Sunday, October 25, 2009

Old Story/New Magazine

Quite a few years ago, I wrote a read-aloud story for kids in the 4-7 year old set. "The Boy Who Wanted A Tail" was based on an actual happening in our family. Our son, Kirk, when about 3 or 4 years old, told me he wanted a tail. No amount of talking convinced him it wouldn't be a good idea for a boy to have a tail. So I promised him we'd look for one at the store. We checked at many stores, and once he learned no one had a tail to buy, he gave up on the idea. The story I wrote has a little different ending but is mostly true. I sent it to several magazines and never did sell it, revised it and tried again, but still no luck.

In August, I sent it to a brand new magazine which published its first issue in September, and they liked it well enough to publish it in this November's issue. Proof that writers shouldn't give up on old stories. All that's necessary is to find the right spot for it.

This time, the right spot turned out to be a 132 page print magazine called Knowonder! It's new and has an interesting concept. Knowonder! has a children's fiction story for every day of the month, along with art work and articles for parents. Combining all that in one magazine covers a lot of bases. They do not pay the story authors, but at the end of the month, readers are asked to vote for the three top stories. The authors of those stories receive $100, $200, or $300, depending on number of votes. It costs the publisher a mere $600 to obtain 30 or 31 stories for each issue. It draws authors with the possibility of winning one of those three top story prizes. A win/win situation.

Knowonder! publishes both the print edition and an online edition. To see the magazine, go to http://www.knowonder.com/   Toward the end of November, I just may be asking for readers to vote for "The Boy Who Wanted A Tail."  Kirk gave up wanting a tail, but maybe he'll vote for his mom's story..

2 comments:

  1. Congrats Nancy and thanks for the market lead!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually I'm still checking the stores looking for a tail but can't seem to find one. I'm 41 and haven't given up my dream. :)

    ReplyDelete

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