 bonus easy dessert recipes, including Chocolate Suicide, Tutu's Chocolate Stars, Mock Apple Pie and Heavenly Sinful Bars. Your family will love you for this!
These recipes will have your family asking for seconds!
P.S. Make it for dinner, then heat it up in a pan with scrambled eggs in the morning for leftover delight!
Head to Amazon here to purchase the ebook or print version.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Your Writing Journey: Keep Driving by Patrick Hempfing
Monday, August 20, 2018
NOT PUBLISHING: Family Fun Magazine
UPDATE: Sadly, Family Fun Magazine is no longer publishing. Please see my PDF instant download, The Mother of All Writing Market Books: 600 Homes for Your Family, Parenting, & Women's Articles, Essays, and More for 600 current markets, as well as 190 other markets that are no longer publishing, as well as FREE updates.
Monday, July 16, 2018
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:
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.
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.
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.