Thread: publishing advice for a young writer?

I'm pretty young (20 in march) and haven't really given a thought to publishing before recently. I'm working on a novel which I plan to finish anyway, even if I can't get published, so it's relatively low priority. But I still wonder; are there any publishing companies that cater to writers in my age group? My main concern is that my writing is, well, not that spectacular. Nor is it remotely suited to the mainstream. In terms of genre, it probably falls mainly under young adult fic (even though I *hate* that label) but honestly I'd rather have my book printed on toilet paper than be classed with, say, the author of Twilight. Rough and juvenile as my work must be, I still feel strongly that I have some important things to say to readers of all ages (and especially the LGBTQ community.)

Would anybody publish a young drama queen like me, and if so, who?

Young Adult isn't a a genre as much as a a target audience. Also there is some damn good YA books out there such as the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. It's not all Bit-Lit rubbish that should never have gotten published, never mind become popular. Also a lot of people read YA fiction, not just teenagers. A woman in her fourties that I used to work for primarily read YA.

Any publishing house would print something written by someone your age provided that what you had written was good enough to sell and that your agent knew what they were doing. I'm only 22 and I'm currently polishing one of my manuscripts before sending it off to the agents that I've managed to find. Which is the main thing, don't send it off to publishing house, instead try to get an agent. While it is possible to get published by approaching a publisher directly, going to an agent first will greatly increase your chances, though don't be surprised if this is increadibly difficult as agents will only take on manuscripts that they think they can sell.

Different agents prefer to be contacted in different ways. Some only want a synopsis while others want the first 10,000 words or three chapters, not only this but some prefer paper submissions to e-mail so always look into it carefully but above all make sure that your manuscript is not only finished but edited and polished to be the best that you can make it before contacting them or they'll think that you're wasting thier time.

I hope this has been helpful in some way.

PageOfCups covered everything I was going to say. Remember that one 15 year old guy who wrote the popular YA books about Dragons and made a boatload of money? If your stuff is good enough and you're lucky enough that could be you. I hope that doesn't inflate your hopes; I know it can be extremely difficult to break through as an unknown author (not that I know, I'm just a high school kid, but I have some family members who are published).

This is completely unrelated but what is the Q in LGBTQ?

Queer. It got added in a little while ago and I still haven't figured out why. You'd think the other letters managed to cover everything.

Originally Posted by Cambyses

Remember that one 15 year old guy who wrote the popular YA books about Dragons and made a boatload of money? If your stuff is good enough and you're lucky enough that could be you.

Honestly, I don't care about making money. Yes, it would be *lovely* if I made boatloads of money, but as you said, it's difficult. I would rather just have the satisfaction of having produced something and made it available to the general public (and the knowledge that someone thought it was worth publishing.) I'm also pretty sure that even if I were offered a movie deal, I would turn it down in a heartbeat. Even though I already know which character Helena Bonham Carter would portray ...

Originally Posted by PageOfCups

Queer. It got added in a little while ago and I still haven't figured out why. You'd think the other letters managed to cover everything.

Oh, you never cover everything. There will always be someone who thinks they didn't get a letter . I just wish the B and the T didn't come last. And I have also heard "questioning."

I'm sorry if I sounded as though I were trashing YA fiction. I just had a preconceived image of it in my head and was hoping it wasn't all there was. You helped to clarify that a lot, thank you.

On this same note, I would like to ask if anyone has any tips on how to find and contact an agent (in any English-speaking nation) when residing in a different country?

Google it. most of the agents I'm planning on send my manuscript to are in America and one is in Australia. I just googled "fantasy horror lit agent" and read through thier contact information and picked out the ones that wanted e-mail contact first. If you can afford to post your manuscript to other countries though you don't need to restrict yourself that much, I'm not that lucky though.

I can't add much that Page hasn't already covered. I'll repeat that saleability is the biggest factor in whether an agency and publisher likes your novel. Being young I'm pretty sure isn't a big deal. The benefit older people have is life experience, and therefore maybe a more believable story, but that's about it. Then again, I am pretty biased because I am a bit of a whippersnapper.

I probably got most of ya'll beat in the age department- 17- and where I find myself at the moment is stuck. I'm writing stuff with loads of f-bombs in it that probably isn't good enough to sell as adult fiction, but is way too explicit to deal off as teen/YA work.... Sellable at the moment I'm not.

Not that I've actually tried yet....

madlyn don't ever put your work down. Many people won't give someone a shot who doesn't think what they are writing is good. You need to believe in what you are writing. You need to be passionate about it and believe that other people will care. You need to care about what you are writing which I am sure that you do. And, yes, you can get published at any age as long as you have a good story and perhaps a good marketing sense.

While Eragon was written by a 15 year old it should also be noted that it was self-published first and the father helped promote the book initially. So, a good marketing sense might also go a long way to helping a book succeed.