Get Paid to Write for Children
Are you an aspiring children’s author? While you’re working on your children’s book, why not get your feet wet by writing for children’s publications? Here are a few magazines that pay (well) for pieces written for children. Who knows, by getting published in one of these, you may even have a better chance of being picked up for a traditional publishing deal.
Get paid to write children’s literature: Boy’s Life
Boy’s Life is the magazine for Boy Scouts in the US. They’re interested in a wide variety of subjects of interest to boys, including but not limited to US history, professional sports, and how-tos for outdoor adventures.
They pay $500 to $1,500 for major articles (500-1,500 words). For departments, they pay $100 to $600 for up to 600 words.
Make sure to write with the target audience in mind (boys ages 6-17), look at back issues, and read the writer’s guidelines closely before querying by snail mail only (and don’t forget a SASE).
Get paid to write children’s literature: Cricket Media
Cricket Media is a collection of wonderful magazines for children. I’ve been reading Babybug and Ladybug magazines to my kiddos since they were babies, and I’d love to have my writing featured in one of these magazines one day.
Cricket Media offers publications for children of various age groups, so check out the info on each magazine below before deciding which one you’ll pitch.
Cricket Media publishes both literary and non-fiction magazines for children, and accepts poetry, features, how-tos, and more. Here are details about each literary magazine.
Babybug Magazine features poems, very short stories, and finger plays for parents to read with their children ages 6 months to 3 years. Poems, rhymes and fingers plays must be a maximum of 6 lines, while stories must be a maximum of 6 sentences.
Stories pay up to 25 cents per word, while poems pay up to $3.00 per line. Please ensure to read the very helpful and detailed writer’s guidelines prior to pitching, and be sure to only submit through their portal, where you can choose which magazine(s) you’ll be submitting to.
Ladybug Magazine, for ages 3 to 6, features stories, poetry, nonfiction, and activities with a “genuinely childlike point of view.” Fiction may be up to 800 words, but they encourage much shorter manuscripts considering the young audience.
Poems are usually rhyming and should be no longer than 20 lines. Nonfiction should explore parts of a child’s world or present new cultures, and can be up to 400 words. For nonfiction, photos or backup materials may be requested upon acceptance.
They pay up to 25 cents per word for stories and articles, while poems get up to $3.00 per line. Be sure to read the writer’s guidelines closely and only submit through the portal.
Spider, for ages 6-9, seeks literature, poetry, and articles for children who have recently learned to read independently. Fiction should be 300-1,000 words, while poetry can be up to 20 lines.
Nonfiction for Spider magazine must be well-researched, and can be about animals, kids ages 6-9 doing awesome things, or science discoveries of interest to young children. Nonfiction should have a great narrative, be engaging for this young age group, and be 300-800 words.
They also accept crafts, recipes and activities that readers can do on their own with minimal parental assistance. These can be 1-4 pages long.
They pay up to 25 cents per word for stories and articles, up to $3.00 per line for poems, and a $75 flat rate for activities and recipes. Be sure to read the super helpful guidelines very closely, read back issues, and only submit through the portal.
Cricket, a magazine for ages 9-14, seeks fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction. For fiction, they accept a wide variety of genres and want stories that are well told with a good plot, solid character development, and that have a good conclusion.
They are particularly interested in historical fiction, however, many other genres are accepted also. They also want stories about diverse cultures. Most stories are 1200-1800 words, but they also accept shorter pieces of 600-900 words.
Cricket also seeks nonfiction that is well researched “beyond reviewing websites,” and they’re interested in a variety of subjects. Nonfiction pieces should be 1200-1800 words.
Poems are usually 8-15 lines, but can be anywhere from 3-35 lines. You can submit up to 6 poems at a time.
Finally, Cricket also seeks recipes, games, and activities, and is especially interested in games from across cultures and history.
Payment for Cricket pieces is up to 25 cents per word for stories, up to $3.00 per line for poems, and $75 flat rate for activities and recipes.
In addition to the literary magazines for young children, Cricket Media also publishes children’s nonfiction magazines focusing on science, American history, world cultures, and geography.
Some of Cricket Media’s magazines do not accept unsolicited submissions, so I have not included them below. All of their nonfiction magazines that do accept unsolicited submissions only do so if they are pitched according to an editions’ theme. See details below.
Ask, a science magazine for children 7-10 years old, seeks stories that help answer questions related to a central theme for each edition. Rates are not given, but considering the rates for all other magazines published by Cricket Media, I would assume it would be equivalent. Be sure to check the themes and only submit according to these. Also, review the writer’s guidelines closely before pitching, as always.
Muse is a science and discovery magazine for children 9-14. Be sure to check out the themes before pitching. Your query must include a cover letter and a detailed proposal of your article. New writers to Muse also need to submit a resumé and writing sample. Again, rates are not given, but Cricket Media pays writers well in general. Be sure to read all of the writer’s guidelines before pitching.
Cobblestone is an American History magazine for children ages 8-14. All articles must be well-researched from primary sources. They accept queries for feature articles (700-800 words), supplemental nonfiction (300-600 words), fiction (up to 800 words) and activities (up to 500 words).
They also accept queries for poetry (up to 100 lines), and puzzles and games (but not word searches).
All submissions must relate to an edition’s theme, which you can find in the excellent and detailed writer’s guidelines. Send only queries, not completed manuscripts. Queries must be detailed and sent according to the submission procedure, so be sure to read those writer’s guidelines in detail before querying. Again, while rates are not mentioned, Cricket Media is known for paying writers well. Querying is worth it.
Faces is a geography and world cultures magazine aimed at 9 to 14-year-olds. All editions follow a theme, so be sure to review those by reading the very detailed writer’s guidelines.
Faces magazine seeks feature articles of 700-800 words, supplemental nonfiction of 300-600 words, fiction of up to 800 words, and activities of up to 700 words. They also accept puzzles and games, but not crossword puzzles.
Queries must be detailed and include a cover letter and bibliography of articles the author intends to use. Do not send completed manuscripts; send queries only. Again, payment is not stated in the writer’s guidelines; however, Cricket Media is known for paying writers well. Just be sure to review the contract once you receive it and to firm up payment details.
These are just some of the well-known children’s magazines that accept unsolicited submissions. Which one will you pitch first?
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I really love writing eversince I was a child. I also read a lot.And I am extremely challenged upon searching this kind of invitation of yours about making money out of writing. WOW! I wish I could get there soon. Thank you 😊!
Thank you for reading, Nancy, and best of luck with your writing career. You can do it!
Once met a family whose Father wrote books also a school friends Father wrote also