147

50

TEEN INK: GETTING PUBLISHEDby Lar a Zielin

session, hours

Think you have to wait until you’re 30 years old and have a six-figure book contract to get your writing published? Hardly. Th ere are lots of ways kids can see their work in print—starting now. Th e trick to publishing is twofold: (1) make the work awesome; and (2) know good places within the publishing market to submit. Th is workshop is geared toward publishing works of fi ction (short stories or novels), though there are resources at the very end for kids who want to publish poetry and nonfi ction.

Make It AwesomeWhat is it about Harry Potter or Th e Hunger Games or Th e Lightning Th ief that keeps us turn-ing pages, staying up until the wee morning hours so we can fi nd out what happens? I start by asking kids what they love about their favorite stories, and we spend some time talking about characters. Creating memorable people that hook readers and draw them into the story is an important step toward creating publishable works.

Character Work

Th e best way to write compelling characters is to know them, inside and out. If students are working on a story—or thinking about one—I ask them to fl esh out their characters using the Character Work worksheet. Not everything about the character they come up with has to go into the story, but the more they know them, the more their characters will come alive on the pages.

Once they’ve completed it, I ask for kids who are willing to share their favorite parts about their characters.

Plotting Along

Now, we have to fi nd out what happens to these amazing characters! I start by asking the stu-dents what they love about the plots in their favorite books. Is it that they don’t know what will happen? Or that the character they’re rooting for makes good decisions (and sometimes

Valencia c50 V1 07/07/2011 4:33 PM

148 Don’t Forget to Write for the Secondary Grades

bad)? What they come up with organically can be folded in to the overarching plot principal, outlined in the handout.

When students are ready to start imagining their own plots, ask them to think about what their character wants, and how it’s diff erent from what they have currently. For example, Katniss (Th e Hunger Games) wants to be able to provide for her family and keep them safe. Th e Hunger Games threaten her ability to protect her sister. She must not only take her sister’s place in the games, but she must survive to ensure that her sister (and family and community) are safe in the long term. What Katniss wants: safety. What Katniss actually has: lots of dan-ger. Th e plot follows her struggle to transition from what she has to what she wants.

You can use any examples you wish, but the point is to get students thinking about not just what happens to their characters, but how their characters actively change their circum-stances to achieve their goals. Using the worksheet below, have them think about what it is their characters will experience and accomplish in the story.

Editing

No matter what they’re writing, encourage all students to fi nd a trusted friend or teacher or parent who can help them edit their work. Ask them to think about what kinds of comments will be constructive for them to both get—and give—on writing projects.

Here, I like to quote from author Christopher Paolini in an interview he did on www.teenreads.com. He talked about the process of writing Eragon, which he started when he was a teen. Telling Paolini’s story (or one like it) helps show that teens can write and get pub-lished—though it does require a good amount of work and determination. As Paolini says: “Editing and revision are two of the most important tools for forging a great book. With my parents’ advice, I was able to clarify my descriptions, streamline my logic, and quicken the pace of the story so that Eragon read the way that I had intended it to.”

Encouragement

“Even at a young age I enjoyed writing short stories and poems, and though most of them were quite awful.”

—C. Paolini

I love using additional quotations from Paolini throughout the workshop because it shows he wasn’t (a) totally a rock star writer at fi rst and (b) that he had to practice at writing a lot. More good quotations and early interviews with Paolini can be found here: www.teenreads.com/authors/au-paolini-christopher.asp

Market InfoNow that students have worked to make their story the best it can be, what do they do with it? Th e “Get Your Work Out Th ere” handout lists some online sites and print publications that pri-marily accept work by teens and that also off er resources to teen writers. I usually share the list, then ask kids to talk about which venues look good to them and why. If they have fear or trepi-dation about submitting their work, more encouragement can go a long way. I personally share rejection letters I’ve received from publishers and magazines to let them know that rejection is part of the process, but it doesn’t mean that their work isn’t any good, or that publishing is impossible.

Valencia c50 V1 07/07/2011 4:33 PM

Cop

yrig

ht ©

201

1 by

826

Nat

iona

lCHARACTER WORK

Character Name

Date of Birth

Favorite Food

Favorite Song

Worst thing that ever happened to this character

Best thing that ever happened to him or her

Most dominant character trait (examples: angry, bubbly, excitable, nervous, timid, courageous)—what happened to make him or her like that?

What the character wants to be when he or she grows up

Favorite clothing item

Hobbies

Valencia c50 V1 07/07/2011 4:33 PM

Copyright ©

2011 by 826 National

PLOTTING ALONG

What is the character’s situation when the story starts?

What does he or she want that is diff erent from the current situation?

How will the character achieve his or her goals?

How will he or she change in the process?

Valencia c50 V1 07/07/2011 4:33 PM

Cop

yrig

ht ©

201

1 by

826

Nat

iona

lGET YOUR WORK OUT THERE!

online

www.teenink.comTeen Ink Magazine is for teens, written by teens, about teens. You can submit your work electronically for their site, and they also occasionally publish books. You can friend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their newsletter to get information, participate in contests, and more.

www.kidsonthenet.org.uk/Kids on the Net has a Creative Writing site where you can share your work with others, and get tips on how to write. Your writing is available for others to read and comment on.

www.write4fun.net/Write for Fun has great contests you can enter for free to win cash and prizes.

www.tinyurl.com/krpmadPoets.org has launched an online site for teens. You can get help writing poems, and you can create and submit “poetry notebooks” that others can read and share.

www.weeklyreader.com/spcFor kids who like to write nonfi ction, Weekly Reader magazine has a nonfi ction student publishing contest, and other ways to share work on the site.

www.teenlit.com/teens.phpTeen Lit is a place to read and write book reviews, not to mention read and share work. Th ey also have writing tips and contests.

print

Teen Voices(for girls between the ages of 13 and 19)P.O. Box 120027Boston, MA 02112–0027www.teenvoices.com

Merlyn’s PenTh e publication is still largely print, though you can submit your work online here: www.merlynspen.org/write/submit.php

Stone SoupSubmissions Dept.P.O. Box 83Santa Cruz, CA 95063www.stonesoup.com

Valencia c50 V1 07/07/2011 4:33 PM

Copyright ©

2011 by 826 National

learn more

Teen’s Guide to Getting Published for Profi t, Recognition, and Academic Success by Jessica Dunnamzn.to/fr0bcT

BEWARE THE SCAMS!If anyone wants money from you in the publishing process, it’s probably a scam. No one should ever have to pay to see their work published. Some contests do require an entry fee, but most contests for teens do not. If anyone ever asks you for money to publish your work, show the request to an adult or teacher to fi nd out if it’s legit.

Valencia c50 V2 07/14/2011 2:40 PM