Top 10 Markets To Share Your Life With The World

by Sharon Pettis

Last month you shared your dazzling expertise on your favorite hobby. How about sharing your life this month? The following markets have been hand-picked to give you an outlet to share how you've overcome (or failed at) life's curveballs.

THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
77 N. Washington St.
Boston MA 02114
Phone: (617) 854-7749
Fax: (617) 854-7877
Website: www.theatlantic.com
Contact: C. Michael Curtis, senior editor.
Magazine covering the arts and public affairs. Tight, high-level writing. This is one of the most sought-after markets out there, so competition is fierce. Your target reader is extremely well-educated and cultural.

Guidelines available online. Pays on acceptance. Buys First North American serial rights. Query by mail with published clips. Expect a response in 2 months. Length: 1,000–6,000 words, payment varies. Sometimes pays expenses.

CONDÉ NAST BRIDE'S
Condé Nast
4 Times Square
6th Floor
New York NY 10036
Fax: (212) 286-8331
Website: www.brides.com
Contact: Sally Kilbridge, managing editor

Magazine written for engaged women planning their weddings. Avoid wedding planning articles, because these are usually written by experts. Personal essays from a bride, groom, or bridesmaids' point of view are acceptable; aim for about 800 words. Shoot for writing to help new brides adjust to married life.

Pays on acceptance. Buys all rights. Editorial lead time 6 months- 1 year. Accepts queries by mail with published clips. Expect a response in 3 months. Writer's guidelines for #10 SASE. Article Length: 800–2,000 words, pays $1/word for assigned articles. Pays the expenses of writers on assignment.

CRUISING WORLD
The Sailing Co.
5 John Clarke Rd.
Newport RI 02840-0992
Phone: (401) 845-5100
Fax: (401) 845-5180
Website: www.cruisingworld.com
Contact: Tim Murphy, executive editor

Magazine covering sailing on 20-50 foot sailboats. Also includes do-it-yourself improvements. Readers are generally sailboat owners who cruise locally as well as internationally.

Pays on acceptance for articles. Publishes manuscript 18 months after acceptance.
Buys 6-month, all-world, first time rights (amendable). Accepts queries by mail with published clips and SASE. Expect a response in 1 month to queries, 4 months to manuscripts.
Writer's guidelines available at website. Pays $50-1,500 for assigned articles; $50-1,000 for unsolicited articles, $100-700 for columns. Sometimes pays the expenses of writers on assignment.

FRONTIER MAGAZINE
Adventure Media
3983 S. McCarran Blvd.
No. 434
Reno NV 89502
Phone: (775) 856-3532
E-Mail: frontier@adventuremedia.com
Website: www.frontiermag.com
Contact: Laura Hengstler, editor.

Magazine covering travel, with special emphasis on the Rocky Mountain states. All articles must relate to destinations on Frontier Airlines' route.

Pays on publication. Publishes manuscript 4 months after acceptance. Buys First North American serial rights. Editorial lead time 4 months. Accepts queries by mail and E-mail with published clips. Expect a response in 2 months to queries or manuscripts. Article length: 350–1,500 words, pays 25-50¢/word.

HOPE MAGAZINE
How to be Part of the Solution
Hope Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 160
Brooklin ME 04616
Phone: (207) 359-4651
Fax: (207) 359-8920
E-Mail: info@hopemag.com
Website: www.hopemag.com
Contact: Sarah T. Bray, editorial assistant

Magazine covering ways people address challenges. They are not looking for fluffy, feel-good, stories, but pieces to show the sometimes ugly reality of things and how everyday people deal with them. From their guidelines: “It is not nice stories of nice people doing nice things. It is not Hope Lite. To inspire the best in us, Hope must be about challenge and struggle and triumph-and sometimes even failure.”

FAMILY FUN
Disney Magazine Publishing, Inc.
244 Main St.
Northampton MA 01060-3107
Phone: (413)585-0444
Fax: (413)586-5724
Website: www.familyfun.com
Contact: See column information for contact names.

Magazine covering activities for families with children ages 3-12. While they are not currently shopping for features, they have plenty of columns that pay better than average.

Pays on acceptance. Buys simultaneous rights and gives work-for-hire assignments. Editorial lead time 6 months. Expect a response in 3 months. Guidelines available online. Query with published clips
Pays the expenses of writers on assignment.

Columns:
Family Almanac, Nicole Blasenak, assistant editor (quick, practical, inexpensive ideas and projects--outings, crafts, games, nature activities), 200-400 words; query or send ms; pays $100-$200/article or $150 for ideas.

Family Traveler, Adrienne Stolarz, (brief, newsy items about family travel, especially the newest and the cheapest), 100-125 words; send ms; pays $100, also pays $50 for ideas.

Family Ties, Kathy Whittemore, senior editor (first-person column that about a funny, interesting, or inspirational aspect of family life); 1,300 words; send ms; pays $1,625.

My Great Idea, Dawn Chipman, senior editor (fun ideas that work); 800-1,000 words; query or send ms; pays $1,250 on acceptance

LATINA MAGAZINE
Latina Media Ventures
1500 Broadway
7th Floor
New York NY 10036
Phone: (212)642-0200
E-Mail: editor@latina.com
Website: www.latina.com
Contact info: see column info for editor

Magazine covering Latina lifestyle.
Freelance Facts:
Pays on publication. Publishes manuscript 2-3 months after acceptance. Buys First rights, Second serial (reprint) rights and/or Electronic rights. Editorial lead time 3-5 months. Pays $1/word. Pays expenses. Accepts queries by e-mail. Expect a response in 1 month to queries, 2 months to manuscripts.

Columns:
Entertainment Calendar, Elizabeth Carroll (ecarroll@latina.com);
Becoming Latina, ñ Chronicles (300-600 wds), Dolores Prida (dprida@latina.com);
Issues and News (400-3000 wds.), Della De LaFuente (ddelafuente@latina.com);
Real People, Love & Sex (400-800 wds), Nancy Gavilanes, assistant editor (ngavilanes@latina.com);
Health and Wellness(400-800 wds.), Ana Pelayo (apelayo@latina.com);
Fashion, Victoria Sanchez, fashion director (vsanchez@latino.com);
Beauty, Yesenia Almonte, beauty editor (valmonte@latina.com).

MAINE TIMES
Maine Times Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 2129
Bangor ME 04402
Phone: (207) 947-4410
Fax: (207) 947-4458
E-Mail: bketchum@mainetimes.com
Website: www.mainetimes.com
Contact: Brad Ketchum Jr., editor

Magazine for Maine residents (past, present and prospective) and regular visitors.

Pays on acceptance, Accepts queries by mail and E-mail with published clips.
Article lengths: Essays (750-1,000 words), Opinion (400-600 words), Personal Experience (750-1,000 words), 1,800-3,500 words (features). Pays 50¢-$1.50/word. Does not pay expenses.

NEW JERSEY MONTHLY
The Magazine of the Garden State
New Jersey Monthly, LLC
55 Park Place
P.O. Box 920
Morristown NJ 07963-0920
Phone: (973) 539-8230
Fax: (973) 538-2953
E-Mail: editor@njmonthly.com
Website: www.njmonthly.com
Contact: Christopher Hann, senior editor
New Jersey living magazine. Readers tend to be affluent, and long time (20+ year) residents of the state. Although they are currently looking for investigative reporters, they do publish Exit Ramp, a back page essay piece, every month.
Publishes manuscript 3 months after acceptance. Buys First North American serial rights. Lead time 3-6 months. Accepts queries by mail with published clips and SASE. Expect a response in 2 months to queries. Writer's guidelines for $2.95. Pays $750-2,500, $400 for back page essay. Pays expenses with prior approval.

READER'S DIGEST
Reader's Digest Rd.
Pleasantville NY 10570-7000
Website: www.readersdigest.com
Contact: Editorial Correspondence (address editor of department you are looking to publish in)

General interest magazine with circulation of 13 million. Be sure you submit your best writing for this one, as the competition is fierce! Look for stories with a universal message that will move a broad audience in terms of race, gender, age, etc.

Pays on acceptance. Buys exclusive world periodical and electronic rights. Editorial lead time 3-6 months.
Accepts queries by mail with published clips and SASE. Article length: 1,000–2,500 words.
Original article rates generally begin at $5,000, see below for column info. Pays $1,200/Reader's Digest page for World Digest rights for reprints (usually split 50/50 between original publisher and writer).
Columns:
100 word columns: "Life's Like That, Humor in Uniform, Campus Comedy, Virtual Hilarity and All in a Day's Work (unpublished personal experience stories, pays $400 on publication.). Towards More Picturesque Speech-$50 for original material, $35 for reprints. For items used in Laughter, the Best Medicine, Personal Glimpses, Quotable Quotes, Notes From All Over, Points to Ponder and elsewhere in the magazine payment is as follows; $35 for original material, $30/Reader's Digest two-column line for reprints.

Sharon Pettis is a freelance writer and graphic designer in Northern Virginia. She has written a variety of articles for the web, and is a nonfiction slush pile reader for Writer Online. She specializes in customized marketing communications solutions for small business. Email her at slpettis@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.geocities.com/slpettis.