Young Writers Society

Hey,

I need help...I am currently still in the writing stage of writing a novel (MUCH harder than I thought ) and I've contacted a publishing group called Trafford - are there any more good ones to can think of I should consider sending it to?

So far, it's 10,456 words - how much more would I be expected to write to make a book? It narrows down to about 41 pages if it's 250 words per page which really doesn't sound like a lot seeing a gardening book has about 250 pages!!

Does anyone else get writers block - it's so IRRITATING!! I'm so stuck atm at what to write next...I seriously need some more ideas - and fast!

I'm so glad i found a site like this, all the rest have been for adults which doesn't help for a 15 year old like myself...

Anywho,

tata R x

Get your hands on the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook - you can get it from Amazon.co.uk. It has advice on getting published (including the process), and a list of publishers and literary agents (agents help a lot if you want to get your book published). It also has notes from published authors (for example last year's one has a note from J.K. Rowling on writing for children, and a forward from Terry Pratchett).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0713 ... y&v=glance
- The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2007

...How can you have just written your first novel if you're still writing it and it's only 10,500 words? I'm confused. Do you mean that you're writting you first novel...?

Nanowrimo is (I believe) 50,000 words, and that's more like a novella. I think a standard novel it 100,00-120,000 words, but of course it can be more or less depending on the story. I'd say keep writing until you've told the story you wanted to tell in the first place.

I personally wouldn't know much about publishing because I've never contacted any publishers, considering I'm not finished writing my novel yet. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful in that area.

Another note: the length of your novel is dependant on who you're writing it for. I believe about 40,000 words is normal for a teen novel (although I can't find my copy of the Artists and Writers Yearbook, so don't quote me on that).

Well, when publishing books for teens, depending on the publisher, it can go much shorter than that, though 40 or longer is the standard. With kids' books, unless the publisher gives any restrictions, length is often not an issue.

If you're really serious about getting it published, before you go researching publishers, do some editting, see if there are any areas where you can expand on it. And then do your research.

If you're having a writer's block try putting yourself in the shoes of your character and see what you would do in your character's current situation. If you're writing a story in the time of dragons and monsters try to make it a little more exiting. Like, in one chapter you can make the group confront a vampire and one of them gets bitten, or you can have the hero's meet a ninja. Believe me, I know what you're going through. I've just finished writing my first book of what I hope to be a series and it's 417 pages double spaced, it took me more than a whole school year to do it rough draft and all.

Young Adult novles have a standard of between 80,000 and 100,000 words. The younger you go, the shorter it gets.

Most adult novels are between 100,000 and 120,000 words.

If you hit upwards of 200,000 words, you've just written something called an "epic" and that's seperated into a different category all together.

As for good publishing groups, here's what I've been told: 1) Finish your novel. 2)When you're done, look around for published books that are simliar to yours and then 3) look into thier publishing houses.

I hope that helped.