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Do you have a student who excels in writing or art? Perhaps you can encourage your student to submit his/her work to a publisher. There are many publishers out there who are looking for student work. Most offer students several free copies of their magazine and send a nice letter congratulating the student that his/her work will appear in a future issue. A few pay a small amount, such as $5.00 or $10.00.
Here are a few tips that you should know to help your student submit his/her work:
- Always send a SASE (Self-addressed, stamped envelope) in the envelope with the student's story, poem, drawing, etc.
- Always put the student's name, address, phone number with area code, and age on the student's work.
- Never send original work. Always send a copy. (You never know if you'll get it back in the mail and publishers are notorious for losing submissions.)
- If student is sending in writing, make sure it is neat and legible and if student has access to a computer, see if he/she can type the submission.
- Remind student to keep trying. A professional writer or artist receives many rejections. It's just part of the process of getting published. If the student's work comes back, send it to a different publisher. Kent Brown Jr., publisher of Highlights for Children, says that the only difference between a published writer and a non-published writer is the amount of rejections he/she has received! This is so true. I received 25 rejections on my first published story.
Here are some addresses of publishers who might want to publish your student's work.
Encourage students to look at these magazines to see if their work is similar to the other student work in the magazines. Many of these magazines are interested in book reviews, poems, hobby tips, short stories, drawings, jokes, riddles, paintings, photographs, letters to the editor, etc. Many have a "student page", contests, and invite students to answer questions for future issues. Boys' Life pays $10.00 for each hobby tip they publish.
American Girl
Pleasant Company Publications
8400 Fairway Place
Middleton, WI 53562
www.americangirl.com
Cricket Magazine Group
Carus Publishing Company
315 Fifth Street
Peru, IL 61354
www.cricketmag.com
Boys' Life
1325 W. Walnut Hill Lane
PO Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015
www.boyslife.org
Storyworks
Scholastic Inc.
555 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
storyworks@scholastic.com
(Storyworks has contests, monthly mad libs, a "Writers' Nook" which features book reviews written by students, and fun monthly writing workshops for students.
**This is my choice for teachers to use in their classrooms to help get students excited about reading, books, and writing. This magazine is totally dedicated to the theme of writing/books/reading and is just plain ol' fun. I especially like the monthly mad lib which students can do on their own or as a class.)
Best of luck in encouraging your students in their writing. If you have any questions or would like for me to look at a student's work, you may email me. Be sure to send me your good news when a student gets published. I'll do my best to send him/her a note of praise.
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