editors speak

APPLESEEDS
Susan Buckley, editor
By Jan Fields

This month we’re chatting with Susan Buckley, the editor of APPLESEEDS, a social studies magazine for third and fourth grade students. APPLESEEDS relies heavily on good freelance nonfiction and is part of the Cobblestone family of magazines.

KMW: Thank you for chatting with us. Since APPLESEEDS takes a summer break, I assume schools make a major portion of the subscribers. Do you find that homeschoolers also make up a size-able number? Do your themes reflect your connection with schools?
SB: Yes, schools and school libraries are a major subscriber base. Homeschoolers are an important group of subscribers, but I don't have a sense of what proportion they make up. (The main offices at Cobblestone might have that data.) Given our audience, we pay careful attention to themes that elementary teachers would find useful in the classroom and that elementary students would find appealing.

KMW: I know APPLESEEDS uses very little fiction. In the Industrial Revolution issue (which I have before me) I see a piece called "Life in a Boarding House" which is written in first person, present tense so it's clearly fiction. It outlines a day in the life of a mill girl. Is that generally the sort of fiction you take -- more informative, less plot-linked?
SB: APPLESEEDS is primarily a nonfiction magazine. Fiction, poetry and retellings of folktales appear in the Reading Corner, as does occasional original fiction. We do also include what I call "creative nonfiction"--stories such as the “Life in a Boarding House" in which the writer takes on the role of a person in history. Although the focus of such pieces is essentially nonfiction content, the information is presented in a fictional style.

KMW: Do you prefer your crafts be period-true? I see in the Industrial Revolution issue, you have a homemade spindle which would certainly be related to the period but it's made from a CD -- a definite technological wonder -- are you pretty comfortable with that blending of old and new?
SB: The Fun Stuff features, in which students do craft projects, cook, and the like vary widely. The essential requirements are that they relate closely to the theme, are safe to do, and that kids will have fun in the process.

KMW: I see a strong focus on making history relevant for today's reader throughout this Industrial Revolution issue -- not only comparing past and present in the articles about the Industrial Revolution but also specific looks around today's world such as the article looking at the items we use today that began in the Industrial Revolution. Also the article on today's technological changes. Is this part of all the issues? Do writers need to keep this in mind during the query stage -- how might they assure you that they intend to bring that relevancy to the article?
SB: Making history relevant, engaging, and accessible is key to APPLESEEDS' philosophy.

KMW: What kind of interactive content do you like best -- crafts? recipes? puzzles? Are there any types you would like to see more of?
SB: All of the above!

KMW: How open are you to queries from less experienced writers? What would you look for in a query from such a writer? How might newer writers convince you of the quality of their scholarship?
SB: We are very open to working with new writers, but judge their queries with a more critical eye than we might apply to one from an experienced writer, especially one from an experienced writer whom we've worked with in the past. If the query is well expressed and fully developed, we would be willing to give a new writer a chance, particularly if the query is an imaginative one. If the query is cursory and/or not well written, we would not take a chance.

KMW: Should a query contain information about photo sources or does APPLESEEDS prefer to track down their own photos?
SB: Information on photo sources is not required but IF the writer has knowledge of available photos or IF the article is a photo essay or the like, then information on photos should be part of the query. We do do our own photo research but find it very helpful to have ideas and information from writers. This is more relevant to actual assignments than to the query process, however.

KMW: What do you see too much of in queries you receive? What would you like to see more of?
SB: We receive a wonderfully large number of excellent queries for most of our issues. A small proportion come in as a two or three line idea (and these are almost always rejected), but most are very well conceived and the ideas are thoughtfully developed.
As an additional note, in this electronic age, we MUCH prefer receiving queries via email. Simplest for us, too, is to have the query in the body of the email rather than sent as an attachment. Themes for the 06-07 year (!) have not yet been posted, but should be available on the website within the next month.

This page last updated on 01 September 2005