How many teens writing YA on here are published?

amlptj · Aug 16, 2009

Hi, I'm kind of new to this site, but ive been looking a lot under this section and after i read another post i was shocked by how young alot of people were when they got published. I'm 19 now but have been writing the same series since i was 12. I was wondering how many teens on here are already published? And how in the world did you do it? Because I was and still am confused out of my mind by the process. And can you give any advice?

Skye Jules · Aug 16, 2009

Well, I've published news articles for a teen section. But it's not the kind of publishing I'm really after. It was just something fun to do.

Parametric · Aug 16, 2009

Counting down until Blind Writer and Shady Lane get on the scene ... 3, 2, 1 ...

Red.Ink.Rain · Aug 16, 2009

Blind Writer and Shady Lane.

And I'm nineteen and I write for a newspaper...but I don't think that's what you meant.

Parametric · Aug 16, 2009

Red is being too modest - she recently landed a fantastic agent. Are you going on sub soon, Red?

edit: I just realised how many writers here are younger than me and yet way more accomplished. Damn you all! Why can't I be as cool as you? :tongue

amlptj · Aug 16, 2009

so you all seemed to have started out writing in mags and newspapers? Cool, how exactly did any of you fall into that?

Red.Ink.Rain · Aug 16, 2009

Parametric said:
Red is being too modest - she recently landed a fantastic agent. Are you going on sub soon, Red?

edit: I just realised how many writers here are younger than me and yet way more accomplished. Damn you all! Why can't I be as cool as you?

Um, I SHOULD be going out on sub this week. Said fantastic agent is writing the pitch to editors this weekend.

Scary. But exciting. But scary.

I started out writing for my school's newspaper, and then I managed to get an internship with our local newspaper. Been writing for them ever since.

But I definitely "started out" by just writing stories and poems and trying to get them published in teen/literary magazines.

amlptj · Aug 16, 2009

Wow your lucky, i hope the pitch thing to the editors goes well for you! Man now i'm wishing i started writing in other places.

Red.Ink.Rain · Aug 16, 2009

It wasn't really luck; it was a ton of work and searching for opportunities where there were pretty much only dead ends, then starting over and searching again... so yeah. It's not luck. If you want to be a writer, you can be a writer.

Sage · Aug 16, 2009

I'm going to *slightly* disagree with RIR. I think there is some luck involved with getting published. But she's right in that most of it is talent and hard work.

Ugawa · Aug 16, 2009

I'm seventeen and have a few published shorts in magazines, but you probably mean actual published novels. lol.

x

Red.Ink.Rain · Aug 16, 2009

Sage said:
I'm going to *slightly* disagree with RIR. I think there is some luck involved with getting published. But she's right in that most of it is talent and hard work.

Okay, this is true. There is definitely luck involved when it comes to writing the book that publishers are looking for. But still, I think even that takes persistence - writing dozens of books that they AREN'T looking for before you write the one they want.

Shady Lane · Aug 16, 2009

luck is definitely involved. i've been lucky since i was a baby. i'm just one of those people...y'know those people? they do everything wrong but everything always turns out okay? that's me. i just have good luck. it drives people crazy. and i always win board games.

i didn't start out writing for magazines or newspapers or whatever. i just wrote books. a lot of books. and finally one of them was good enough. so yeah, hard work. i dunno how i feel about talent as a concept...but yeah. hard work and luck.

wrote my first first book when i was 11. wrote what the world will know as my first book when i was 16, got the deal when i was 17, now i'm 18 and it comes out in 9 days.

Juneluv12 · Aug 16, 2009

I'm 30, so not a teen here, but I gotta agree that a lot is luck..I'd love to say its all talent and hardwork, but Twilight, anyone? LOL. She was pulled outta the slushpile by an assistant.

Often its being in the right place at the right time.

Some of the best YA I've read in a long time are the books I'm Beta reading for fellow AWrs.

As Stephen King says in his writing memoir "On Writing", most of us have picked up a best seller or hyped book and thought I can do better... He cites Flowers in the Attic, and I totally agree.

So, its a mysery!!!

And damn, Shady. I'm jealous of your talent and what you say is your luck, lol!!!!

Skye Jules · Aug 17, 2009

amlptj said:
so you all seemed to have started out writing in mags and newspapers? Cool, how exactly did any of you fall into that?

For me, I had to go through an application process to write for it. Then, once I landed an interview, I had to write a column and an article to prove my writing skills. I actually got help on here for a column I wrote before I sent it off to my former editor.

I wrote my first book (it was a novella, and I didn't even know it!), when I was eight, and that was actually the first thing I ever wrote. It was utter garbage though. It was a nasty cossover fanfic (didn't know it was that at the time) between Spyro and the Magic Treehouse. But I wrote my first original novel when I was ten. And I wrote about six novels since then, my sixth being the one I want to publish. I've been pounding at it for five years? Why? Because I was fourteen when I started, and I wasn't at a publishable potential. (That, and I fooled around with it for several years before finally re-writing it, and I'm re-writing it for a second, hopefully final time).

Blind Writer · Aug 17, 2009

I didn't start with a magazine or newspaper, either. My story is similar to Shady's. I just wrote. Wrote a lot. And then I wrote a book that was good enough, and I got very lucky in that I sent it to the right person and so on.

I wrote my novel at 17 and it will be published right after I turn 19. Luck and hard work are both very important. I just tell everyone I got amazingly lucky.

Terie · Aug 18, 2009

Hard work and persistence, and yeah, IMO talent, are what make a book good enough.

Luck gets the book on the right agent's or editor's desk at the right moment.

Luck won't do you diddly squat if you don't write a good book. Sadly, lots of good books didn't have the luck to get noticed at the right time.

So it's all of the above.

thejordynface · Aug 18, 2009

Published? Yes. Actual BOOKS published? I wish. I'm still in that awful will-I-ever-get-an-agent phase.

I have been published in Red: Teenage Girls Write on What Fires Up Their Lives, the upcoming six-word memoirs book, iheardaily.com, and Huffington Post. Does that count?

Danthia · Aug 18, 2009

Sage said:
I'm going to *slightly* disagree with RIR. I think there is some luck involved with getting published. But she's right in that most of it is talent and hard work.

This caught my eye because I did a blog post on what was luck in my own journey to publishing and what was work. There IS a lot of luck involved, but it's not always what you think it is.

And if you haven't done the hard work first, you often can't take advantage of the luck when it comes your way.

YAwriter72 · Aug 18, 2009

I am in awe of the teenagers here that write, not to mention have agents and book deals.

When I was 18, 19, 20, writing was the last thing on my mind! Erm yeah, it was far from my mind until a year and a half ago actually and I'm almost 37! LOL

Juneluv12 · Aug 18, 2009

YAwriter72 said:
I am in awe of the teenagers here that write, not to mention have agents and book deals. When I was 18, 19, 20, writing was the last thing on my mind! Erm yeah, it was far from my mind until a year and a half ago actually and I'm almost 37! LOL

I was a closet writer at their age...emulating my favorite writers of the time like Danielle Steele, VC Andrews....yeah, it was scary! LOL

I guess we're all on a separate journey, and it happens when it happens..(grumbles, lol)

amlptj · Aug 19, 2009

yeah i'm just still trying to get an agent, well really i havent had much time to look into it all. Havent looked into the process all that much that is. I'm shocked how young alot of you are but congrates to you all. If you guys have any tips i'd be greatful!

Byakuya · Aug 19, 2009

It's a shame the only real advice i can give you is to write a good book. =3

However, once you're confident that you have accomplished that, you need to either find an agent or send send send out the novel to publishers. Send it to publishers even if you don't think they will even read it.

Eventually if your book is good enough you will get a reply, most likely turning you down, but maybe giving you criticism and telling you why you didn't get accepted. Don't be disheartened, take their advice seriously and either decide to act on it or carry on sending out your novel.

Elidibus · Aug 20, 2009

I have nothing to say except that one day, when I grow up, I'm going to be as cool as all these teenagers that have published their books.

Well, maybe one thing to say. Stick around this website. Everyone here is awesome and will help you with whatever questions you have.

Sarah Christine · Aug 21, 2009

I wrote my first book at 15, and I was so keen on publishing it until a couple years later when I reread and realized--Holy Cristo, it's awful.

By 17 I had finished a trilogy, and was keen on publishing that as well. A couple query rejections later, stopped dishing it out. By the time I was 19, I reread it and again realized it was awful!

The one thing about my writing at that point in time was that it READ and progressed like a teen's writing. The structure, the style, all of it was unrefined and contrived. I'm old enough now where I can look back and realize, "Holy moly, I'm so glad that never hit the shelves." So it's not about publishing young, it's about publishing when you're ready.

....I think, anyway. LOL.

How many teens writing YA on here are published?

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Over 9000!!!!!!!

I think you can do better.