Making Money from Farm Magazines

Making Money from Farm Magazines After publishing an article in  N.D. REC  magazine about  Toy Farmer  magazine, the TF editor asked if I would write for them. I said no; I knew green was John Deere equipment and red was International Harvester, but I knew almost nothing about farm toys. â€Å"Doesn’t matter,† editor Cathy Scheibe said. â€Å"Just be accurate.† Just be accurate! Of course! Accuracy is the hallmark of any article if you want to get it published and make money at writing. She named two collectors within ten minutes of me. How could I refuse? Thus began a working relationship that morphed into writing for a dozen other farm-related magazines, relationships which continue today, thirty years later, half my writing income every month, at ten cents a word to $350 an article, depending on which magazine, pay-on-publication. Writing for  Toy Farmer  at that time required photo sessions at farm homes of collections of thirty to a thousand toy tractors, combines, plows, and other miniature equipment, ranging from about 1.5 inches long to 18 inches long. Or toy trucks, which led to articles in  Toy Trucker Contractormagazine. Invariably after the session farmers would say, â€Å"Let me show you my other toys,â€Å" leading me to a Quonset filled with a dozen or two or more, real, big, tractors. Another opportunity, which led to articles in magazines featuring the big tractors:  Red Power, Green Magazine, Polk‘s Antique Tractor Magazine, Antique Power, Steam Traction, Farm Show, Farm Times, and  Farm Ranch Living. But the real steady money-makers were Gas Engine (68 articles, and counting,)  Farm Collector, (233 articles, and counting,) and the granddaddy of them all,  Toy Farmer  (293 articles, and counting.) As well as seven books about farm toys and tractors. The key to success at selling to these markets is threefold: 1. Finding the collectorsnot as difficult as it seems. Rather than going from farm to farm as I used to, now the simplest way is attending thresher shows or toy shows, held all over the U.S. Or finding neighbors or friends who collect. 2. Taking publishable pictures of collections at the shows, and if possible, getting the telephone numbers of collectorsnot always easy as they are often busy elsewhere in the show. These photos alone, or plus a quick chat with a collector at the show, if possible, is your research for your query letter to the magazines. Sometimes the pictures you take don’t become an articlethe life of a writer. Right now I have 59 sets of photostaken at a series of shows ready to query to my regular magazine editors. Judging Collectors often help with photos; for example, with my latest piece with Farm Collector, the interviewee revealed he owned a very rare tractor he hadn’t had at the show. He provided photos. 3. Set up telephone interviews. You’ll discover farm collectors are very passionate about their collections. They often tell great stories you can use: â€Å"As kids, my brother got mad at me, grabbed my cast-iron tractors, and smashed them on the sidewalk one These markets require basic information about the collection and collector, which they are more than willing to give. After you’ve studied a couple of the magazines, give them a try. The field is wide open. Farm Magazines: Farm Collector Magazine,  www.farmcollector.com Farm Show Magazine,  www.farmshow.com Gas Engine,  www.gasenginemagazine.com Green Magazine,  www.greenmagazine.com Red Power Magazine,  www.redpowermagazine.com Toy Farmer Magazine,  www.toyfarmer.com Toy Trucker Contractor Magazine,  www.toytrucker.com