Monday Markets for October 13, 2008

by Jodee Redmond

This week’s theme for Monday Markets is magazines for teens. Listen prints articles and true stories, while Calliope focuses on world history. Odyssey will appeal to young science buffs, and the last one on the list, Breakaway, is a Christian publication for teen boys.

Listen Magazine

From the Web Site:

Listen regularly seeks professionally written, teen-oriented articles and true stories running 800 words, and quizzes and shorts no more than 500 words.

Six basic kinds of articles appear in each issue of Listen. TRUE STORIES. These are true stories about the basic conflicts and concerns that teenagers face each day. They may or may not be related directly to drug use. Such issues as peer pressure, decision-making, friendship, family conflict, self-discipline, and suicide have also been addressed. Most of our submissions are about alcohol and tobacco use. For a better chance to be published choose a different topic from our theme list. We have also been inundated with stories about being a new kid in a new school and falling in with the wrong crowd. Another important point to remember when writing true stories for Listen is that we prefer to present individuals who overcome the temptation to experiment with drugs and alcohol or who find a creative way to deal with their situation. Narratives pay $80 and are 800 words. FACTUALS. These articles should present current, accurate information on the nature and effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. A variety of reliable sources should be quoted and submitted with the manuscript, and style and diction should be such as to communicate effectively with teenage readers. Recent subjects have been marijuana, LSD, cocaine, designer drugs, date rape, alcohol advertising, smokeless tobacco, and the war against drugs. Check our current theme list to see exactly what we are covering any given year. Topics vary somewhat. Factual articles pay $100 and are 800 words. POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES. These articles should offer their readers activities that increase one’s sense of self-worth through achievement and/or involvement in helping others. They are often categorized by three kinds of focus:

1. Hobbies – Recent subjects have been scrapbooking, Space Camp, coin collecting, writing Haiku, and blogging.
2. Sports – Listen has recently featured articles on balance boarding, hiking, trampolining, and Geocaching.
3. Clubs – The Civil Air Patrol and the Red Cross Youth Corps are examples of the types of organizations or clubs that have a positive impact on teens and have recently been covered in Listen.

Positive Alternative articles pay $125 and are 1000 words.

PERSONALITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. For our Personality Features, articles focus on teenagers and adults who, because of their achievements as well as their wholesome, upbeat drug-free lifestyles, may serve as positive role models for Listen’s teenage readers. Subjects may come from everyday life as well as professional or amateur sports, the entertainment world, or public life. For our Prime Times Feature, we highlight organizations or ordinary teens making positive contributions to drug-prevention efforts in their communities. Personality articles pay $150 and are 1000 words. Prime Times articles pay $100 and are 800 words.

SELF-HELP AND SOCIAL SKILLS. With this kind of article, Listen offers positive, practical ways in which teenagers may cope with everyday conflicts and develop self-esteem. Subjects may or may not have a direct connection to drug use. Recent topics have been handling spare time, learning ten ways to say no, coping with depression, handling stress, overcoming self-centeredness, coping with military deployment, building a résumé, keeping a job, what to expect and how to survive your first year of college, getting along with a stepparent, etc. Self-help and social skills articles pay $80 and are 800 words.

QUIZZES. These are a recent addition to Listen. Recent topics have been: evaluating a date, Internet safety, how to tell if you drink too much caffeine. Quizzes pay $50 and are 500 words.

Calliope

This magazine is aimed at 8-13 year olds and covers world history.

From the Web Site:

Feature Articles:

700-800 words Includes: in-depth nonfiction, plays, and biographies

Supplemental Nonfiction:

300-600 words Includes: subjects directly and indirectly related to the theme. Editors like little-known information but encourage writers not to overlook the obvious.

Fiction:

up to 800 words Includes: authentic historical and biographical fiction, adventure, retold legends, relating to the theme. The above three pay 20 to 25 cents per printed word.

Activities:

up to 700 words. Includes: crafts, recipes, woodworking, or any other interesting projects that can be done either by children alone or with adult supervision. Sketches and description of how activity relates to theme should accompany queries.

Puzzles and Games:

(please, no word finds). Crossword and other word puzzles using the vocabulary of the issue’s theme. Mazes and picture puzzles that relate to the theme. The above three pay on an individual basis.

Odyssey

Odyssey is a science magazine geared toward children between the ages of 10-16.

From the Web Site:

Science explains and enhances everything we do. Each month, ODYSSEY^TM journeys into other dimensions – of space, technology, the environment, the human body, mathematics, and emerging areas – in a way that shows kids just how cool science can be. Each theme-based issue delves into topics in depth, in a magazine that is both visually and intellectually exciting and entertaining.

• Most current research presents science as a vital link to daily life
• Multidisciplinary approach teaches reading, history, and science
• Articles promote inquiry, investigation, and analysis

A query must consist of all of the following information to be considered:

1. a brief cover letter stating the subject and word length of the proposed article,
2. a detailed one-page outline explaining the information to be presented in the article,
3. a bibliography of sources (including interviews) the author intends to use in preparing the article,
4. a self-addressed stamped envelope

Authors new to ODYSSEY^TM should send a writing sample with the query. If you would like to know if your query has been received, please also include a stamped postcard that requests acknowledgement of receipt. In all correspondence, please include your complete address as well as a telephone number and / or email address where you can be reached.

Breakaway

Breakaway is a Chrisian magazine for boys between the ages of 12 and 17.

From the Web Site:

NON-FICTION About 50-75% of BREAKAWAY will be staff written or assigned. Free-lance material accepted will contain: 1. Biographical articles and/or “question and answer” interviews with junior highers, senior highers or even young adults whom junior highers would look up to. These individuals should have gone through trials (major or minor) or have done something outstanding. They must be able to communicate their feelings and the spiritual lessons learned in a way readers will relate to. 2. How-to stories. Examples would be: making extra cash, getting homework done, approaching their parents for…, relating to the opposite sex…, etc. 3. Personal profiles of Christians in the spotlight. Pro athletes, missionaries, musicians, actors, etc.

FICTION Our quality stories on young-adolescent themes contain adventure with well-developed characters that kids can relate to. They will be fast-paced in style, holding the reader’s interest throughout. They may also contain one or perhaps two “points” that are easily caught by the reader. But at all costs avoid Christian jargon, cliches, preaching and other dialogue that isn’t realistic or that interrupts the flow of the story. We will consider fiction up to 2,000 words.

HUMOR Short or long, humor that teen guys will relate to is a must for BREAKAWAY. Things that happen at school, home, on vacations or at church are fair game. Humor at the expense of adults, however, is not appropriate. Don’t try to weave in spiritual content here unless it comes naturally; just be funny. Most stories will run between 600-1,000 words.

DEVOTIONAL The “Epic Truth” department is our chance to go deeper into the particular theme for the month. They need to be biblically solid, but not too theological for the 13-year-old mind to comprehend. Up to 900 words.

Pays $0.12-$0.15 per word on acceptance.