Help for a young author

Philky · Sep 29, 2009

Well, not me. I wish I was still a "young" author.

I'm a teacher and was recently approached by a 15-year-old Iraqi girl at school. She has written a non-fiction book about her life in Iraq. From what she tells me, it is very fascinating. Her family had to flee the country to avoid murder and kidnapping.

She wants to publish, but she knows little about the industry. I already steered her away from self-publishing (she was looking at Outskirts Press). I want to make sure she doesn't get taken advantage of. I could see how someone would want to manipulate a young girl who doesn't speak English as a primary language.

Any suggestions? Are there trustworthy people who will work with authors like her to make sure they can get published without getting cheated?

Thanks.

Libbie · Sep 29, 2009

Does she have an interpreter friend (perhaps you?) who can help her write a book proposal? Getting her hooked up with a reputable agent would be a good idea.

Philky · Sep 29, 2009

Libbie said:
Does she have an interpreter friend (perhaps you?) who can help her write a book proposal? Getting her hooked up with a reputable agent would be a good idea.

She has an ESOL teacher who could help her. I recommended she purchase a book like Writer's Market and I gave her a link to some online. I guess I'm scared that she might contact the wrong person and get screwed. Her spoken English is pretty good. Not sure about her writing yet.

Libbie · Sep 29, 2009

Would her parents be okay with her joining this forum? Maybe she would find us useful.

Stijn Hommes · Sep 30, 2009

Recommend things like querytracker.net and agentquery.com. Writer's Market is a good book but it can get outdated really quickly. That said, before you point her to some reputable agents, you should probably take a look at her work and see if it is actually publishable. Perhaps help out with some editing. Make sure she knows her work has to be top-notch before sending it out and tell her to read Writer Beware so she knows what reputable agents and publisher do and don't do. It'll take a lot of work, but in the end, she''ll be better of and not be scammed.

kct webber · Sep 30, 2009

What Libbie said: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums

dpaterso · Sep 30, 2009

Not trying to drop a spanner in the works, but isn't it unlikely that anyone would deal with a 15-year-old girl directly? She'll need full parental consent for everything.

-Derek

Stijn Hommes · Sep 30, 2009

How would the agent know it's a fifteen-year-old? You're not supposed to tell in a proposal or a query. Parental consent is nice to have, but it only really comes into play when a contract needs signing.

RJK · Oct 1, 2009

Someone needs to read her work with a critical eye. We all know how high the bar is set to draw the attention of a legitimate agent or publisher. We can't tell her how to get published until we know where she is on the quality of her writing.

Philky · Oct 5, 2009

Thanks, guys. I'll probably read over her stuff and see where she can go from here.

Resource Writer · Oct 12, 2009

Re: Your Student

Hi Philky:

I would suggest she connect with a local group of writers who will have her best interest at heart. Another suggestion would be for her to attend a local writer's workshop or conference with someone who is fluent in English. This would give her good exposure and allow her to meet people who write and have some experience. These people would be a great asset to her.

A great site to research writing conference would be: http://writing.shawguides.com/

I wish her the best.

Help for a young author

Philky

Redneck Jedi

Libbie

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

Philky

Redneck Jedi

Libbie

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

kct webber

Squirrel, Sekrit type, 1 ea.

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

RJK

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

Philky

Redneck Jedi

Resource Writer