A few years ago, I pitched a "Monster of the Month" feature to a children's magazine. Each month, we'd dedicate one page to a creature, animal or monster from a popular children's novel. There would be details, diagrams and characteristics, as if the animal were a real part of natural history. This one was GARUDA, the talking bird from Lloyd Alexander's THE IRON RING. Anybody read that one? (Click the image to read the fine print.)
Anyway, it didn't fly. Getting a story published in a magazine is pretty challenging--getting a monthly feature in a magazine is practically impossible. I did a bunch of sample pages, which you'll be seeing this week. It went back and forth with the editors and the art director (he really liked the idea.) But it ended up in the 'ol Unpublished Box. Up until now, they've never been seen in public.
So if any magazine editors are lurking out there, how about it? "Monster of the Month." Pretty cool right?
this is AWESOME!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea! I mean, think of all the kids who'd want to read the book after seeing the monster... foolish magazine editors!
ReplyDeleteIt would have been fun, but I can't blame the editors. It's rough out there for magazines, this particular magazine recently cut their run down to eight issues a year.
ReplyDeleteI think there was also some worry about legal issues--like what if the author didn't WANT their character used.
One of my inspirations for the concept was "Barlowe's Guide to Extra Terrestrials" a now out-of-print book doing basically the same thing.