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Even though I've
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Even though I've
Even though I've been writing - poems, mostly - for three or four years, I've never really tried to get my poems or stories published. I've decided that it's high time I started trying to get out there, but I don't know much about what magazines, contests, or publishers I should try. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks!
-Emily
submitted by Emily H., age 13, Sparks, NV
(April 19, 2009 - 6:18 pm)
(April 19, 2009 - 6:18 pm)
Well, first of all let me say that 1) Great! I submit my work for publication a lot and it's a lot of fun. Writing for yourself is fun, but it's a great goal to work towards. 2) It's very hard. I've had more rejections than I have acceptions.
Here are some things to check out:
* Read The Young Writer's Guide to Getting Published, Sixth Edition, by Kathy Henderson
* Read A Teen's Guide to Getting Published by Jessica and Danielle Dunn
* Check out the children's magazines Cricket, Highlights, Stone Soup, Creative Kids, and New Moon Girls. GREAT magazines, especially Stone Soup.
I'd say more but I gotta go now. Bye!
(April 20, 2009 - 12:17 pm)
Thanks so much, Lena. I've read the Emily of New Moon books enough to expect rejections :( so that's not new, but at least it wasn't just L.M. Montgomery's experience. I loved Highlights when I was younger, and I get Cricket now, but I haven't heard much about the other magazines, so I will definitely check those out. I will also get those books (they are books, right?) next time I go to the library. Many thanks!
-Emily
(It's strange - at the end of emails I always sign my full name with the dash like that, so more than once I've caught myself doing that here. Don't be surprised if I let it slip sometime, although I hope the Admins will catch it.)
-EH
(April 20, 2009 - 10:04 pm)
Most of the magazines I'm considering are Christian devotionals, and you may not be Christian, but Shine Brightly is good, as is American Girl if you're good at writing tacky, sentimental, heart-to-heart inspirationals. Which I'm not.
Never sign off any of your rights without consulting an agent or lawyer first. Avoid vanity presses. Doing it right takes time. Do your research. Get a literary agent.
(April 21, 2009 - 6:14 pm)
About the dash, that's what I do in my emails. :)
(April 21, 2009 - 6:24 pm)
Mary, I find it very difficult to write in a "tacky, sentimental, heart-to-heart" way, (I think that's what you said. :) ) so that's probably not the best idea for me. I can usually write factually (as in a research paper), occasionally humorously, and occasionally well in whatever genre I choose, but almost never in that particular manner. And, to tell the truth, I don't want to. : { ) (That's a smiley with a mustache.) One other thing - how should I get started? I mean, how should I decide to which magazines I should send my stories? It's not like I know a whole lot about the magazine world. How do I decide what magazines I want my name to be associated with? (I know that's a dangling preposition, but I can't figure out how to fix it for some reason. :P) I can't subscribe to them all to decide if they're good or not, and I really don't want my stories or poems in a magazine that publishes trash. What do I do about that? I know this is pretty pathetic, especially to those of you who are two or three years younger than me and have been published for quite a while, but I guess late is better than never. :P
-Emily
(April 21, 2009 - 10:42 pm)
Stone soup is a good magazine for kids to get published in. You can get a copy at Borders if you want to make sure.
(April 22, 2009 - 10:34 am)
My Borders doesn't carry it anymore. *sulks*
(April 22, 2009 - 11:03 am)
Ooh, ooh, ooh!!! Does our Borders have it???? :):)
(April 22, 2009 - 1:45 pm)
I'm pretty sure my dad got me one there before. It was a while ago though... so I don't know if they still do. :(
(April 22, 2009 - 3:48 pm)
Thanks, Zoe. I'll check that out as soon as I can. I like the name, anyway. :)
-Emily
(April 22, 2009 - 1:20 pm)
My library has all the issues of Stone Soup since 2004 or something. No, wait, I think it's more like 2001... I'm not really sure.
(April 22, 2009 - 5:15 pm)
Even better, Brynne. I'll be going to the library soon anyway - I'll look for it. Thanks! I don't generally think of looking for magazines in libraries, even though they're usually there.
-Emily
(April 22, 2009 - 10:49 pm)
For more recent editions check out the websites and order a sample copy either free or very cheaply.
P.S. I do the dash thing with my emails too.
(April 23, 2009 - 12:08 pm)
I checked out the Stone Soup website - it looks great. Methinks I'll send stuff to them over the summer - I can't for anylonger because my 14th birthday is in September. :P Anyway, it looks great! Thanks to whoever suggested it! (I can't remember right now and I'm in a hurry so I don't want to open a new tab.)
-Emily
(April 23, 2009 - 1:47 pm)