Young Writers Society

I think most writers aspire to be published, and to say otherwise would be a lie. However, that isn't the be all and end all of it for me. I vent my feelings, my frustrations and my love of things through writing, and I certainly wouldn't want to be in thrall to be publishing world which is infamous for being fickle. I'll read want I want and what I like, and if I ever get published then that's fantastic. Likewise, if I'm rejected till the end of my days I'll still write.
Hurrah!

I suppose I'm shallow, because I am writing to get published. I know you've probably heard this again and again, but I'm in the middle of writing what I think is a really original story, and I do believe that it can be published. I've had some poetry of mine published before, so the idea isn't so daunting for me. Plus I have a lot of contact with agents...so we'll see. But even if I never become an author, I'll still write for fun as long as I live.

I do have a question, though. If I were to write a novel that I thought was worth trying to get published, would agents take on a minor, or would it be better to wait until I was 18?

I don't have anything in mind as of now, but I was just wondering if anyone's delt with that yet.

And I agree with everyone who's talking about not wanting your family to read things you've written. The novel I'm writing now has a character with a knack to swear every two minutes, but my mom wants to read it, so I've been reduced to using words like "Flippin'" and stuff, which I feel like would make it seem less legitimate. So I think I might chance them to actual swears after she reads it. But I don't know, that makes me feel guilty! lol.

If I were to write a novel that I thought was worth trying to get published, would agents take on a minor, or would it be better to wait until I was 18?

To avoid any prejudice, I wouldn't mention my age at all. But some agents/publishers cannot make contracts with under 18s if it's against their policies.

I'm writing partly to get someone to see how age is irrelevant in most things, but let's be real here, folks. I love the idea of making a career out of writing, too.

Blink wrote:

If I were to write a novel that I thought was worth trying to get published, would agents take on a minor, or would it be better to wait until I was 18?

To avoid any prejudice, I wouldn't mention my age at all. But some agents/publishers cannot make contracts with under 18s if it's against their policies.

I'm writing partly to get someone to see how age is irrelevant in most things, but let's be real here, folks. I love the idea of making a career out of writing, too.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes. I totally agree with you! We have to show those publishers that teen writers deserve a chance.

I want to write as a job when I'm older, not just something to do in my free time. I want to prove it to myself. And the only way I feel I can do that is to get it actually published. My mind just works that way.

Writing is something I'll be doing for a living; if that's by doing journalism, then so be it. If I can get published that'd be great, but it's not gonna cover the bills that easily at first. Working as a writer is never easy.

But regardless, I'm planning on getting something published in four or five years. Call it a plan if you will.

I look at many books being published today by adults, and I know I'm better. It's that simple. Age shouldn't matter; it's the talent that is what makes us authors.

Seraphania wrote:I look at many books being published today by adults, and I know I'm better. It's that simple. Age shouldn't matter; it's the talent that is what makes us authors.

Be careful when you say that; some people might take that as overblown arrogance. It depends on whose books you're reading, too...

Age SHOULDN'T matter, I agree with that. The problem is, when adults hear statements like you've made here, their defenses rise up, and they get angry. They automatically assume that you're just another arrogant kid. Hence why there's probably a bias when it comes to publishing and age.

But talent is indeed what akes us authors or storytellers. That's something no one should dispute.

I look at many books being published today by adults, and I know I'm better. It's that simple. Age shouldn't matter; it's the talent that is what makes us authors.

Be careful when you say that; some people might take that as overblown arrogance. It depends on whose books you're reading, too...

I agree that it depends on who your reading, but that is also an opinion. I mean, some people may love one author but someone else may think they don't have any talent. It all depends on your point of view, so that's a tough thing to think.

Yep, writing to get published, because I want to be a writer more then anything in the world. It's my passion, and the one thing I can really truly put my heart into it. I'm not sending my books off yet to get published though till I know I'm ready, hence the awesome use of this website. I havent posted my novels on here or anything, I just post some random side stories or short ones. Helps me understand what I dont do right in my novels.

In an ideal world, I would be able to make a career out of writing.

I've self published my first book, but in my opinion it was a waste of time. The book was poorly edited and when I read back through it I can't help but cringe. I was so fixed on the idea of getting published that I was willing to rush the editing - plus I was only fifteen at the time and my whole understanding of grammar and flow needed to be improved.

My second book is a lot more promising and I feel a lot happier about the whole editing process. I consider myself lucky as I was accepted by the first literary agency that I wrote to. It's all a waiting game at the moment. My agent has my book and is sending it to various publishers. So I've got my fingers crossed at the moment.

I've just finished writing my third book a couple of weeks ago and to be honest, I enjoyed writing this one more so than the other two as I was writing it for me. I wasn't under pressure to try and finish it and overall I'm a lot happier about it than the other two. The whole writing process seemed to flow more and was a whole lot more enjoyable.

Writing for fun is easier and more enjoyable and it definitely seems to bring out the best in my writing.

Of course I'd love to have a whole shelf to myself in book stores around the globe, but I'll just have to wait and see...

xDudettex

When I first started writing seriously, I wanted to create stories that were creative and unique. I wanted an audience, and wanted them to get an impact on my story telling. I wanted to know their thoughts of the story, and what they thought what was going to happen. I wanted to create more than "just another story," So I wrote fiction, full of plot twists, clever foreshadowing and deep messages. Now I kind of want to be a published author but at the same time I want to write screenplay's for movies. Write a few novels, write a few screenplays, and inspire others. It would be nice to at least publish a book, even if its only barely over two hundred pages long, well I actually like tiny books like that more than big fat books, for example like the classic, The Catcher in the Rye. Small book, not many pages but still very good.

I'm actually thinking about expanding my short story, which I previously posted a while back, The Spiteful Figure. I'm thinking of making it longer, and adding more content to it. There is still quite a bit of stuff I can still add to the story, and I could possibly stretch it out to be a small novel. That would be nice. I could even give that a shot at publishing. I also have two novels I had planned to write way back in early 2008, but I put them on hold, and never got back to them. After I finish two stories that I'm writing now, I will defiantly get back to them! Hopefully by the summer. Publishing would be an awesome experience, well if you find an audience that is.

On the age thing, I'm going to have to go and quote Oprah...

"It's hard to argue with excellence."

If you excell, people will take notice, regardless of age. Oprah was using that statement with racial issues, but it applies to any discrimination. Excellence cannot be argued.