Classic Mom Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I am hoping someone here has been down this road. I have 15 year old who has written a novel which she would like to try to publish (not vanity publishing). The novel has been read by several published authors who I believe would not encourage her to seek publication unless they really thought she had a chance. They have recommended trying to find an agent/publisher, but both are adult authors and don't have connections in the youth market. So, I am looking for recommendations for publishers or agents who deal with young authors. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Mom Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 It's YA. I've done the googling, but a high percentage are vanity publishers. I takes a bit of digging to find the real ones, so I thought I ask here for recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizbusby Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I highly recommend your child listen to the Writing Excuses podcast, particularly their podcasts on writing as a career: http://www.writingexcuses.com/tag/writing-career/ on agents: http://www.writingexcuses.com/tag/agents/ on publishing: http://www.writingexcuses.com/index.php?s=publish This podcast is fantastic because it talks a lot about how to be a professional writer, not just how to write (although their advice in that area is fantastic as well). The authors on the podcast are all in SciFi/Fantasy/Horror, but their tips apply broadly and they have guests from other genres. The best way to find a publisher or agent is to find books similar to the book you are trying to publish, books that you enjoy, then look inside the front cover and on the internet and see if you can figure out who the agent was for the author and who edited and published the book. If they publish books similar to yours, they are probably looking for more. Remember that your book is a product and you need to find who is selling your kind of fruit. The classic resource for finding editors, agents, and publishers is Writer's Market, available in book form or online: http://www.writersmarket.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 We know a teen who published a novel through AuthorHouse. I have no idea if that is a vanity publisher or not, but the book looks great & is available in bookstores & on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 AuthorHouse is a vanity publisher...I agree with everything Lisbusby said, especially looking through books your DD loves and/or that are similar to the book she's trying to publish. Usually authors will thank their agent in their acknowledgments...She can then indicate in her query letter that she's contacting the agent because her work is similar to xyz. (This will show she's done her homework.) No reason to specify her age in the query, because it will most likely be a detriment. Do what you can to gently prepare her for rejections, because it will happen, it happens to every author even if they're talented. It's a tough business, and honestly not one I'd wish on anyone, especially not a child. I could have papered my entire bedroom with rejections! But I finally found a wonderful agent, and my first book was a bestseller, so the rejections weren't a sign my books were unpublishable, just a sign of how competitive this business is. I still have them stuffed into a drawer in my office as a reminder of what I went through. It's difficult, and very humbling, but remind her that it happens to every single person who queries. They're not a bad thing, just proof that she's brave enough to try. :) Wishing her the best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Kids & I heard a talk in person by Jennifer Nielsen recently about this very thing. She showed us some of the rejection letters she received before she found an agent, and it was quite a stack. She said that the top agents get upwards of 5,000 letters a month, so it is very competitive. She encouraged my dd#2, who wants to be an author, to keep pursuing her goal of getting published and to keep writing and keep writing and keep writing. She suggested sending query letters out in a way similar to what has been suggested in this thread already. She finally found an agent with a book she wrote when she said she stopped writing to get published & just wrote to write. (And I agree with Anna's Mom.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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