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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Young Writers and the Siren Call of Publishing

How to Encourage Young Writers
As I’ve been trying to finish what has been an extremely difficult manuscript for me, I’ve also been trying and not so successfully keeping up with other aspects of the writer’s life. One of those I find most challenging are emails I get asking me to read and critique a young writers’ work, and also to give them advice. I’m talking young, young writers-fifteen, twelve, even ten. And what bothers me the most is the question “How do I get this story published?”
First of all, I feel weird giving anyone advice. Am I really that old? Second, what to say to these requests? I don’t know what other writers do. All of the requests I’ve had so far have come from people who are acquaintances, so it feels odd to say no.  Besides the biggest issue of time, I also wonder how detailed a critique I should give of a twelve-year-old’s  story. It would be different if I were their teacher, but since I’m not, I don’t know where the line is between honesty and encouragement. All writers have to develop thick skins and be able to deal with critique, but should I be the one to give a young writer the first hint of how tough publishing can be?
And as I mentioned above, the question always comes up of how to get a story published, not at some point in the future after a writer has honed their craft, but now, right now, because the story is finished. The internet has made publishing a goal that seems within reach of everyone, even ten year olds. I also get this question in my skype session with classes. There is often one student who has written a short story and wants to publish it.
Up until now, I’ve tried to tell them it’s better to concentrate on writing to get better at it, not for the goal of publishing. It makes sense, but I can tell from the reactions I get, this is not the advice they are going to follow. So here’s my new answer I’ve just come up with a few days ago. (I have an email I need to answer from a teacher acquaintance about one of her students.) I’m going to be honest-The publishing business is hard even for adults. The amount of rejections can be so discouraging that writers lose the desire to write, and that is the worst thing that could happen to a young writer who has barely begun. So I plan to tell them to write until they’ve built up a substantial body of work, and then see if they think they are ready to publish. That will still not be what most want to hear, nor will it be the advice many will follow, but I’ll feel better giving it.
Any other suggestions? I know we have many teachers out there who may be able to give some valuable advice.

~ Dee Garretson

20 comments:

  1. Great advice for young authors. Well done!

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  2. The most important thing for them to do is put words on paper, develop that writing muscle. Black on white. Ink on paper. That should be their focus.

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  3. Words on paper - so hard to do! Yes, you can't revise anything with a blank piece of paper.

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  4. Oh my gosh, this is so hard. And not just with children who write you -- with your own children. I have a 15 year old daughter who tells me, "I'm ready to start looking for an agent. I think this agent will work." And then she shows me the profile page of a high-powered agent that makes me gasp out loud.

    Now, I AM a 5th grade teacher. And over the past several years, my students have learned a lot about the publishing process from me. One class followed me through the search for an agent. Another class tracked my progress through submissions -- but never got to see the email in which I finally got an offer. Yet a third class got to hear the saga of my repeated revisions for an editor. And a fourth class got to share my excitement over an exciting new deal ... and hear about my sadness when an editor I really liked announced her retirement and I anxiously waited to find out who I would work with next.

    But telling my DAUGHTER she wasn't ready? That was different altogether.

    I think you've taken the right approach: Explain the process, commiserate over the challenges, encourage them to hone their skills, and point them toward contests and such geared toward their age group.

    And send them to the blogs! There are middle grade book bloggers and teen/tween writers. Their community is out there, just like ours is!

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    1. Great idea about blogs! I hadn't thought of that.

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  5. Your advice sounds practical, Dee. I've yet to come across a child who wants my advice on publishing, but I'll refer back to this if the time ever comes.

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  6. I agree with Dianne.

    Perhaps they should go through the process at least once, By that age they should be ready to hear SOME of the downs in publishing. Not to discourage them completely, but to give them SOME sense of reality.

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    1. Yes, a dose of reality is so good. I'm amazed at how many kids think it is just a matter of sending a manuscript to a publisher

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  7. My daughter has thoughts like that since she was in the 3rd grade. At first, she was happy just writing the stories for herself or sharing them with her friends, but before long, she wanted to send them off to agents.

    I did some research and discovered a few serious websites, magazines and competitions for children writers and had her start there. Luckily, she won one and her short story was published in an anthology. It also made her realize how much work it all is, and she realized that it will take more time before she's ready to hit the 'professional' world.

    There are possibilities out there - more than I thought. And if the kids want to try some of them (under adult's supervision), I personally encourage them to do so.

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    1. That's so great you helped her find appropriate sites. I need to do more searching so I can compile a list if people ask.

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  8. I think the concept of publishing is an important part of challenging the way young writers view the act of writing. For many of these kids, the only reason to write anything has been for a single, and specific audience, a teacher. When this is the only emphasis we provide, writing ceases to be something that is done for it's own sake, or to entertain others, and become a game of "satisfy the teacher".

    In my classes, after the students have planned, composed, and edited, the final phase that shows that the paper is "done", is an attempt at publication or performance. The simple reason that young writer's should aspire to this is the notion that writing, which they have only been doing for their teachers, now has to stand up in an environment where it won't be simply given an arbitrary number grade and forgotten, it will be on display. This changes a young writer, the concept that this piece is a reflection on themselves, and also forces students to look at editing in a more realistic fashion.

    Some of the ways my students attempt publication are through contests, fanfic sites, and especially Teen Ink. A young writer in my class last year began a fiction piece with a description of the Bahamas, and a girl FROM the Bahamas commented on her story, thanking her for describing her country so beautifully. Needless to say, the girl, who had never considered herself a "writer" was hooked from then on.

    Perhaps instead of worrying about the agent searches and the big publishing deals, we start them off with the areas where they can be more successful, and allow them to work up from there.

    Great post!

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    1. I hadn't thought about students thinking writing assignments were just for the teachers. Good point. And I hadn't heard of Teen Ink either. I'm definitely going to check that out.

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  9. Are Merlin's Pen and Stone Soup still around -- magazines by and for kids? There is also a NaNoWriMo for kids.

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    1. I looked those both up and they are still in operation. Stone Soup is for 8-13 year olds and Merlyn (they use the 'y') Pen is for teens.

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  10. I plan to let my kid POD anything he wants on lulu. You don't have to share it with the world to share it with your family, and sharing is the most important thing for a young writer. If they can get the encouragement from their own families with a fair bit of apathy and callousness from reliable anti-book uncles, then why wait until they're eighteen to let them adjust? As far as having them actually publish to the world with their real names, no. Future employers, even future publishing gatekeepers, don't need to know the names of the books he wrote when he was ten.

    In short, very good advice! I think we have the resources now to give our kids the show-and-tell they want without kickstarting their careers in grade school. :)

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    1. Lulu is a great resourse for family-shared works. And I'm with you, my kids don't need a career in grade school. I'll settle for them learning to read and write well and remember to take a shower without me nagging them.

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  11. I think the worst thing you can tell a writer, however old or young, is what they feel isn't real, however negative it may be. Tell the truth, without devaluing the mixed emotions, any writer can feel, and the longer you've been at this, inevitably the frustrations and setbacks add up over time.

    Just like the inescapable grieving process when friends or family die, rejections from peers and in the industry just plain hurts, no matter how realistic we are about it.

    If we didn't care, we'd have quit already, and I think the harder end pros sometimes forget how long their own path to detached grit was for them, and some writers just learn it sooner than others.

    We don't like to feel miserable and distraught, but we also can't nessecarily will ourselves out of it. We HATE what rejection makes us feel, we don't love wallowing in pain and self-doubt, but like grief from dead loved ones, we can't escape it. It's NOT optional.

    Now more than ever, you need a writing community around you, they keep your ego grounded, but your soul hopeful and sane. The best writer friends are honest without being heartless.

    If you need and want the drill sargent approach, fine, but some of us can't hear what we need to hear if it's told in a harsh, self-righteous manner. You have to know yourself and your writer friends well before crossing certain lines in how you deliver criticism.

    My rule of thumb is this, if it breaks my heart, it's going to break someone else's, it's one thing for the business to wear us down, but if we do this to our fellow writers, we could do even further damage than the nastiest rejection letter you ever received.

    Feel better All,
    Taurean

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  12. I haven't had to turn down young writers wanting a critique, but I have turned down plenty of adults who suddenly emerged from the writing woodwork once they learned I had landed a publishing contract. My standard speech: "I wish I could, but I just don't have time to read other writing and focus on my own career." That said ...

    I think a good site to steer young writers to is Hope Clark's Funds for Writers. She puts out a separate newsletter highlighting markets and contests for young writers, and she's been at it for years. Her newsletters and website have garnered a lot of critical and popular acclaim. URL: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/writingkid/

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!