Carus Publishing?

Has anyone ever attempted to be published with one of the Carus magazines (Cicada, Cricket, Spider, etc.)? Does anyone know anything worth saying about them?

I recently submitted to Cicada magazine (a teen literary mag), and will probably submit to some other Carus magazines in the next years, and just wanted to know if anyone knew anything about their processes behind the scenes.

I know that they are a very class/quality publisher, so I'm not looking for anything in that body of water.

Thanks,
Cyyschn

I've attempted Ladybug, but to no avail. Yet.

Re: Carus

I sent one story to Cricket at the end of Feb. heard back in June. They seem to be quite busy there. I'm still not sure I'm clear on what they want. Have you read three to six of their magazines to determine what kind of stories they're buying?

I did recently find an article on mystery stories that said that Critchet allowed a bit more leeway than Highlights when it came to letting the characters be in threstening situations.

I've tried to message it to you but it was no go on your inbox. Let me know if anyone wants it. It said many kids magazines want more mysteries than they are getting.

Take Care,
wwwatcher

Re: Carus

I submitted to Babybug last week and my boyfriend is mailing my submission to Ladybug this morning. I haven't submitted or sold to them before so I'm not sure how things work with them.

I'll let you know when I do hear something.

I picked up the Ladybug and Spider Magazines from the library, quite fun to read, I especially like the poems, which are also what I am writing.

Re: Carus

I've sold to both Ladybug (a poem and a short story) and Cricket (an article). The needs of the magazines differ. Babybug, for example, wants only very short (as in 20 - 34 words), usually rhyming concrete visual bits. Ladybug likes stories that very young children can relate to -- usually focused on home and friends. Learning about new things springs from those home/friends relationships. Spider loves humor and often runs school stories. They also like folktales and fantasy -- a lot. Cricket is another big buyer of folktales, but they also like stories that are a bit more complex and the school stories can include considerable interpersonal conflict (which Highlights stories cannot). Cricket and Cicada are the most overtly literary of the magazines and particularly like strong complex characters and rich setting. They both also buy fantasy. And Cicada will buy light horror (mostly psychological horror and ghost stories).

On www.kidmagwriters.com in the top drop-down menu, you can find special reports on Babybug, Ladybug, and Spider. The September issue will feature a special report on Cicada. These reports examine the contents of a single issue but also contain tips from the writers guidelines and some observations based on reading several (or a dozen) issues of the magazine.

gran

Re: Carus

Thanks Gran

That's some great information to have.


Faye

Re: Carus

I attempted about a year ago with Highlights, was rejected. Tweaked it and resubmitted about three weeks ago - haven't heard back from them yet.

Thanks Gran for sharing the resource!