Downsides to Publishing Young
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2019
- I'm sharing some of my thoughts and observations about downsides to those who get book deals and publish when they are very young--25 or under. I offer these thoughts both to warn younger writers and make them feel better--pubbing super young isn't all it's cracked up to be, and there can be benefits to getting published later.
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I'm only 25 and was actually starting to get mad at myself for not being published yet. This video was great inspiration.
A lot of young people I know do this, and I know it's hard, but don't! There's no expiration date on talent, and in publishing it truly is the norm to be older. I didn't even finish a novel until I was 29 :)
Then there's me who's almost 17 and hope to be published in like 2 years 😂
Taylor Batts high five for age twins looking to get those damn books done!
Same, just 24... and felt like I am being 'late' because of all the 'super young' already successful people. Which is total nonsense but still... The pressure.
@@AlexaDonne Knowing this, I actually feel better now. Thanks for sharing :) !
34 years old here... working on my first novel now! 😩 worked since I was 14.. no college.. always dreamed of some type of writing career.... I have goals but I’m not afraid to work! ✍🏼💪🏼
Rooting for you! Good luck!
You're gonna be in the acknowledgements section of my book. And the reason for that is your channel, Aunty Alexa.
same.
Alexa: Super young, younger, kids, really really young.
Me: Must be talking about the random 16 or 18 year old who gets published here and there.
Alexa: I'm talking about people who wrote a book in college and got it published and they became a bestseller by the time they were 22.
Me, a 22 year old: You tell 'em. Wait. Oh. Oh no.
It doesn't mean anything, just keep writing she is speaking for young unicorn writers.
Don’t give up man! Never ever give up!
A younger person might be more likely to be used, manipulated, defrauded, guided wrongly, etc, because of lack of experience.
Yep, and I've seen it. And with the ego part, you can't even entirely blame it on the young author. Publishing does so many young writers a disservice by treating them like a show pony, delighting in the novelty of their age. And then if the sales turn around/never materialize, they drop them like a hot potato. I hate it.
@@AlexaDonne i wouldnt blame the publishing companies sometimes. published at 13 or younger is really surprising, to anyone ever. too bad it gets to the kids head.
"All of these setbacks make us better writers, and when a writer never got that and isn't allowed to fail safely... they're forced to do it on a public stage, and the pressure can be overwhelming." Yessssssssss this is such a great point! If I hadn't failed on submission 3 times, I probably wouldn't have pushed quite as hard to make my next book SO much better. And while it was so hard to go through all the rejection and seemingly endless waiting at the time, in retrospect I'm so glad that I learned all of those valuable craft skills from CPs/editors instead of from public reviews. AND by "failing" for so long, I learned so much about the publishing industry itself, so I feel more prepared as a debut than I would have if my first book had sold. Failure hurts, but it's healthy, and you learn from it.
I understand where you are coming from. I'm starting to feel it. I was always so smart in school and now I'm older and taking advance classes in high school and I'm not trying to push farther because in "so smart".
With writing, I'm always trying to grow and learn. It's one of two places in my life I work continually work and try to make it. As a seventeen years old, I don't want to fall into a pattern of writing the same thing forever.
Thank you for this video! Love your advice!
I definitely went through that, too! I think especially nowadays if you're even a little bit sharp academically, everyone tells you how gifted you are, and there are honors track classes and then APs, and just lots of smoke being blown up your ass. And you are smart! But one of my biggest life lessons post high school and then even more post college is how little smart matters in the wider world. I'm much happier having let go of a lot of my academic competitiveness, and also having leaned into just the subjects I like/excel naturally in rather than trying to be "perfect" at everything. (I haven't taken math since 10th grade; no regrets) So you have a good perspective on things :)
Alexa's here to give us that delicious niche information that we didn't know we needed.
This
"I'm worried we're gonna have an entire generation of writers that don't have any work skills" I keep thinking the same thing about young people that break out on youtube and live off only their channel! I can't imagine most of these people will be able to uphold relevance for an entire lifetime and I keep wondering what will become of these young people when they're older and have no job experience.
Yep, I'm worried about the same thing. TH-cam is GREAT but it just stands to reason that only a small number of breakouts, who parlay their YT start into something bigger, will make it in the long run. It's about diversifying revenue streams/having talents beyond just YT. So the breakouts launching makeup lines, doing TV hosting, music, even acting--they'll be fine. But there will be a HUGE bubble that bursts eventually.
It kind of already happen in the early days of yourube, right when it was bought by google. Look of Channel Awesome. Nostalgia Critic and the Angry Video Game Nerd were consider big hits when the came on the platform in 06 07, now 13 years later when TH-cam has been saturated with content, not so much.
I completely understand what you mean. I really want to be a writer and I’m definitely gonna try. But if I fail. I have lots of experience with painting and paving. By painting I mean like painting a house. So if I don’t end up a writer. I have that work experience for me to get my living
As someone who's almost 30, this is already starting to make me feel better. Your story reminds me of Jamie from The Last Five Years.
In the almost 30 club too. I definitely feel an internal/external motivation to be more and do more because of my age.
im in the club too. every one of my friends is successful AND or married, and im still trying to publish my dozens of book ideas lol. its pretty sad. everyone thinks art of any kind is not worth it.
I know you won't ever say in public, because you are too classy/not that kind of person... However, I am dying to know who specifically thinking of in this video, because your voice is crackling from all that salt. Damn.
Lololol personally I was thinking of Christopher Paolini...
As a 19 year old who is trying to get my first book published really soon, this video reminded me that it's okay to take your time. Thanks
When any authors starts thinking they are the best and there isn’t anything new to learn that’s when I fail. You can never stop learning and improving.
I’m fourteen and working of the first draft of my first book, and you videos have definitely helped the process. I will be very careful not to fall into Narcissus’ trap, because I know that I’ll definitely want to improve my work in the future, wether or not it gets published. Your videos on self inserts have also helped me a lot, as well as your videos on tough love. Thank you, Aunty Alexa, for being supportive and kind, even when that kindness may feel hard to accept.
That's why I've always admired Zadie Smith - she came out with White Teeth when she was really young but she's always kept evolving and experimenting with different writing styles
I found my love in writing when I was only twelve, and began writing on a story I've had in mind for long before that. I quickly gave up and believed that it was just a phase. Recently (eh, two years ago--I'm sixteen now), I restarted the story again.
I am (very) young, but I've already learned so much through my consistent writing, and each time I go back when rewriting/editing, I see (and cringe at) my words, and get a view of how far I've come.
Again, I'm young, but right now I am doing what I love, and maybe (hopefully) one day, I might have the chance to publish something. Here's hoping :))
Yep. I have especially noticed your third point. Youth as a selling point is particularly frustrating in a field with so many young *women* because we're already consistently messaged that our worth is tied to youth and appearance. But this is a lie! Readers connect to the words on a page, and that's what lasts.
Also, your advice is solid for any writer at any age: Stay humble. Keep improving your skills. Have a back up plan. ❤️
That's for entertainment industry tbh. Writing? Not so much. Maria Duenas published her debut novel at 45 and years later, Netflix made an adaptation of said novel which became almost as popular as Ms. Maisel in Spain. Also, nobody tends to care about what authors look like.
Yah, that whole worth being tied to youth thing makes me so scared of growing up.
Wanna be an actress, better start now.
Wanna be an author, it would be so much better if you wrote your book now.
Wanna be a lawyer, don't, you graduate law school at 29 and you don't have a good chance at a successful career until you're 40 and at that point, you just wasted your life away.
Wanna be a model, start now, but then get plastic surgery when you turn 18 so you can have a chance at a successful career.
I'm 14 and people are already asking me to map out my life.
Honestly, my favourite song is one by Billy Joel called Vienna, it's about how we shouldn't dread old age and instead embrace it. Throughout the song, he uses Vienna as a metaphor for old age. It's really good.
@@RibbonVintageGirl Books are the entertainment industry.
Pride is definitely a dangerous thing. We've seen so many instances of authors overreacting (to put it mildly) to negative reviews or other criticism of their work, and one older instance of this has recently been brought to the forefront again. Being young, it's easy to get caught up in what other people think of you. This can cause a big ego, like you said, or cause things to get so far out of perspective that an author views criticism of their work as a personal attack. We put so much of our hearts into our books, and it's sad to think of someone disliking them, but like you said in your video about authors and reviews, it's a part of life.
One thing that helps is to surround oneself with the right people. I think everyone needs at least one friend who will privately talk to them when they start to act egotistical and gently remind them why that's not okay. It's got to be someone they can trust and will listen to. I also like the 24-hour rule, which I think is something I heard from the team at Bookends Literary on their youtube channel: If you're really emotional about something, wait 24 hours before posting about it on social media, so you have time to calm down and put things in perspective.
I really needed to hear this advice, as a writer who tried desperately to get published in my teens I am SO GLAD I failed.
Same!!
I'm turning 25 soon, and if I do get published I know if, if, I get published I'll probably be in my early 30s at least. I'm glad I didn't publish "young" because my first novel (novella?) is a messy plot and a bunch of confused characters. I'm currently writing my second novel. Maybe this one will be my debut, only time will tell. I love your videos. 🙂
Good luck with your second book!
I just turned 30 this week and always thought I would have hit certain goals by now, including being published. But this video is such an encouragement. I know I would have probably not been able to handle having been published when I was younger for the exact reasons you named. Now I am kind of grateful I am older.
Happy birthday ;) & be glad you're 30. It's the new 20.
Ohmygod I'm nervous now.. I'm 16 and just got a deal with a publisher. Can you please make a video about how NOT to fall into those bad categories?
I have a debut dos and don'ts video that applies to everyone, and should help! I'm also posting a video soon about some lessons I've learned that will also help! No matter your age, I say to find some good writer friends and stick with them! Don't let yourself get too starry-eyed if you have a lot of buzz and people are treating you like a celebrity--enjoy it, but remember your roots! And generally when you feel lots of pressure, re: other people's expectations, give yourself permission to take a deep breath, or a break, and take time for yourself. If you have an agent, rely on them for advice/helping you with anything tough. And in terms of the job thing--if you were planning on going to college, still go. If you weren't planning on it, still think about pursuing something job-wise beyond writing that interests you.
Alexa Donne Alright, Thanks! I’m honestly a fan of u since a long time ago, like my online mentor😅👍🏻
@@PeachyLiv Aww, that's so nice to hear! And congrats on getting published! :)
Alexa Donne Hehe thank you so much😁
Lesson learned: Marry rich! Just kidding, nice video as usual Alexa.
Can I just say how much I appreciate you pronouncing all those German words correctly?
your videos help me get inspired (& saves my writers block 100% of the time) im SO glad i found you!!! and for giving the truth as it is, can’t wait to continue to learn from you :))
I needed to hear this. I was beating myself up because I wasn't writing much fiction in my early 20s and I felt like I lost so many years of my life. The hype around young authors definitely fed into this. But I think now that I've lived a little longer, am more mature, and learned how to take criticism, I can publish a better book than I could have 5 years ago.
Thank you Alexa. You always have great content. I have learned another thing from you. I want to get published but certainly not now. I'm still not confident about my writing and still polishing on a lot of things, so this video really made me feel good and learned something from you again. 💕
As a young, newbie writer, I sincerely hope I don't fall into the pitfalls and remain conscientious of where I am in the writing field.
Wow, that was profound.
I truly appreciate you much more after listening to this.
If you're young and writing I have to tip my hat. Great stuff, don't stop. My advice would be to hold off on going straight to publishing. Build your books up and get a catelog behind you until you have some life experience under your belt so you don't get the short end of the stick in a book deal. Having an arsenal of books behind you will help your career too. Most successful books have a decent in depth concept, and I would be concerned with how larger concepts a youngling can conjure with such little time on the ground. Maybe you have had a heavy life, maybe you're the exception. Then disregard all advice n chase it. But if the advice resonates a little then know that its okay to take a few years to really hone in your art and skill. You may want to rewrite your first book by the time 5 year have past. Give yourself that option. You're already miles ahead of the norm. Tolkien didn't publish the hobbit till he was past mid age.
ALL OF THIS ALEXA!!!
04:50 You literally just highlighted what I love [and no one talks about] in Iron Man 2
Have a great weekend.
May your creative reservoir be in the perpetual path of the deluge!
"they weren't allowed to fail safely" totally agree. I self published a book very young, and my goal with it was to let it be my teacher about the process. I'm so glad I did and I feel like that was me allowing myself to fail safely. Great video Alexa, love hearing your take on these kinds of things!
Not just Americans not being allowed to fail safely. For my generation in the UK, the lowest pass grade for GCSE (the exams we take at 16), was reduced to G. You only had to turn up to the exams to get the G grade. Even though they're technically passes, most employers consider the D-G grade range for my generation to be worthless, and for a de facto pass to be A*-C.
I'm 13 and finally started to prep a novel, a story I would love to write from heart. I love the way it's coming out. Hitting NaNoWriMo 2020!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I appreciate it.
I've published articles before. But I didn't publish my first book until 28. I started querying at 27.
I stumbled upon your channel a few days ago and I'm enjoying your videos a lot. When I read a book, I don't care how old the author is, just how good the book is. People just need to pull their heads in and write a good story.
Alexa, this is one of the best videos I’ve seen on authortube of late-and so important for both younger writers and new writers in general. Of course, all the buzz and marketing around young authors is way for publishers to tap into the huge pool that’s opened up through self publishing and social media. They would be foolish to ignore it. Which is great to have those doors opening. But what writers don’t know, almost always hurts them on some level. Eager to get published, many would do it for free if it got their books out there. So contract wording and monetary promises aren’t always what they appear to be. Writers can be pigeon-holed more quickly and easily early on. So many choices are made for them before they understand what those choices even consist of. There are a lot of very nice people in the entertainment world. However, there are sharks swimming those waters as well. And the bottom line is always where creators stand. Because if you aren’t making back the advance they pay you several times over-including whatever expenses are involved if you get a book tour-writers can find themselves spat out, totally confused, and left wondering why. Educate yourselves, and don’t buy into the hype that time is your enemy. Better to take a little time and launch well than to do it too soon. And get a contract lawyer in spite of what your publisher or agent says. Knowledge is power you must accumulate for yourself! #CreatorsMatter
Hi! I’m a 14 year old writer and I’m in the middle of writing the zero draft of my first book. I hope to be published when I finish all of my drafting/writing, thank you for bringing these points to my attention. I really enjoy watching your videos and learning new and important writing tips. I’ll keep all of these points in this video fresh in my mind when I get published one day, hopefully in the near future! :)
The headshake at 11:10 just killed me xD Greetings from Germany! Your videos inspire people all over the world apparently. I am 20 and I hope (crossed fingers) to get an agent in the near future, but I know that I have a long way to go. Great advice. Really eye-opening. Love your content! - Edit from 12:21 "there is no rent fairy" xD I think I am going to die laughing
I'm 37 and my life has been full of setbacks! I'm actually quite grateful for most of them, as I wouldn't be where I am now.
I'm twenty-six and I'm worried that people won't buy my book when I or if I ever do get published due to my age so hopefully people will continue to think I'm seventeen so I don't have to tell them my real age.
I don't know many people who care about the age of the writer of the books they write. Maybe only if they really love this author and they buy from his\her books again and again (I'm totally not that person. As an adult, I only read more than one book of Arthur Conan Doyle and all are Sherlock Holmes series, so in a way, it doesn't count).
Authors can be mysterious tbhh
Life experience is key but I agree that there’s a lot of pressure (for some reason?) to publish young. Those exceptional writers are amazing and I give them a thousand congrats if you land an agent and a deal but I’ve steered away from so many authors recently who think they are above all yet can’t meet deadlines or aren’t humbled by the experience in how lucky they are. You have so many great thoughts in this video and I hope the young writers take them to heart. I published at 28 and I couldn’t imagine doing it any sooner. My side hustle is ghostwriting and I’ve learned sooo much by working with clients who aren’t my publisher. It’s a lifelong pursuit of learning and growing your passion. Long story short, don’t be a drama llama and keep pushing to make yourself better at writing. :0)
Oh I know I said in the video don't have your side hustle be writing but then of course you brought up one major exception: ghostwriting is a VERY good side hustle! I'm friends with a ghostwriter and it has supported her for years!
And, yeah, especially now that the personality/brand of the author is a bigger part of book marketing, I've been really turned off by a few people. Displays of immense immaturity in them has made me less inclined to read their books, because I assume I'll find the same childishness in their books. Plus when they have a huge ego, I also assume they take criticism poorly and don't edit, which means sloppier books published.
@@AlexaDonne Yes, ghostwriting is so fun. I'm doing a video about it soon because no one really talks about it, but I think it's such a cool side of the publishing world. :0)
Omg I’m so excited for this video since I’m 17 and writing my first book
The 30 under 30 lists really feed into this
for writing? or for the forbes list? I want to read the list now
@@KreativeHogwartsLegacyGUIDES Both really. How many people burn out at say 32 because they can't replicate previous success,. Another good example are child stars, very few don't have good careers after early success.
Nothing like a bunch of twelve year olds writing their first books to make me feel old lol
😂
@@smexyangelmike3117 😂your name 😂
@@Angel-hk5zd Do you like it? (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@@smexyangelmike3117 bruh😂maybe
I am 12 and now I am worried lol. Dont worry when I finish I am not gonna try and publish though just gonna write loads till I am good enough
Thanks for the advice!
Good advice as always!
Younger authors start twitter drama with well established authors
Haha the real tea 🍵
Great advice to all the young ones!
whoop-
I'm fifteen and hoping to start querying in a year or two. And when I saw this--
When I’m writing my stories and hoping that hopefully one day. I could make it and actually publish the book. I always try to remember to remind myself to get my head out of the clouds. And keep trying. But don’t get carried away with myself.
Because if I don’t. I don’t really know what, but something bad could happen to me 😬😂 great vids btw
Humility goes a long way!
I think this is important for parents, too. Actually, the first one can really apply to parents, more so than the kids/authors.
Old video but still relevant. I am almost 14 qworking on my second book. My first one was published when I was 12. Trying to take in these tips. Whenever I mention my book I always feel like such a snob so I almost never bring it up. You’re definitely correct when it comes to publishers and other people being more interested when you bring age into it. Suddenly they want to buy it, and show new interest that they didn’t have before. News articles from where I live interviewed me a couple times and libraries wanted to have autographed copies. It’s like they only care cause I was so young. It sounds bratty to say it but I doubt my book would have been as popular in my area if I were older, and it makes it feel like if I don’t publish more when I’m young then everyone who is interested wouldn’t even bat an eye. Sorry for the little vent lol but your video is so so so good.
Yes!! Give us all the reality checks!!
I think this is such a great topic and a very interesting watch that I hadn't thought of before! It's great that by you pointing them out, they're easier for anyone to avoid. It definitely sounds like half the problem with publishing young is just the ignorance of what it may be doing to your psyche. Knowing these things might make them more avoidable and you can actively do things to off-set them. Be aware of your attitude, attend to your craft, etc.
On another note of young writers not having work experience later is that I think it can sometimes have an effect on creativity. They often haven't experienced a work setting with adult co-workers, or an office, etc. And I know as writers we can't possibly experience everything before we write it, but I notice a growing increase of books that star MC's that are writers or wanna-be writers, as an example. If you become too isolated - and are surrounded only by a culture of writing and reading - I think you miss out on potential inspiration and just insightful events that can fuel later scenes. It could be good to be purposeful about trying new hobbies and getting into different groups of people!
A publishing agent took my friends book and she was a total ass about it, bragging about her career to our friends. (my whole friend group writes) She didn’t hear back from them for a month. She contacted them and they told her that they threw the manuscript out because the first chapter was garbage and forgot to tell her.
I had a few things published at 25 for compilations. Looking back at that stuff gives me stroke face as I think ‘they published that?’.
I rushed a manuscript once because I really wanted to be some kind of prodigy who was published at 18.....yeah, that story sucked.
Hey Alexa, I like your passion.
Hi Alexa! I love you and your videos but I'd have to disagree with a lot of the points you've made. There are certainly a lot of downsides to publishing young, such as the toll on a young person's mental health, the struggle in balancing growing up with a book career, or the struggle in juggling studying/college life with a book career, etc, but I don't think much of what you talk about in this video applies specifically to young people at all.
Writers becoming a-holes from success and writers whose writing stagnates after one big break out can happen at any age! I don't think it's necessary to scare young people into thinking that they are inherently not as good of a writer due to their young age, which indirectly assures older writers to believe that just because they are not young anymore means that their writing is more unlikely to stagnant. There are plenty of one-hit wonders at age 40 too who received a lot of hype for their first book, then could not live up to it. This is no different to the younger writers who may get hyped for being young, and then get dropped in the publishing world once their second book is not as buzzy. This is not an age thing!
Teens who have been writing since age 12, who publish at age 20, can be just as good in terms of skill--if not better--than someone who starts writing at age 32 and gets published at 40. Again, the wording of not being a "fully formed" writer yet, while I understand your intent, can be harmful to younger writers who watch this video and doubt their ability, even if they have been working at their craft for just as long as an adult may have. Yes, as a 12 year old, maybe their frontal lobes aren't as developed as a 32 year old's, but skill is skill, practice is practice, and they are not necessarily *just* good relative to their age. It's condescending to young people to imply their years of craft do not put them near the skill of adults simply because they are young. If we tell 30 year olds to keep trying, not give up in the querying trenches, why are we telling young writers that they should not believe in their own hype? (Again, I agree that there are a-holes out there who let the hype get to their heads too much, but this is certainly not restricted only to teens.)
My point is that anyone in this industry can receive buzz that does not last, and anyone can have their writing stagnate in this way. We can all think of examples of young authors who could not live up to their first buzzy book (though I would further argue that this had a lot to do with the dystopian boom and is a matter of genre and market trends as opposed to age, but that's another can of worms) but equally I'm sure we could make lists of older writers who received hype for something new and exciting but then never produced anything else to the same quality. I don't think it does any good to discourage young writers from trying to get published early on because they are afraid of not living up to buzz, and in the exact same vein, it doesn't do any good to give older writers a false sense of security that they will never fall victim to industry buzz.
TL;DR: There is indeed an issue in this industry where we hype up young writers a lot and older writers may feel panicked, or falling behind. But older writers: acknowledge your bias and ask yourself if you're framing these downsides in a way to make yourself feel better that you have not yet reached a level of craft to be published in a way some younger writers have. We should uplift older writers, encourage everyone in this publishing industry, without talking down on young writers as if they are there by chance, by buzz, and not by skill that they have been working on for just as long as older writers, if not longer.
Lydia Martin interesting! Thank you, Lydia.
i see. makes sense, its all about the arrogance. but i do know how being young can make this harder because arrogance at a young age is potent. i know from experience to be honest.
but i think the points you made should definitely be more known. its the thing that can get to your head, can get to anyones head.
the creator of naruto said at the end, that he never intended on getting famous. he said that is why he doesnt care if ppl are disappointed with events in the manga, because fame was not a factor. after all that time, he stayed the same. i want to be like him, and follow his philosophy.
@EJ Mastrocola I'm concerned this was your takeaway, because it was not the point at all. Are you familiar with me or my channel at all? I mentor teen girls in writing in Los Angeles in my spare time and have done so for 6 years. I've done videos encouraging teen writers. I *was* a teen writer (fanfic & journalism). Some of the wunderkinds in YA are literally my close friends--people who wrote breakout books as teens or very young adults (and are doing alright). But it doesn't invalidate the pitfalls I point out here in the worst case scenarios I have seen up close, which I point out to HELP young writers from falling into the same traps. Publishing takes advantage of young writers, using their age as a marketing tactic, and then doesn't care if they drop them on their ass in their 20s, the worse for wear. I don't want that to happen to more people. There's been a generational shift as we have true digital natives (Gen Z) and more information/tools are readily accessible, ie: more and more very young writers, who have talent and access but not necessarily emotional maturity/life experience to protect themselves from a brutal industry.
honestly was just about to write this whole thing but was too lazy lol
The point you made about the author's work being worse when they get older - that is the exact thing i felt with the Eragon series. The author was 16 when he published the first book and i was a really big fan of his work until I read the 4th and 5th book. It just felt forced, and as if he didn't have any passion for writing anymore. It was a really sad thing to see tbh
Gratitude is the best attitude
I thought I was taking a long time at 24 to get published. There was a girl I knew in high school who got published and I thought I was lagging behind
JK Rowling was 36 when she go published.
Maria Duenas got published at 45 and her debut book is now a pretty popular Spanish Netflix show
I'm a young teen and I've decided to just start with short stories and work my way up. I've finished and revised 2 short stories and I really want to try to submit them somewhere. Do you have any recommendations?
Greenish Cactus
You can submit to Teen Ink and Parallax Online.
I'm 20 and trying to get published. It's incredibly hard. I mean I don't mind. I enjoyed the process of writing enough not to think of it as a waste.
I want to live for writing, I don’t necessarily need to live of it.
i think the best thing for me about not publishing super young (not that I could have, i'm just thinking out loud here) is that i was pretty lenient with my stories back in the day. maybe i could have finished one, maybe the writing would have been decent, but i hold my plots and themes to SUCH a higher standard now, that i would be embarrassed to have a story out there from the time I was 22. i wasn't strict enough about stuff that didn't work and my intuition just wasnt honed enough because i didn't know enough about the craft and I always clung to single great scenes instead of trying to make the whole picture work.
But who knows, maybe I'll be embarrassed of the stuff i write now in ten years...
I think you can compare compliments and positive feedback to fertilizer. If you apply too much of it, the roots are damaged and the plant is dying/not growing anymore.
And I’m 15 half way through my novel...
should I still look to get it published when it’s done?
I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the comment section who's trying to publish a comic book. I'm here because in order to create them, i need to make a script, a story and it's hard for me to think of new ideas. I have written 7 scripts for 7 books so far but I decided to re-read book 1 and noticed it was quite boring and lacking. Since I've shown a lot of improvement since January but I don't want to book 1 to be so improved that it goes downhill from there. So thank you Alexa for all of your advice. I think it's time that work more on my skills then get back to my comic scripts.
While all of this makes me feel better, I’m still kinda pissed that I’m not published...
Might as well get off the tubes and back to work.
Thanks Alexa.
I was an attorney who published nonfiction before writing fiction. I can't imagine publishing novels young. God knows what cringe-y novels I would've written. Lol. Immediately upon cracking a book, I can tell if the author is >30. LIVING gives an author a level of depth that cannot be gained by any amount of reading or writing. Each year of your life, you meet new people, have new experiences, and [hopefully] learn more about the world around you. I wouldn't necessarily advise people to wait if they feel like they have written a publishable work, but I agree with you that they should develop other marketable skills. Going to school for law, journalism, etc. will force you to write thousands of words and provide valuable income and experience.
I became a legal adult not very long ago and am writing an adult novel as of writing this comment. Generally, I have written older characters and stories because I find those things to be more compelling for me. I think it's because I get along better with older people, but it may also be the inherent nature of the stories I find interesting and like to write. I wonder about if anyone else has similar experiences?
And it is so smart to have a back up plan. Go to school and get a degree and make writing a hobby and then keep practicing.
Oops a bit late, I published a short story at 14 last spring in my writing class, and am now starting a novel series. I didn’t think I’d like writing as much as I did the first time and am now in it for the long run. But hey, the best part of publishing young is having lots of room to take risks, fail and for that to be okay. Also It didn’t really give me an ego boost since I go the self publishing route.
Can you tell me when I bring up using a pen name. Do you query under it or is it brought up once you have an agent?
google/ecosia tells me nothing
I don't know this for sure, but I think I've seen somewhere that when you query you can sign your name, then 'writing as [penname]? Or something like that. So I think at query stage, because your agent is gonna need to know who you actually are.
Can you please do something on 1st, 2 and 3 act
How old was Susan Merriweather when she started publishing? I'm surprised no one at all talks about her.
You have a relationship with people.... wow Alexa what a flex.... My poor lonely writer heart.
Her: SUPER YOUNG.
Me: I published a (bad) book when I was 10
Her: 20
Me: Oh.
I'm 17 and I'm currently working on a novel ... my first ever "book" was only 20k words so I consider it a novella (or not even close). I've participated in a lot of short story competitions and I'm a contributor to a few anthologies, though. I'm younger than most of the contributors but I think that's a good experience. Better than publishing an actual novel really young.
I'm 15 and was never sheltered ever I know hard ship and I won't be upset if I don't get published yet I'll just continue writing my books and do homework if I become a best seller then yes I'll be happy with it but I won't let it go to my head
lol I'm a "more experienced" writer ;) (I'm 38). Started writing my first book at 30. I feel really old (especially in the authortube community, but that's me being... me). Part of me is, "Why do I want to grow my channel when I'll be 40 in two years and who will want to listen to me then?" and part of me is all, "Kelly, stop." lol Anywho, I do think your advice is great for any profession. You need to be a graduation speaker. Great job.
Oh we feel it especially on TH-cam! It's such a young-skewing platform. I've seen sly comments about my age, as well as the age of a few other Authortubers my age. It's pretty disheartening. But, beyond Authortube and YA, most authors really are older? It's such cognitive dissonance!
What if your planning to start self publishing with something like KDP? At my age, I'm a bit wary because what I'm writing, it needs a bit of fixing up. I'm turning 16 in July, and I hope that this series that I'm writing gets a few sales, but I expect it won't...
AnnieAmber KDP is a great start! I published my first book using that platform and it was very easy to get started.
I’m nearly 15 and writing a novel. I’ve. Been writing for as long as I can remember and I’ve been working on my current book for over 6 months. Is my age an issue?
Publishing young is an issue, writing young isn't! It's even better if you start young because you are becoming better from a young age! Continue writing and enjoying the process!! Write your novel and write many more novels! But please wait until you are older than 25 to publish. I am saying that because in a few years you will become better and you will regret it if your old - not so good - work is out there. Many people who punished as teens regretted it. I started writing at 14 but if I had published back then I wouldn't be happy now. Happy writing :)
I would never want to have my day job be writing. I feel like I would rather write what I want to write, publish if I feel I want to and not feel mass amounts of pressure! Sadly it's just not possible in my mind to make a stable steady living from writing or anything in the arts! It's sad but it's true!
I found a writers group at 25 and went to writers workshops to developed my craft and am now published. When your young that's what you should be focusing on is the craft of writing.
idk i'm still a teen and i've been writing for so long & improved my craft a ton (by reading save the cat etc.) and this is just really kinda disappointing.
That applies to music, poetry, any crafting, if you don't struggle you can't improve your skills.
Haha!...I love your face when you say "don't be an asshole."
Im 13.......
I've written 26 stories
AIGHT TIME I GO PUBLISH
Advice for those who get super super famous in the writing market(which is probably nobody reading this lol) but don't want to be divas:
STAY AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA!
Obviously, too much of something is a bad thing, but this is even worse with social media. Once you see how many "fans" you actually have(even if its as small as 500) you start to get invested in them. Your super excited and you want to make sure they feel good about following/subscribing to you. This could be as simple as looking through all the comments and giving them likes, or creating daily videos. A little bit of posts here and there is okay, but its very easy to get addicted to pleasing your followers. Plus, once you start liking all the comments or posting daily, that's going to be expected of you for the rest of your career in social media, and your going to get backlash if you get away from that normal schedule. It's stressful, it sucks, and worst of all, you put yourself in this situation. Finally, doing all of this takes up a lot of time. With all that time taken up, expect seeing your friends less, and if you start to get a diva attitude, expect no friends. so yeah social media is a no-no unless your so invested u want to say bye bye to all of your close friends
Oooh I have a Young Writer story. Young authors beware: vet your publisher, learn EVERYTHING about the publishing world that you can, and Always. Get. An. Editor. Especially if you’re indie or self publishing:
Okay so I was 18 when I finished my first novel and thought it was The Shit. I was legit in love with it and all I wanted to be was an author. I sent (the worst) queries out, and then queried some publishers. I had NO IDEA I was querying what was a brand new, crappy Indie press. They called me, excited to publish my book. Sent me a contract. I signed it, hardly even reading it. This was the WORST decision I could have made. The publisher was catty, the authors were clique-y, the environment was so unprofessional. I hated it. It was like being in high school again, and I had just started college (Lol). Then, one of the authors began harassing me. I was 18, and he was a 35 year old man. He would threaten me, message me, leave me 1 star reviews on my book. One day it was so bad I began crying in the middle of the college cafeteria because he had sent me like a 2 page email telling me why I should leave the publishers. The owner of the publisher called me “Bitchface” behind my back. I know I was a teenager, but I was so quiet, they had no reason whatsoever to think bad things about me. This isn’t even touching on the fact that they made me design my own book cover and never paid an editor, though they did charge me for editing.
I had no idea that none of this was normal.
Please, please research your publisher. I wish I had never done this. I was so scarred that I haven’t tried re-publishing since. (But I will soon, thanks to Alexa. Traditionally this time
Yeah I'm a ghost writer but I'd like to solely be able to work on my book
You can also try to do both.
A friend of mine finally got her own book published! It took her a long time, but did finally happen, and now she does both. She works like crazy, but she's so good at it. Good luck!
Sharon Efee I do both now but ghost writing is very demanding with a full time job so my book falls to the wayside. I'm hoping I can quit my job soon
You agree with Cat Grant in Supergirl about Millennials. I would not agree with all of Cat's politics, but she's right about American Milllennials.
How do publishing divas talk? Would they say: "Look out for Narcissus-Diva! I am your mentor, if you wish it!" (Then their heads blow up.)
One of my favorite book that I read this year was Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. Out of curiosity I looked at how many reviews it got on Goodreads. About 5,000. *not bad* I thought. Then I looked at how many her earlier books got. Her first book had 136,000 ratings. I mean, it’s awesome that she got so many reading her early books, but this book is just so good. Like, how did she lose that many readers?
One option is that rating in general is lower in the last years.
I totally have no idea who she is, but many things could happen. Maybe her first book was marketed better? Maybe she changed later her genre? Maybe something changes in her writing style.
Take J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was a huge success, but then what? The adult novel she tried to write under a pen name wasn't really loved, and I think it's even before knowing she's the writer. And I guess there's a reason that "magical beasts and where to find them" became movies before a book for a reason. Now she writes again Harry Potter. Probably, because she understood that it's the only thing that work for her
Some early books get big hype, bigger than anything else a writer writes, even when the later books are better :( It kind of sucks!
Obviously, her publisher doesn't market her so much any more. She is not the "next young hot thing" any more. Others are waiting in line. I am happy to learn she is getting better, though! Maybe her writing will win readers back!
@@sharonefee1426 JK Rowling has written 4 books since The Casual Vacancy under a pen name. All of them are rated well on Goodreads.
I love Julie Kagawa!!!!
I thought I was late to the game at 25 when I signed my trad pub deal
I am too awkward and pathetic to become a mega diva... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...
Me, realizing that by age 25 I'll have been working 10 years professionally. Dang, guess it wasn't normal to work all through high school and write novels on the side XD