Meet Jessica Burkhart - Writing for Teen Magazines

Jessica Burkhart started freelancing at 14 to feed her lip gloss addiction. Her course, Writing for Teen Magazines, provides the fundamentals of writing non-fiction articles for teen magazines. Participants will learn how to produce teen-friendly pieces including articles, quizzes and fillers. At the workshop’s end, each student will have an article outline, one polished article and one query letter to an appropriate magazine editor.

Writing for Teen Magazines
August 11 - September 22
You may register over the phone with a credit/debit card by calling 409-880-2233.

Interview with Jessica Burkhart:

How did you get started writing?
I started writing magazine articles when I was fourteen and got my first publication at fifteen. I’ve been freelancing for five years and have racked up over 65 credits in leading teen magazines such as Girls’ Life, Listen and The Next Step. In fall of 2006, I decided to try writing tween and teen novels and I have four tween books scheduled for publication from Simon & Schuster starting in summer 2008.

Did you major in creative writing in college?
Actually, no. I got my BA in English literature from Florida State University in 2007. I took a couple of writing classes from FSU, but I’ve taught myself most of what I know about writing through online classes and books.

How many queries do you have out at one time?
My goal is to have 30 magazine queries circulating at any given time. Since I’ve started writing books, I’ve cut that in half but continue to actively freelance.

Do you encounter lots of rejections in writing for teens?
No matter what field you try, there are always rejections. I have boxes of rejections and still get them. With every rejection, I remember that it’s not a rejection of me as a person, but rather that my work doesn’t fit the magazine’s current needs. Each rejection drives me to keep writing and pursuing publication.

Did writing for teen magazines help you write a book for tweens?
It helped tremendously. After writing so many articles for teens and tweens, I learned how to keep a brief word count, use language that engaged teens and pick topics that interested a wide variety of teens. I used all of my tricks and tips that I used in magazine articles when I wrote my first book.

What do you want the students who take your Writing for Teen Magazines course to learn?
The students will learn how to target appropriate teen magazines, how to find a teen-friendly voice and how to query an editor. I want writers to leave the course confident about writing for teens and the course will provide a solid foundation to pursue publication in teen magazines.

Where can students learn more about you?
For more information about my credits in teen magazines, check out my Website at http://www.jessicaburkhart.com/.

You can find Jessica's writing in magazines and newspapers such as: A Girls' World, AboutTeens.com, Barefoot Path, Beautiful Girl, Characters, Florida Trend's Next, FSView & Florida Flambeau, Girls' Life, Guideposts Sweet 16, Howl!, Kid Magazine Writers, Lake City Magazine, Listen, NE Chronicle, Positive Teens, Rainy Day Corner, Romance Writers Report, Teen Ink, Teen Scene, Teen Voices, Teenage Christian, The Famuan, The Next Step, The Tattoo, The Writer, Writing for Dollars, Young People's Press and Young Writer.

We're very lucky to have Jessica teaching for us this semester. She has deadlines monopolizing her time. She'll soon be busy with booksignings. Her forthcoming debut middle grade novel TAKE THE REINS (CANTERWOOD CREST), hits shelves in January 2009 and is available for pre-order now! This is the first book in her series for Aladdin M!X. Jess blogs for Teen Fiction Cafe. Visit her Website for more! She cross posts to LiveJournal.