special report

Boys’ Life

February 2010 Issue
Boys’ Life is the magazine for the Boy Scouts of America.
Theme: Happy 100th Birthday, BSA!

You can read their guidelines online (PDF).
Although Boys’ Life only asks for one time use for their magazine (but they want FIRST use), they do also request electronic rights – they do not buy reprints. So, this may affect resale to another magazine that wants electronic rights and might be something for a writer to keep in mind. Since Boy’s Life pays extremely well (from $400 to $1500 for an article), I doubt this would give anyone pause, still it’s good to remember so you don’t get yourself into trouble when you try to sell reprints.

According to Boys’ Life guidelines, they accept articles from 500 to 1500 words. After reading over a year’s worth of articles including recent issues, this is what I’ve seen:
The long articles feature boy scouts. So if you’re doing an article on boys making a different in the environment – they will have to be boy scouts. If you do an article on boys going to circus school – they will have to be boy scouts. Articles that feature boys doing cool things will feature boy scouts. Most of the writing is written at a twelve-year-old interest level and reading level.

Profiles of athletes or celebrities doing things of huge interest to boys will be shorter and don’t have to feature boy scouts. Articles on subjects relating to merit badges are generally very short. Also popular were articles featuring hands-on tips for scouting-type activities, but actual boy scouts did not have to be involved – so tips for safe boating, or tips for building a better campfire, things like that.

Departments (with articles from 100 – 600 words) include science, nature, earth, health, sports, space and aviation, cars, computers, entertainment, pets, history, music…watch the news for interesting things that could interest boys.

Fiction should target boys very specifically – boys as characters and boy friendly topics like humor, mystery, science fiction and adventure. Think about what boys like not what you think they should be told. Note, not every issue includes fiction.

QUERY FOR NONFICTION – unsolicited nonfiction manuscripts are returned unread according to their guidelines. FICTION can be sent as a finished manuscript or a query.

QUERY Nonfiction Features to Senior Editor Paula Murphey.
QUERY Nonfiction Departments to Associate Editor Brad Riddell
Fiction to Senior Editor Paula Murphey.

Boys’ Life
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
P.O. Box 1520979
Irving, TX 75015

ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC ISSUE
Boys’ Life
February 2010

Hitchin’ Rack – These are letters to the editor. The letters often mention funny things. The boys like the funny parts of the magazine, which is something to keep in mind because I guarantee the editors are keeping that in mind.

This Month – A Calendar page with blurbs about the Winter Olympics and about two products (a website for buying customized skateboards and a light up construction set.)

History – “An Explorer Ignored.” A 100+ short piece about Matt Henson who went to the North Pole with Robert Peary Also a bulleted list of cool facts about a book about the presidents.

Collecting – A little blurb about flash drives shaped like Star Wars characters. Also little notes from readers about things they collect. The lists of things they collect could inspire articles or stories: animal tracks, railroad spikes, fortunes from fortune cookies, and novelty socks.

Scouting Around – “Nothing But Nets” about a program with BSA and NBA to raise malaria awareness and send mosquito nets to Africa. Also “Malaria: What You Need to Know” with facts about malaria.

Ask Us Anything – Advice column – answered question about keeping up with homework, one about a mom who won’t let her son play football, one about a boy who wants to have girls as friends, and one about a fickle girlfriend.

BL Headliners – Unique format of “key facts” about scouts and others doing super cool things. Each piece has a byline so clearly these are open to contributors. The featured boy is shown on a pretend newspaper with a headline of two to four words (like a title) and a subheadline that explains a little more what the piece is about and mentions if the boy is a scout (in this issue, a biker was a scout and the other boy was a former scout and won a role in a television history program.) Then beside this graphic you have a kind of “form” with these items:
Name: (the profiled boy’s name)
Born: (birthdates)
Hometown: (city and state)
Scout Rank: (if relevant)
Made Headlines: This is the one paragraph “thing he did.”
The Scoop: More backup information to the “headline"
Other Interests: (other things the boy likes) – In a biker profile, this was called “Off the Track”
The Future: What the boy plans to do when he grows up.
Advice: an inspiring quote from the boy.

Photo Contest Winners – a look at the photos by boys, includes a photo of the boy and a blurb around him and the photo.

A Good Times Gathering by Brad Riddell – staff written piece on scouts celebrating the 100 year anniversary of BSA.

Times Have Changed by Brad Riddell – staff written piece on how life in 1910 differs from life in 2010, written as “fast facts” style.

Super Scouts – celebrity scouts including presidents/politicians, astronauts, sports figures, a director, and businessmen.

2010 Winter Olympics: Who’s Who & What’s What by Harold Goldberg. Photo Essay, lists each sport with a short (2 short sentence) description of the sport and cool facts about it. Also have a quote from an athlete in each sport.

Scout Program: To Keep Myself Physically Strong by Aaron Derr – Gives tips for getting physically fit./Four Steps to Better Fitness looks at exercise, food, sleep, and safety.

Running For All Sports by Marc Bloom. Looks at how running can specifically improve performance in a variety of sports. Has drills for distance running, sprint work, and “competitive edge” which combines running with sport specific activities.

Chasing the Checkered Flag by Wayne DeWald – Profile of Chase Elliot, the 14-year-old son of Bill Elliott (NASCAR) who raced go-karts and now competes in car races with adults.

A Crucial Victory by Thomas Fleming – historical fiction divided into two issues. The story of a young bugler for the American Troups during the Revolutionary War. In this second installment, the boy overcomes his fear and saves General Washington’s life in a battle.

Scouts in Action – graphic novel type presentation of scouts who did heroic things.

The Wacky Adventures of Pedro – comic about the magazine’s mascot, a mule named Pedro.

Pee Wee Harris – a comic with a clever boy.

Bible Stories -- picture to illustrate a quote from Exodus from the life of Moses.

Games – games for IPhone/IPod, the value of really old games, a PC driving game, and different game system new releases. Mostly very short blurbs about each game.

The last three pages are reader photos and jokes.

This page last updated on 01 February 2010