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Glen and Karen Bledsoe, Authors
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Young Writers |
Contact information:
Glen and Karen Bledsoe can be reached at:
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If you're under eighteen and love to write, come on in! Read through the commonly-asked questions below, and if you have a question of your own, use the email links to the left and send us your question. We'll respond to all sincere questions. Please read through the questions and answers below to see if your question has been addressed already. We also recommend reading our articles on writing on our Writing for Children Resource Site. Even if you aren't writing for children, there is a lot of good general advice on how to write and how to submit your work to publishers. Can young writers get published? Yes! The possibilities for young writers are somewhat more limited than for adults, but there are ways that young people can get published. Mainstream publishers are often reluctant to publish works by people under the age of 18. This is because publication requires a contract, and people who are not yet 18 cannot legally sign a contract. Special contracts would have to be arranged that their parents would have to co-sign, and there could be some legal gymnastics around who owns the rights to the work and when they would transfer to the author. However, it's not completely unheard of for a young writer to get published by a mainstream publisher. What you have to keep in mind, though, is that you have heavy competition from professional adults writers. Make sure your writing is polished, professional, and ready for publication before you submit. Before aiming at the
mainstream market, however, consider submitting to
markets that cater to young writers or that
only accept work from young writers, such as
Merlyn's
Pen or
Stone
Soup. Also, get
your hands on a copy of The
Young Writer's Guide to Getting
Published Where do I send my work to get it published? This is a more complex
question than many new writers believe at first.
There is no one single clearing house where you can
send all of your work, much as we might wish it. If
you need addresses of publishers, get a copy of
The
Young Writer's Guide to Getting
Published I saw an ad in magazine for a publisher who will publish my book. Is this a good deal? The short answer: No. Publishers who have to advertise for authors are almost always fee-based publishers, known in the industry as vanity presses. A few print-on-demand vanity presses are free, but most of these publishers charge large fees to "publish" your work, and you're left with the hard job of trying to find people who want to buy your book. Read more about vanity publishers in our article, How not to get burned. Self-publishing is different from vanity publishing. Self-published authors knowingly take on the expense of getting their book laid out, printed, bound, and distributed. They purchase a copyright, and ISBN number, and a bar code if they want to sell through online bookstores. They create their own imprint or publishing company. They often have a niche market in mind already before they publish. Self-publishing is a lot of work, and those who do self-publish succeed by learning all that they can about the publishing business before they start. If you're not self-publishing, remember this rule: legitimate publishers pay YOU for the rights to publish your work, even if that payment is only in magazine copies. I found an ad for a poetry contest where I can win $1000. Should I enter? Sorry, but this is another vanity publishing scheme. These "publishers" hold a contest, charge an entry fee, and accept just about every poem that is sent to them. Out of the entry fees they may award a prize if they want to remain legal. If you want to actually see your poem in print, you'll have to pay for an expensive copy of the anthology of "winners," which makes the contest a cash cow for those who run them, but does very little for those who are "published" in them. Instead of responding to magazine ads, read as much as you can about publishing poetry and find out which poetry contests are legitimate and respected. Most legitimate contests are sponsored by poetry magazines. Where can I learn more about writing? Start with your own local library. There should be many, many books there on writing and getting published. Find some that are closest to the kind of writing you want to do or that answer the questions that are most burning for you. Check with your school's Language Arts department. Is there a teacher there who is willing to mentor you, and who has time to read some of your work? Teachers are very busy, but sometimes you'll find a special teacher who is happy to help mentor a budding writer. If there is a community education program in your area, check for classes on writing. Some may only be for adult writers, but may let talented teens join in. There may also be writing classes for kids. Check the National Writing Project website for local chapters, and see if the one nearest to you has Young Writers Camp or similar program. NWP is all about teachers teaching teachers about writing, and many projects are excited to share their love of writing with young people. Ask your local city library if they sponsor a young writer's group. If not, ask if there is a librarian there who would be willing to help you start one. If you have several friends who are also interested, you can tell the library that if they will provide the program, you can provide the participants. Try the Barnes & Noble University. They often have free online reading courses. You may have to buy a book to fully participate, but otherwise the courses are free and can be a good community experience. Check the Write 4 Kids Message Board, sometimes called the "yellow boards," an online community of children's book and magazine writers. This group has always been highly supportive of beginning writers, including young writers, and many participants are writers of young adult fiction, which is often an interest of young writers. I want to write but I can't think of anything to write about! Try our writing prompts page for some ideas. Also see our article about the Idea Engine. Question
from Aly K.:
I am a young writer under 18. I had
a question for you. When I send a manuscript to a
mainstream publisher, do I have to tell my age? |
,
a complete guide to the young writer's
market.