My teen just finished writing a novel - now what?

[Misty]

Sorry for the cross post...

 

My 15yr old daughter just finished writing a novel that she has been working on for two years.. She is editing it now, which will probably take a few more weeks.. This is a brilliant child who is creatively gifted.. so I know the novel is good before even reading it (she's been talking about it for two years so I feel like I have read it!).  She says it's more words than the first Harry Potter book so it's a good size book.. She doesn't want to self publish.  She wants to submit to publishers.  She and I both have great editing skills so I don't think we will need professional editing before submitting.  Has anyone been through this process?  I'm nervous about somehow screwing this up for her.. Should she reveal her age when she submits it?  I have no idea how to do this!  Thanks for any feedback or guidance you can offer.. 

 

Also, wanted to add.. I did read the first couple of chapters about a year ago and it reads as if an adult had written it.. Her vocabulary is extremely advanced and her creativity is extraordinary.. So the writing definitely does not reveal her age from what I have read so far.  I have no idea if publishers would be put off by her age or not!

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Eragon made a ton of money and it was written by a young person so publishers are probably more open to a young author now than they would have been 10 years ago.

[raptor_dad]

Getting a book published is as much work or more than writing it. Publishers don't generally read unsolicited manuscripts. Agents act as gatekeepers to pitch books to the publishers. So, your first step would be to get a good agent. Lots of good agents aren't taking new clients or are very specialized. Agents aren't going to read your manuscript at first. They will want to see a cover letter, plot summary, and excerpt. After you sign with an agent, they will read and suggest extensive revisions based on plot flow, length, etc etc. Then, they will pitch it to publishers. If its possible, you want to get a multibook deal at this point. So having a second work well underway can be helpful.

 

This is all second hand knowledge... I have friend who is a YA novelist. I can't offer any more specific advice. There is lots of info online on the ins and outs of the process. I would do your research and then be prepared to approach dozens of agents. This process isn't rational and you shouldn't be discouraged if it doesn't work out.

 

Good luck.

[8filltheheart]

Getting a book published is as much work or more than writing it. Publishers don't generally read unsolicited manuscripts. Agents act as gatekeepers to pitch books to the publishers. So, your first step would be to get a good agent. Lots of good agents aren't taking new clients or are very specialized. Agents aren't going to read your manuscript at first. They will want to see a cover letter, plot summary, and excerpt. After you sign with an agent, they will read and suggest extensive revisions based on plot flow, length, etc etc. Then, they will pitch it to publishers. If its possible, you want to get a multibook deal at this point. So having a second work well underway can be helpful.

 

This is all second hand knowledge... I have friend who is a YA novelist. I can't offer any more specific advice. There is lots of info online on the ins and outs of the process. I would do your research and then be prepared to approach dozens of agents. This process isn't rational and you shouldn't be discouraged if it doesn't work out.

 

Good luck.

This is great advice. My sister is a published YA novelist and she has spent far more hrs working on getting her work published and publicizing it than actually writing it.

 

Even after an agent agrees to push a book, it still faces uphill hurdles......a single individual w/in a pub co might like the book, but it has to be accepted by a pub committee, etc. Many publishers will offer to ePub vs print, but what an author earns is a pittance. Navigating the publishing world is tough work. She is going to need to not take rejections personally, but understand that rejections are faced by lots of authors before they find the right publishing house and that months of what looks promising might end up with final rejection and she will have to start all over with a new pub.

[Black-eyed Suzan]

One of the speakers at this year's NCHE Conference was a (previously) homeschooled teenager who recently published a book.  She might be willing to talk to you about the process.  Just a thought.  I left their presentation when they started talking about her teen years and the book publishing - my oldest is 6 and not a writer - so I don't know if it would be helpful or not.

http://nche.com/person/262/hope-auer

I wish your daughter the best!

[Misty]

Thanks for the feedback.. Looks like we will definitely have a lot of work to do over the next year.. I've been reading about literary agents.. This is all new territory for me, but I'm excited to go through this process with her.  She understands that rejections are part of the process.  She has frequently talked about how some really popular novels were rejected at first (Harry Potter, for instance)..

 

Suzan.. Thanks for the link.. Someone on the general board told me about this young published author, also a homeschooler.. http://www.rachelcoker.com

[lizbusby]

My sister is an aspiring YA author as well. One good tip when looking for an editor: find some books that are similar in genre, subject matter, and audience to her book, and look at who the editors are. These editors would be good ones to look to submit to. Another good next step is to start attending writing conferences and networking with other authors, editors, and agents. Search for local writing conferences as well as larger national conferences in her genre.

 

I also highly recommend the podcast "Writing Excuses." They give lots of good writing advice (some of it specific to the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and some generic), but they also have some really good advice about how to be an author for a living. Here's a link to all their podcasts about writing as a career: http://www.writingexcuses.com/category/career/

[jenbrdsly]

I have an agent myself, so I'm speaking from a tiny bit of experience here, but it's a super long road to getting a book traditionally published.  Even when your agent sells your manuscript to a publisher, it can still be about three years to print.

 

A couple of revisions is usually not enough to get a manuscript ready to sell.  10-20 complete revisions is more like it.  She'll also need "beta readers".  Those are people who read early drafts and give you feedback.  The more beta readers the better.

 

When everything is perfect, she'll need to write a query letter and submit to a literary agency.  Many (but not all) agents will also ask for the first 10 pages.  So the first ten pages have to be compelling.  99% of the time, those are the only ten pages an agent will ever see.   

 

You might like to check out the blog KidLit by Mary Kole.  She has a lot of good advice up there. 

Good luck to your daughter!

[Misty]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.. After doing some research and reading some blogs, I think we are considering self publishing now (through Amazon/Createspace).. This seems to be the way to go these days, I guess.. I appreciate the feedback about revisions and beta readers.. We will definitely do that..