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You’ve heard of the house that Jack built, right? In this familiar children’s rhyme, the story builds character by character until we
have a complete list of the occupants of that house. This building, layer by layer, is a bit like what happened with an assignment I
landed with the Children's Writers Guide To 2006 .
When I first began writing for children, I diligently searched the net for websites that had anything to do with the field of children’s
writing. There were many websites, but the most helpful website was the Institute of Children’s Literature located in Longridge,
Connecticut. I began in the chat room where I met people who were struggling to get published and people who had succeeded at getting
published. In time, I signed up for one member’s critique newsletter and read the good news from those who got published. Their praises
were encouraging, so in a chat one day I asked my new chat friends about submitting something to the Institute of Children’s Literature,
which paid $50 per published piece. They gave me the encouraging nudge I needed to try.
The articles on the Institute of Children’s Literature's website are meant to help their students and interested writers develop stronger
children’s pieces. I read nearly all the articles on the website to get an idea for the publication’s style and voice. One area that
didn’t get much coverage was character development so that became the focus of my first article.
I looked at character development from the angle of giving a character an interesting flaw. I worked my draft until I had it just right,
then I crossed my fingers and submitted it to the Institute of Children’s Literature. The editor bought it right away!
Emboldened, I sent several more articles to the online editor. Eventually I built up the courage to submit a craft article on similes to
the editor for Children’s Writer. (Children’s Writer is the print version of Institute of Children’s Literature's newsletter
and pays $200 per submission.) After reading my first submission the editor bought the article and showed interest in more of my work.
Over the next six months I sold two more pieces and felt like I was finally going places.
My writing was taking off in other areas as well and my list of contacts was growing by leaps and bounds. Then, while in communication
with the Children’s Writer editor, the editor was looking for articles for the Children's Writers Guide To 2006
and asked if I had any interest in writing an article on “word choice and syntax,” stipulating that I’d have to interview six to eight
writers and/or editors for the article. At the very same time, I had been in communication with an editor at Read
magazine so I quickly e-mailed the editor at READ and asked for an interview, to which she consented. Once I received her consent,
I emailed the Children’s Writer editor back and told her not only would I be interested, but I had secured my first interview! Her
delight at my eager response cinched the assignment. Shortly after confirmation I received a contract and a fee that ranged from $400 to
$500 depending on length.
Now was time to get to work. I outlined my interview questions, developed a theme, conducted the interviews, and gathered material to
slice and dice into the article. One editor gave me such thorough responses that I was able to use the whole interview as a sidebar. The
sidebar extended the article beyond the expected word count and garnered me the full $500 fee.
I encourage you to break into the magazine of your choice by finding an area that lacks quality submissions and sending them in. Another
trick of the trade I learned was to send my writing to one of the magazine’s smaller departments. A filler, or short newsy article, will
give editors a taste of your writing skills and professionalism. And just like Jack, that intrepid house builder from the nursery rhyme,
you’ll be able to begin small and build one success upon another until landing the bigger, more challenging assignments.
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About The Author:
Susan Sundwall writes from her home in upstate New York where she lives with her husband and their Springer Spaniel, Libby.
She may be reached at: SusanSundwall.com
* This article is available for your publication, for a F-E-E.
This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author.
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