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CHILDREN'S WRITERS MARKETPLACE
July 2002
Welcome to the Children's Writers Marketplace at its new location! Applause goes to Children's Book Insider for hosting it! For those who weren't readers at Inkspot or later at my own site, my name is Margaret Shauers. I have been active in many writing areas over the past 30+ years, but writing for children remains my best love. Over the past several years, I've been working in the activity book and game book areas. I also freelance children's short fiction and puzzles and do some adult material. The magazine market list I sell grew from my own writing card file. I now include nonfiction markets, as well. Information about ordering the full 350+ market list is given at the end of this column.
You can email me at mshauers@cox.net
Summer…and everything moves slowly. Editors take vacations and it takes longer to get responses. Writers buzz off for vacation, too, so between the two factors, I have less market news than usual and fewer letters to answer. Like everyone else, I'm probably making too-few submissions in summer so I can't complain about others. As I begin this column, though, I'm afraid it won't be too long. I hope you will understand. Of course, if your vacation has taken to some exotic spot or even just to the lake for a couple of weeks, you probably won't be here to notice. I guess if we hang in here together, we'll be back to our too-busy selves all too soon.
FROM MY MAIL:
The good news is that W. O. W. (Wild Outdoors World) has new ownership and is buying again. The address is 44 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suites 16-20, PO Box 1329, Helena MT 59624. Email: wowgirl@quest.net.
Mail from the address I have for Connections is being returned as "forwarding order expired." Does anyone have a current address?
The Friend, 50 E. North Temple, 23rd Floor, Salt Lake City UT 84150: Vivian Paulsen, Managing Editor. This publication now wants only true stories. No biographies of living persons. It does sound that they might consider fictionalized true stories, but I'd check. They also say they are overstocked on science and nature articles.
Passageway.org (formerly Passageway) only uses nonfiction. Guidelines by email or find online. Email: ed@passageway.org. Website: www.rbpstudentministries.org.
From the Authors Guild:
AUTHORS GUILD ADVOCACY AND LEGAL SERVICES UPDATE
I. Artists-Museum Partnership Act Gains Momentum
II. CCC Maintains Silence on Copy-Dan Payments
III. Winslow Press Bankruptcy Proceedings
A report on each of these matters follows.
Important: We encourage any authors under contract with Winslow Press to get in touch with the Guild by replying to this e-mail. We do not intend to send out regular updates on that bankruptcy to the entire membership. Please make sure you're on our mailing list for future reports.
Copyright 2002 The Authors Guild. For further information, see www.authorsguild.org. The Guild grants permission to post or copy this update in its entirety, so long as the update isn't altered and includes this copyright notice.
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III. WINSLOW PRESS BANKRUPTCY REPORT
On June 13, Authors Guild legal staff attended the first creditors' committee meeting in the Winslow Press Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The publisher and CEO of Winslow, Diane Kessenich, was questioned under oath by representatives of the United States Trustee, the publisher's printing company, and the Authors Guild.
According to Ms. Kessenich and her attorney, Gabriel Del Virginia, the company is negotiating a deal to sell its assets (including its publishing contracts) to a major publisher. If that doesn't happen, the company will go into liquidation, which could mean that no creditors will get paid. On the other hand, if liquidation occurs, authors can then retrieve all rights they granted to Winslow and their contracts will terminate. The bankruptcy law requires that all debts owed by Winslow to the authors under the contracts must be paid in full before the contracts may be acquired by another publisher.
Kessenich expressed great willingness to work with any individual author who wants specific information about his or her titles. There are few remaining employees with the publisher, but Kessenich claims to have kept thorough records about the individual Winslow titles. She testified, and the representative of Winslow's printing company confirmed, that there are no copies of any Winslow books being held by the printer.
We learned at the meeting that there are no secured creditors. This is good news for authors and other unsecured creditors because there are no debts that must take priority over those of the unsecured creditors.
Winslow's deadline, which it had missed, to file legally required schedules of assets and liabilities was extended until June 27, 2002. Ms. Kessenich explained that her accountant had had a personal emergency that delayed his preparation of the required schedules. The trustee explained that the deadline extension would be the last one allowed. If the schedules are not filed by the deadline, the trustee will have to move to liquidate the company. Until the schedules are filed, no deadline for filing a proof of claim form can be set.
Kessenich acknowledged that royalty payments and statements to authors were late as of April 1 but said that she believes the authors will be paid by the end of the summer. Although Winslow is receiving payments from most or all of its foreign publishing and other licensees and is keeping "meticulous accounts" of those payments and the authors' shares of the money, others are not current on their payments to Winslow. Publishers Group West has apparently not made payments since March 30 because it is holding a reserve against returns.
Kessenich said she would gladly give an accounting of the disposition of the copies of each title printed and of the licenses granted to any Winslow author who asks for the information. She says she prefers being contacted by telephone, and would "welcome" authors‚ calls and questions. Although Winslow will be canceling its lease and moving to smaller offices shortly, the telephone number will remain the same in the new office space. Authors who wish to make their request for information in writing should feel free to contact the Guild for help.
Winslow has laid off most of its employees and has contracts covering approximately 42 titles. Approximately 10 titles have already been sold individually and with the authors‚ consent. However, Kessenich anticipates no more individual title sales and hopes instead to sell the remaining Winslow titles together rather than piecemeal. Until the contracts are assigned, or a court order allows, Winslow authors will not be able to get a reversion of their rights from Winslow.
The trustee seems concerned that this case move forward promptly. The proceeding will continue on July 25, 2002.
Address any correspondence to Winslow Press's lawyer (we recommend copying us on the correspondence: Authors Guild, 31 East 28th St., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016 or fax us -- (212) 564-5363):
Gabriel Del Virginia, Esq., 18 East 50th Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10022
Bottom Line Family magazine has been postponed.
NEW & CHANGES:
ECS Learning Systems, Inc., PO Box 791439, San Antonio TX 78279: Lori Mammen, Editorial Manager. This educational publishing company is seeking fiction and nonfiction reading passages for a variety of curriculum materials, including reading test preparation. History, geography, fiction, essays and biographies are sought. Query with a simple passage. All rights at .20 word. The same publisher accepts practical articles of 500-1500 words for rwt, a theme-based magazine featuring practical, easy activities and ideas for teachers grades 3-8. Prefers complete articles mailed in. Buys all rights; occasionally 1st NA Serial rights. rwt pays only in copies.
Homeschooling Today, PO Box 1608, Fort Collins CO 80522-1608: Maureen McCaffrey or Shari Henry, Editors. This magazine for homeschooling parents does use activities and study units. Mail queries or email queries to publisher@homeschooltoday.com. Website: www.homeschooltoday.com.
Kelly A. White now is Executive editor at Girl's Life. Sarah Cordi is Senior Editor. Karen Bokram is Editor. White and Cordi are the people to contact. GL is at 4517 Harford Rd., Baltimore MD 21214. Website: www.girlslife.com.
The Kids Hall of Fame News, 3 Ibsen Ct., Dix Hills NY 11746: Victoria Nesnick, Publisher. 1000-2000 word profiles of historical or contemporary peer role models. They have specific needs so I'd get guidelines. Aimed at young people under age 20. Prefers all rights. Pay is $100. Prefers complete manuscripts mailed or queries to victorianesnick@thekidshalloffame.com. Website: www.thekidshalloffame.com.
Writers Weekly has a highly interesting column by David Green on using your search engine to find markets. The article is at: http://www.writersweekly.com/articles/060502-01.html. While you're at the page, link back to the home page and check out all the other great writing resources there. WW has a free email newsletter available, too! Not everything is about writing for children, but they do have occasional resources and articles. Information in a recent issue that Discovery Trails has theme lists--which I didn't know. I couldn't find it online, but I play to send SASE for a copy soon.
The editor of WW is Angela Hoy and she does a wonderful job! For those of you who self-publish or are thinking of it, there is a discussion group on the topic: publish-subscribe@onelist.com.
World Kid Magazine, 3435 SW First Ave., Miami FL 33145: Luis Rodriguez, Editor. Covers all aspects of culture: travel, music, different cultures, pace/science and sports. Targeted for ages 8 to 16. Email queries to editor@worldkidmag.com. No pay, but the editor says they might in the future. (Note: I don't list nonpaying markets in my market list, but I do give them one-time listings here for those who are just beginning to build credits.)
Keynoter, 3636 Woodview Trace, Indianapolis IN 46268-3196: Amy L. Wiser, Executive Editor. This magazine for high school students (Key Club International members) wants nonfiction: self-help and school related material about leadership, community service and other teen issues.
Xpress, 5301 S 76th St., Greendale WI 53129-1128: Joyce Jocham, Publications Manager. For members of the Young American Bowling Alliance. Aimed at ages 3-21, but target audience is bowlers 8-15. Member profiles, game tips, advice from coaches, crafts, news, humor and activities that have a bowling angle. Pay and rights vary. The fall issue is online. Email queries to yababowling@bowlinginc.com. Website: www.bowl.com.
Oblio Productions, Natureworks USA, PO Box 55, Troy MT 59935: David Knox, Editor. Natureworks has been involved with working with troubled teens since 1989. They find a pattern of problems, though, that actually begins around 4th grade for boys and 5th-6th grade for girls. Oblio Productions wants to reach these age groups via a half-hour educational program on CDs, audio tapes and MP3 Downloads called "Are We There Yet" for grades 5-6. Each program contains music, jokes, games, helpful advice and a story. Stories should be 600-200 words and be suitable for audio production. They are looking for series possibilities, too. Authors will be paid a monthly royalty. Stories can be submitted in their entirety to Knox at nature@libby.org or zade@awty.us, or by mail.
Pauline Books & Media, 50 St. Pauls Ave., Jamaica Plain MA 02130-3491: Sister Patricia Edward Jablonski, Children's Book Editor. This Catholic press wants books written for children and teens as well as adults. They are looking for Catholic tradition Christmas and Easter stories for preschoolers and young readers. They also do seasonal activity books and coloring books (religious themes), and picture books about the lives of the saints for preschoolers. They do collections of bible stories written for preschool to age 12. Query letter and synopsis for a longer book; complete manuscript for short books. Send SASE. They pay advance and royalty. Queries can be emailed to Sister Jablonski at spedward@pauline.org. Website: www.pauline.org.
Both HarperCollins Children's Books and Bethany House are now returning unsolicited proposals unread.
FROM YOU (THANK YOU!):
Mary writes that Wonder Time responded to her request for guidelines with the following information: ``We appreciate all submissions we have received in the past. We are excited about our new curriculum! But, we are still in the process of determining whether we will continue to receive freelance submissions. We have decided to make a listing/file of all writers that we can contact when we are ready to issue new guidelines or accept new submissions. We have your name on file and will contact you when we are ready to send out new themes and guidelines. We will inform you of further developments, as they become available.''
Mary also reports a reject from Humpty Dumpty with the word that they are currently overstocked. And Turtle told her they are not buying manuscripts right now.
Lori Miescke sent the current address for Wee Lambs:
Wee Lambs, Route 8, Box 7318, Doniphan MO 63935: Paul M. Landis, Editor.
Lori also sent a reminder that this religious publisher for very small children has very specific needs so do get their guidelines and theme lists.
INTERESTING SITES THIS MONTH:
Anyone interested, please check out my online classes, "Write Short Stories for Children." This is basic instruction and is open to all. You can see it at: http://universalclass.com/i/arts/creativewriting/classes/2371.htm.
More experienced writers might want to check out "Children's Fiction: In Depth Plotting." This course requires my permission. Email me for details. It costs more than "Write Short Stories for Children," but offers more in-depth critique. (Four or five instead of one). Participants in this one also get a copy of my market listings. The url is http://universalclass.com/i/arts/creativewriting/classes/3499.htm
If you are interested in either of the above courses, now's the time to sign up. My share of the "take" goes down August 1. I will be raising prices by mid-July to make them worth my time!
HELP!
Geary wants to know if anyone has information about 1st Books. It is a publisher that told him they could handle his 10000 word Christian booklet for $600.00 (Note here--on very short books, which only a few publishers handle, it is sometimes advisable to pay for publication. Do check them out, though. As Jon (from Write4Kids) says, "While I'm not the biggest print-on-demand booster, it is a decent way to go for some writers. Certainly better than a vanity press."
I'm still looking for current information on the following magazines: Animals and You (England), BIG! (England), Black Child (US), Blender (US), Boys' Illustrated (US), Brownie (England), Children's Story Scripts (US), Communique Group (US), Connections (US), Dramatics (US), Eyespy (Australia), Genre Sampler (US), Grandstories (US), Grand Rapids Parent (US), Horsepower Magazine for Young Horse Lovers (Canada), Horseplay Junior (US), Instructor Magazine (US), Jetsetter (Australian), Junior Riders (US), Kidsports (US), Kids Tribute (Canada), Kids World Magazine (Canada), did Lacrosse ever start a children's magazine? (US), The Magazine for Christian Youth (US), Magic Realism (US), Noise (Canada), Outside Kids (US), Play (US), Purple Cow: The Newspaper for Teens by Teens (US), Quake (US), Quest (US), Quote (Australia), School Magazine (Australia), Stable Kids (US), TG…Voices of Today's Generations (Canada), Transcend (US), Young Rider (US), Young Scholar (US), The Young Soldier (Canada), Youth Focus (US)
Does anyone have a current address for Christian Communicator? My submission was returned as "not deliverable as addressed."
CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS:
The Third Annual Writing for Young Readers Workshop will be held at Brigham Young University on July 15-18. Participants work with successful authors and editors. For more information, call BYU Conferences and workshops at (801) 378-2568. Enrollment is limited to 100.
The Glorieta Christian Writers Conference (NM) will be Oct. 22-26. They have children's writing topics on the agenda. Visit www.glorietachristianwritersconference.com for more information. Complete biographical information on all faculty members can also be found at the site. (Is anyone planning to attend this one? I'm seriously considering it. Let me know if you might be there!)
Children's Authors' Bootcamp, the writing workshop led by Laura Backes, Publisher of Children's Book Insider, and children's book author Linda Arms White, will be in Minneapolis on Sept. 7-8 at the Hilton Garden Inn (just minutes from the Mall of America). It will be in Seattle on Sept. 28-29 in the University District. For complete information, go to http://www.WeMakeWriters.com/.
LETTERS:
Note to letter writers: Thank you for your emails. I read them all and I try to answer as many varied questions as possible. I also have a backlog so it can take time. If I don't use your letter in the column within two months, it's for one of the following reasons. (A.) I've answered a very similar question in the past. Please check the FAQ section and the Archives. (most now available at http://www.odsys.net/bookbarn/.) . (B.) I no longer publish letters where I must do more than very minor grammar and spelling corrections. This includes the many letters I get where no capitalization is used. Editing letters takes too much time–and such letters hardly indicate a serious commitment to writing. Believe me, editors never take poorly constructed writing seriously! (C.) I do not critique writing and no longer respond to emails requesting such services.
Dear Margaret:
I love writing, and am waiting for a final decision on a book, which a publisher is serious about (she says it will have top consideration in the fall readings). The waiting is hard as it seems to take so long, and so I am working on other things while I wait. Would you be able to point me in a good direction, publisher-wise, for a book I am working on? It would be best done as a picture book (yes, I know how few are published each year) and while on the surface I see this book as one to read aloud to a child, it is more for the adult doing the reading. It involves treasuring family connections, balancing needs, giving what you create to the world, etc., and will involve about twenty paragraphs of text. The approach I am taking would mean that illustrations would enhance the text in am amazing way.
Do you have any directions for me to go in? I am reluctant to approach the publisher who is considering my first book. She is not a large publisher and only does a few books a year, and this is not really the kind of thing she normally publishes. Thank you, Margaret
Sheila
Dear Sheila:
I think you're wise to be working on something else while waiting (yes, it is a long process!) and I think you're right that the same publisher probably wouldn't be the right one. It's impossible for me to pick a publisher for you. Try to find a Children's Books in Print at a local library. See if anything is published even similar to this in terms of what you are trying to do. You don't want to duplicate anything, of course, but you do want to find publishers who use this type of picture book. Read books they have published; your library can probably get them through Interlibrary Loan if they don't have any on the shelves. Then begin approaching the best publishers for your purpose with proposals.
The very best of luck!
Margaret
Dear Margaret:
Question about the graphics after a book has been written: Do I have to come up with the pictures and the coloring of the book myself? If not, how do I go about having it done. Does it cost to have a book published? How do I go about doing this? I would like to get it in bookstores. How do I do this?
Thank you.
Diona.
Hi, Diona.
If you self-published a book, you will need to come up with your own artwork. If you go the submission route to have larger publishers print it, they usually (not always) want professional illustrators--whom they find--to do the art. Find a good book on marketing to learn how to approach them.
Earlier in the column I gave a site that contains a list for authors who do self-publish. You might want to check that out if you decide to do the book yourself. It is harder for self-published authors to get books in more than just a few bookstores, but I'm sure this site has a lot of information about doing it.
Good luck with your book, whichever way you go with it!
Margaret
JULY TIP: If you don't have writing time this summer, make sure you take notes of anything that seems likely for future projects. Try to avoid envelope backs and restaurant napkins (my weaknesses); they are so darned hard to file! Buy spiral bound recipe cards instead. They fit into camera cases or bags and are easily worked with when you're ready to transcribe your notes!
TO ORDER my complete 350+ Children's Writers magazine market list (paying markets ONLY; approx. 1/3 are Christian markets): send $4.50 in check or money order or $5.00 by Paypal for an email copy; $7.75 ($8.75 outside US) for print snail mail copy. Please, no Paypal payments on these. If you cannot send funds drawn on an actual U.S. bank, please send an International Money order. Please allow 7-10 days for snail mail; up to a month outside US. This list is updated whenever I get new information and is seldom exactly the same two days in a row. Margaret Shauers, 1411 12th Street, Great Bend KS 67530 USA.
Click here to view June's Children's Writers Marketplace
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