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Many religious markets also have theme lists-and don't buy puzzles on other subjects. Find those, too, online or by sending self-addressed, stamped envelopes to the magazine that aren't online.

The best way to sell puzzles is to deliver quality. Everything must be accurate. Even triple checking sometimes isn't enough, but consider it the minimum. Have children-even if you have to "borrow" boys and girls of the right ages-to work your puzzles before you mail them.

Manuscript preparation can be labor intensive. If you don't have a computerized drawing program, ink in every puzzle form. Neatly. Do drafts on graph paper, final copies on white paper with India ink or a high quality, ultra-fine point black marker. Use a ruler, pencil in the lines, then ink over. Erase penciling when thoroughly dry. Don't ink out of the lines and don't submit puzzles with smudged lines. Even before computers, most editors purchased only ready-to-print puzzles. What I did then was make photocopies of the blank forms to my own puzzle types. If you don't have your own copier, make sure the copy center or store you use always has fresh, dark ink.

If you have a computerized drawing program (Microsoft Word now contains basic drawing tools), set up all puzzle formats with the ruler/guides. Save each format. Then duplicate and change, as needed, when doing new puzzles. And use that drawing program to experiment! I can't draw worth a lick, but by trying to draw something vastly different (a gondola, I believe), I came up a baseball diamond puzzle format that wasn't around. I sold my first "Batter Up for the Lord" puzzle the first time out.

Children's magazines pay from $3 to $75 for puzzles. Most pay $10-$15. Not large checks, but puzzles do bring bylines and your name does become known in editorial offices. If you do enough puzzles and keep them in the mail, you can clear several hundred dollars a month.

There's only one warning. Puzzles can be addictive. Thirty years after drafting my first puzzle, I worked almost full time at puzzle and game books for a time. Loved every second of it, too. Truth is, I still can't believe I'm getting paid to have so much fun.

Learn more about this author, Margaret Shauers.
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