editors speak

interview with jennifer reed
editor, wee ones electronic magazine
By Pat Tanumihardja

This month, we are delighted to chat with Wee One’s editor Jennifer Reed. Since more children are being introduced to computers at a young age, Wee Ones was developed as an informative website in a magazine format for children between the ages of 3 and 8. Priding themselves as a safe Internet environment where parents and children can read and learn together, Wee Ones accepts everything from fiction stories to crafts and activities to rebuses. After being online for three years, they still prefer to operate much as a print magazine does, and one thing that means: they pay all their contributors. Let’s talk to Jennifer.

KMW: Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to chat with us on Kidmagwriters.com. What inspired you to create Wee Ones?
JR: We have always read to our children and when my husband and I looked online for literary websites for young kids, there really weren't any. With my background in writing (and I worked on a magazine and several newspapers) and my husband's computer know-how, we decided to create an online literary magazine for children. That was in 2000.

KMW: How is Wee Ones different from all the other children's magazines out there?
JR: We're different because we are online and even now, there are only a handful of true online magazines. I say true because there are many personal sites with stories on them, but very few that actually pay their contributors. We prefer to operate much as a print magazine does. The fact that we buy material makes us stand out from most other online magazines for children.

KMW: Why did you decide to publish an online and not a print magazine?
JR: Originally we put Wee Ones online to test the waters. To see what the response would be and also how it would all work out. We save a lot of overhead cost compared to a print magazine, but still people don't seem to want to pay a subscription for information online and children's literature in particular. We love the easy submission policy and working with people from all over the world.

KMW: What are you looking for in the perfect Wee Ones submission?
JR: Fiction is very difficult to sell in most markets. We are also looking for stories that make us laugh or are true to life but without being trite. The perfect submission not only is a very well written, child appealing piece, but the author has written a brief cover letter stating why their story or article is appropriate for our magazine, why it might be different than something we've done in the past and any writing credits. We look for nonfiction, poetry, crafts and activities and we encourage writers to include these with nonfiction submissions, some rebuses with artwork, and children's material.

KMW: What is your selection process and criteria for submissions?
JR: Obviously, how well written it is comes first. Did the author adhere to our guidelines? Is the subject something we've done in the past or have slated for a future issue? Is it kid-friendly and appealing to our core audience of 7-8 year olds?

KMW: As an editor, what advice would you give to aspiring children's magazine writers? As a fellow writer?
JR: I would say to first, develop your craft of writing. Find out where your strengths are and work on your weaknesses. Even though I am a writing instructor too, I feel it is very important to learn all that you can about the children's publishing industry, the markets, and writing for children. Read books and magazines on writing for children AND read children's books and magazines. Once you feel strongly about your writing, start submitting. Don't worry about rejections because we all get them. They are part of the business. Instead, learn from them and keep writing and submitting. Setting goals is very important too. Set realistic goals and dream big!

KMW: Tell us about Wee Ones’ tagline: “Families Growing Together by Reading Together.”
JR: Because we are online, and we know what a scary place the Internet can be, AND because we know how important it is for parents to read with their children, we wanted to encourage families to come together and read together. Not only is it a great joy for a parent to be active in the education of their children, but children seem to love the computer and Internet for different ways of reading.

KMW: Why do you encourage children to submit too?
JR: I'll never forget when my poem was published in an anthology. I was just ten. I loved to write then and so do many children. We wanted a page or two just for children to encourage them to write stories, poems and draw pictures that we could publish online. Reading and writing go hand and hand and we encourage both.

KMW: You pay your contributors out of your own pocket. How do you manage to do this and why?
JR: Now, times have a changed a bit. We receive an occasional ad to place on Wee Teach, and we are now working with SIRS/Proquest and other publishers who buy our material for their databases and assessment tests. We believe firmly in not going into to debt both from a personal and business perspective. Since we were able to allot so much money each month for Wee Ones, we did. We found that unless we paid people for their work, we just weren't getting the quality submissions we wanted for our magazine. We also wanted to compete with the print magazines. We felt that we couldn't do this or even be taken seriously unless we pay our contributors. We started out at 3 cents a word and have now raised it to 5 cents. We are also paying $10 for poems now.

KMW: How else can one contribute to Wee Ones?
JR: Contributors may submit stories, poems, crafts and activities. Our guidelines and general themes are posted on our site at www.weeonesmag.com under guidelines. We also accept picture books for book reviews from established publishers. The best way to break into our magazine is to read and follow our guidelines and read the current and back issues of Wee Ones.

KMW: What’s happening in Wee Ones’ future?
JF: We are always changing and growing. Next year, 2005, Wee Ones will be bimonthly. This is because of finances and time. Currently it will be more cost effective to be a bimonthly publication. As our resources grow and our staff increases, we hope to go back to monthly. We are always looking for ways to generate revenue, gain more readers and delve into new technologies. We have thrown around the idea of going print and this may be something we will do in the future. Also, charging a subscription is another option we may be pursuing. We look for ideas from outside people too and businesses that would like to partner with us to promote literacy.

This page last updated on 01 August 2004