editors speak

Girl’s Life Magazine
Lizzie Skurnick, Associate Editor
By Jan Fields

This month we’re delighted to talk with Lizzie Skurnick, Associate Editor of Girls’ Life. Magazine. GL is a top market for tween and teen girls with a stellar reputation – so we know plenty of our readers would love to snag a GL byline. With that in mind, let’s hear what Ms. Skurnick has to say:

KMW: GL's new look seems to be very teen. I know the younger end of GL's age group is the pre-teen (or tween.) Do you think today's girls prefer a more mature self-identity?
LS: GL strives to speak to the mature, self-possessed teen and tween — a girl who’s interested in making the most of friends, school, family and the rest of her life.

KMW: Although you have a very teen look, I notice your content doesn't have the "we know you're already having sex" vibe of some teen magazines. Though your cutting article is very edgy. Where do you draw the edgy line? What topics are taboo at GL?
LS: Although we don’t talk down to girls, our audience is younger, so we are focused on building relationships, not the adult stages of a relationship.

KMW: Some of our readers love to write teen quizzes -- is GL interested in those and do quiz writers still need to do the query thing?
LS: We do take queries but we also accept already written quizzes.

KMW: Is there any type of fiction you would really like to see? Do you prefer the kind of angsty stuff (I do remember my tween/teen years being pretty full of angst) or are you open to things like mystery or adventure? Fantasy?
LS: Mystery is fine — adventure, fantasy and sci-fi are pretty off-limits. We like writers to really take an old standard and make it new.

KMW: Can you tell me a little about how you want to see items for GL Fun? Photos of crafts? Does every short piece need a query?
LS: We do like to see shots of finished items for crafts, and we need to see the finished product to photograph it. Writers can send either the idea or the full craft piece.

KMW: How integral is humor to a GL article? When a piece has room for a laugh -- would you advice writers to go for it? Are really funny pieces hard to find?
LS: Yes — funny pieces are hard to find, and we welcome writers with a humorous voice, as well as writers who’ve got the inside information of a serious topic of interest to the girls.

KMW: Why do you really look for in a query? If you were ranking things in order of importance, for example, would great published clips impress you more than a good story idea or would a really great pitch help you overlook a less than full resume?
LS: Great ideas and great writing are the most important thing. GL has its own voice, and we need writers who can get it. Clips are fine, but we’ll always need the writer to write for us.

KMW: For readers hoping to break into GL, what advice would you give?
LS: Try and try again! Most writers have to query 10-15 times before getting even a short piece accepted.

KMW: And last, some philosophy 101 -- How would you typify today's teen girl? And how does GL help address her needs?
LS: Today’s teen girl has more pressure than most generations before her — and definitely more opportunities. GL is here to help her face both and succeed.

We’re very grateful for Ms. Skurnick’s time and the fact that she slipped in some extras for us. Tips to help writers with an eye to GL:

• Although GL knows that some of their readership age (11 – 15) already has had sexual experiences, they are more aiming toward the “never been kissed” end of the group so relationship articles need to be heavy on friendship and light on physicality. And no sexual problem features like teen pregnancy or STDs.
• GL articles stick to the “here and now” of a girl’s daily experience – school, family, friendship – rather than looking to the future with articles on college or careers.
• For best success, start with pitching for the shorter (750 word, single page) sections of the magazine such as GL Fun, GL Friends, GL Life and GL Guys. Focus on practical help and try to keep things positive.
• GL runs one short story per issue (3,000 words) – but be sure the story is self-contained, no clipping bits from your novel.

This page last updated on 01 October 2005