Freelance writing, Metro Parent (Michigan), pays $100-$250 for features

Below you will also find information on story pitches, requirements, formatting and payment. Please read the information thoroughly. It should answer most, if not all, of your questions. Additional questions, queries and submissions should be sent to Metro Parent's managing editor, Julia Elliott, at jelliott@metroparent.com.

Parent Pipeline pieces: 300-600 words. Short pieces on trends, local people, products, etc. of interest to parents/kids.

Department columns: 600-700 words. Currently include:

* Along the Way (personal essays)
* Family Health (health issues)
* Little Ones (column on child development/behavior issue of babies/toddlers)
* Big Kids (column on child development/behavior issue of school-age kids)
* Teens & Tweens (column on tween/teen issues)
* Family Finance (family money topics)
* Little Lessons (how-to column for parents to teach their kids simple lessons, like tying their shoes, planting flowers, using chopsticks and more.)
* Shop Around the Corner (profile of local business)
* Let’s Go! (travel article on family fun destination)

Feature articles: 1,000-2,500 words.
Ancillary publications

* Metro Baby (prenatal to infant magazine; publishes in May and November)
* Special Edition (magazine for parents raising kids with special needs; publishes in March and October)
* Going Places (guide to family activities that publishes in April and October)
* Party Book (publishes in May and November)
* Big Book of Schools (publishes in September)
* MetroParent.com (our online presence is an extension of our print publications, including articles from previous issues in addition to web extras and online-only articles)

Payment

* Features 1,000-2,500 words: $100-$250
* Department columns: $60-75
* Parent Pipeline pieces: $35-50
* Reprints: $35

Payment is upon publication. Checks are usually sent out within the first week of the month of publication.

Story pitches

We welcome queries and submissions, especially from local freelancers. These pitches should be emailed to managing editor Julia Elliott at jelliott@metroparent.com. Here are a few factors to consider before sending your pitch.

* Make it local. We're looking for stories and sources that reflect the communities we cover: Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. Therefore, southeast Michigan ideas and sources are preferred.
* Pitch early. Please be mindful that content for Metro Parent is determined months in advance. Therefore, story ideas should be pitched a good two to three months before the month it would run. This is particularly important for seasonally-anchored stories.
* Simultaneous submissions are OK. Make sure they are marked as such, and please notify us if the submission has been accepted by another publication.
* We may not respond. Because of the high volume of submissions and queries we receive, it is not always feasible to respond to each pitch. If you do not hear from us within a month of your submission, it is safe to assume that we have decided to pass.

More information here.