Young Rider: Market Spotlight
For this week’s market spotlight, we look at Young Rider, a magazine for horse-crazy tweens and teens aged eight to 15.
Young Rider is a magazine aimed at young horse enthusiasts aged eight to 15. It's basically the tween and teen version of its sister magazine, Horse Illustrated.
The editors say, "For more than 20 years, it has delivered a fun-filled mixture of English and Western riding instruction, horse care tips, contests, beautiful color posters, and stories about real kids. Young Rider continues to encourage and inspire kids to pursue their passion for better riding and horsemanship."
They don't have their pay rates listed on their site, but previous editions of Writer's Market note they've previously paid $150 for fiction and $200 for nonfiction.
What They’re Looking For
Young Rider is seeking fiction and nonfiction specifically aimed at horse-crazy tweens and teens. They claim the "sweet spot" for word count is around 800 words.
For nonfiction, the editors are most interested in English and western riding lessons, horse care and how-tos for kids, horse-related DIY projects and crafts, fun quizzes and interactive articles, and stories about real-life, regular kids doing interesting things with horses.
For fiction, the editors warn writers away from trite themes like "children overcoming the odds to win at shows" or "struggling to buy/get a horse of their own." Rather, keep it funny, with a bit of conflict, and aimed specifically at 13-year-olds.
The editors say, "They should be in the third person and about kids. The story should have a definite plot, some sort of conflict (humorous, serious, or not‐so‐serious), and a resolution. Think Canterwood Crest, Saddle Club, and other tween/teen popular horse‐related series."
How to Submit
Potential writers can submit completed manuscripts or well-outlined queries via email to yreditor@egmediamags.com.
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No other market is as open to the freelance writer as the magazine market. From trade and association publications, to special interest magazines, to regional and national consumer publications, editors are looking for writers who can deliver well-researched, reader-targeted articles on deadline. To make it in this market, you want to learn how to identify a magazine's editorial needs and—most important—how to fill them.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
