So, exciting news. Today is the day I announce the winner of my giveaway!
The one lucky entrant has been chosen out of a pool of over one hundred entries. I was seriously impressed with how many people dropped by my blog to enter, and I'd like to thank everyone who spread the word about it! It was a lot of fun to see so many new faces, and I loved hearing about everyone's writing dreams and inspirations. I hope at least some of you will continue to come by and visit here at Perfectly Sensible Nonsense!
And now, since I'm sure you're all dying to know if you've won the book pictured above...here we go. The winner is none other than...
Congratulations, Katie! You'll be receiving a brand-new copy of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, as well as a letter from me. I'll be contacting you via email to settle the details - if I don't get a response within forty-eight hours, I'll choose another winner. Thanks so much for entering!
This giveaway was a lot of fun for me. It was amazing to be able to reach so many aspiring authors - most of them teenagers like me! - and I really enjoyed finding out why they write. What inspires them to want to share their voice and their stories with the world. In fact, it also helped me to see why I write.
In my giveaway post, I wrote that I was inspired to become an author when I was introduced to the TV character John-Boy Walton (surprisingly, I wasn't the only one!). And that's true, but all of the comments on my post reminded me that there's more to it than that.
I've always been a bookworm; all my life I've loved the feeling of losing myself in a book. And so it was only natural that my love for the written word led to a love of actually writing words.
I'm still a bookworm, and reading is a huge inspiration for me. When I finish a good book, it fills me with this drive to write something of my own. I want my name to be on a gorgeous book cover; I want to know that people are reading the words I painstakingly put to the page.
I write because I have stories to tell. In response to one of the comments on my giveaway post, I said, "It's like when you write, you turn on this faucet inside your head, and mine's been left on so long it's rusted. I don't think I'll ever be able to turn off that flow of writing ideas and inspiration!" Much like the way photography helps me to see the world with new eyes and notice the little things I might never have noticed before, being a writer gives me a chance to view the world from a different angle. Even the smallest moments can become meaningful when written down, and so I notice all sorts of things. I'm constantly imagining how a certain moment would seem put to words.
A few weeks ago I was talking to my mom and sisters, and we were discussing daydreams and the things you think about when you're sitting in the car or just before you fall asleep. And I realized that most of the time, I'm thinking about stories and writing! I'm imagining scenes and possible plot twists and new ideas, much more than I daydream about boys or movie stars or anything like that.
Writing is my passion and my creative outlet; it's the way I express myself and my feelings. One of the girls who entered my giveaway said, "I love to write; it's like pouring my soul onto paper. And I suppose I want (maybe selfishly) for others to see the world the way I do." And I think that's part of the reason I write, too: because a part of me wants to show people the world the way I see it.
Over the years, writing has grown to being a huge part of my life, and my aspiration of becoming a published author has grown with it. And I've never wanted to wait longer than I have to in order to make it happen. I've always thought it would be amazing to be a teenage author, and I've never let my age stop me from pursuing my dream.
Last August, I read a post by Marisa at The Writing Dancer. She's also a teenage writer, and she was talking about querying too early and how many teen writers fall victim to this. "I know, I know, whenever you ask an agent they always say 'It's about the writing, not the age.' But the thing is, your age influences the writing," she said. "I'm fifteen, and I know that five years down the road my writing is going to be so much stronger than it is now...You can't write your best work at 15, 16, 17. And the thing about being a teen writer is, what's the rush? We're already a bit a head of the game for knowing what we want so young. And it's okay to write things that will never be published. As teenagers, it's our job to learn as much as we can before we can even thing about taking that next step."
I remember reading it and immediately feeling defensive. But what about my dreams of being a teen author? I thought. How can I possibly wait until I'm older to publish my work? I want to be recognized as a published author. I want the stories I'm writing now to be shared with the world. I can't wait for that!
But some time has passed since then, and I've slowly come to realize that she's got a point. I can look back on stuff I wrote several years ago and clearly see how much I've grown as a writer. Who's to say I'm not going to look back on The Sandcastle's Way in a few years, read it, and think wow, this is nowhere near good enough to be published?
Aimee Carter, the author of The Goddess Test, began writing fan-fiction at the age of eleven, but by the time her first novel was published in 2011, she was in her mid-twenties. "I say this without embarrassment - I wrote over twenty full-length manuscripts over the course of five years before I sat down to write The Goddess Test," she writes in her website's FAQs. "It took me a while to not only find my voice, but to figure out how to use that voice and craft a story that caught an agent's interest."
Go Teen Writers is a blog by published author Stephanie Morrill, where she hosts writing contests, posts writing advice and tips, talks about the book industry and how to get published, and basically encourages teen writers on their journey to becoming authors. And yet she, too, wrote a blog post on a similar subject, listing some of the reasons it might be best for teen writers to wait to get published. She mentioned bad reviews that, unless you've spent time having your work critiqued, can hurt. She talked about all of the time and effort you have to put into promoting your own book. And she told us that "if a publishing house signs you, they’re expecting you to treat this like a job...I work evenings, weekends, whatever it takes to make deadlines and stay on top of my very demanding job. Guys[,] this isn't something you need in high school. Or even college."
She freely admits that the stuff she wrote in high school sucks. Most writers do. So why are we so rushed to get our own high school work out there?
Bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson did a vlog about this, too. "Let me let you in on a little secret. When you are learning to write, you are going to suck," she said. "You are going to suck a lot. You're just going to keep sucking for awhile, and you're going to feel like you're sucking, and actually that's a sign that you're completely on the right path. Because when you are learning things, you suck at them...This is precisely why when [you] write to me when you're, you know, sixteen and seventeen and eighteen and you say, 'You know, I've written a book, I write stories all the time, and I want to publish them, how can I do that?', I say, 'NO, NO, don't do it! Stop!', because you haven't sucked enough yet."
And Malinda Lo, author of Ash and Huntress, also has something to say on the subject. "I get a lot of email from young writers who are in high school and want to know how they can get published," she said in a recent blog post. "The one thing I want to tell them—and you—is that you don’t need to hurry into this. It’s okay to slow down. Writing takes time, and it takes experience. There are young writers who have written amazing things, and I’m not saying you shouldn't write now—just that if you don’t, it’s okay. Because writing is one of the few professions where age is a benefit. The more life you experience, the more stories you have to tell, and hopefully, the better you’ll be able to tell them."
Let me be clear: this isn't a post saying I'm done with writing. I'm not giving up my dreams on being an author. But lately, I have been wondering if maybe I'm rushing headlong into authordom without giving any thought to what it really involves. Am I really ready for all of the responsibilities of being a published author? Have I truly given myself enough time to suck?
I don't think it's simply because I'm a teen that I might not be ready, writing-wise. I think that if you're beginning to write, whether you're fifteen or fifty, you are going to suck at it. And you're going to need time to grow as a writer, regardless of your age. I've read books by adults that, frankly, weren't that well written, and I don't want that to be me.
Maybe you'll grow by writing different novels, or maybe you'll grow by continually adapting one manuscript until it's developed enough to be published. But whatever you do, you need time to get your footing and develop your work and grow and learn and get better. And yes, I've been writing for years now, but in that time my writing has changed drastically. How can I have reached my full potential yet? And even if my work is good enough to be published, am I personally ready yet for the responsibilities and obligations of being an author?
I realize that this probably seems like a ridiculous subject to talk about when I've just given away a book on getting published to a teenage author. But I think that it's important to think about this, and consider all of the aspects of getting published, before we go ahead and do so. In fact, reading The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published helped me to see that maybe I'm not ready yet, maybe I do need a little bit more time to prepare. Maybe the novel I'm writing now isn't meant to be published.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to get published as a teenager. I'm sure that there are teens who are ready - and good enough - to be published. But I think that all of us teen authors should think carefully about what it involves. Do some research. Check out the blogs of published authors - they often have past posts or pages with advice for young or unpublished writers. Read books like The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published and get the facts about being a published author. You can check out my Resources For Writers page, where I link to posts and websites with helpful advice, tips and information on writing and publishing. And while you do, you should consider whether you're ready for this or not.
I'm coming to realize that it's great if you're ready, but it's also okay if you're not.
And quite frankly, I'm feeling kind of relieved. Now that I've recognized that maybe I'm just not ready, it's like it gives me permission to relax a little bit. I hadn't realized I was putting such pressure on myself, but it feels good to give myself more time to grow and experiment with words.
I'm still going to finish rewriting and editing this draft of The Sandcastle's Way; I may even get some beta readers, because right now it's my pet project. And I'm not giving up on being a teen author quite yet, either. But I'm also not going to put expectations on myself. I'm giving myself a chance to suck a little more. And by the time I think I've finished sucking, I'll have been preparing for authordom for long enough that I'll know when I'm ready.
Congratulations once more to Katie - look forward to an email from me!
The one lucky entrant has been chosen out of a pool of over one hundred entries. I was seriously impressed with how many people dropped by my blog to enter, and I'd like to thank everyone who spread the word about it! It was a lot of fun to see so many new faces, and I loved hearing about everyone's writing dreams and inspirations. I hope at least some of you will continue to come by and visit here at Perfectly Sensible Nonsense!
And now, since I'm sure you're all dying to know if you've won the book pictured above...here we go. The winner is none other than...
KATIE CONIGLIARO, of The Fiction Diaries!
Congratulations, Katie! You'll be receiving a brand-new copy of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, as well as a letter from me. I'll be contacting you via email to settle the details - if I don't get a response within forty-eight hours, I'll choose another winner. Thanks so much for entering!
This giveaway was a lot of fun for me. It was amazing to be able to reach so many aspiring authors - most of them teenagers like me! - and I really enjoyed finding out why they write. What inspires them to want to share their voice and their stories with the world. In fact, it also helped me to see why I write.
In my giveaway post, I wrote that I was inspired to become an author when I was introduced to the TV character John-Boy Walton (surprisingly, I wasn't the only one!). And that's true, but all of the comments on my post reminded me that there's more to it than that.
I've always been a bookworm; all my life I've loved the feeling of losing myself in a book. And so it was only natural that my love for the written word led to a love of actually writing words.
I'm still a bookworm, and reading is a huge inspiration for me. When I finish a good book, it fills me with this drive to write something of my own. I want my name to be on a gorgeous book cover; I want to know that people are reading the words I painstakingly put to the page.
I write because I have stories to tell. In response to one of the comments on my giveaway post, I said, "It's like when you write, you turn on this faucet inside your head, and mine's been left on so long it's rusted. I don't think I'll ever be able to turn off that flow of writing ideas and inspiration!" Much like the way photography helps me to see the world with new eyes and notice the little things I might never have noticed before, being a writer gives me a chance to view the world from a different angle. Even the smallest moments can become meaningful when written down, and so I notice all sorts of things. I'm constantly imagining how a certain moment would seem put to words.
A few weeks ago I was talking to my mom and sisters, and we were discussing daydreams and the things you think about when you're sitting in the car or just before you fall asleep. And I realized that most of the time, I'm thinking about stories and writing! I'm imagining scenes and possible plot twists and new ideas, much more than I daydream about boys or movie stars or anything like that.
Writing is my passion and my creative outlet; it's the way I express myself and my feelings. One of the girls who entered my giveaway said, "I love to write; it's like pouring my soul onto paper. And I suppose I want (maybe selfishly) for others to see the world the way I do." And I think that's part of the reason I write, too: because a part of me wants to show people the world the way I see it.
Over the years, writing has grown to being a huge part of my life, and my aspiration of becoming a published author has grown with it. And I've never wanted to wait longer than I have to in order to make it happen. I've always thought it would be amazing to be a teenage author, and I've never let my age stop me from pursuing my dream.
Last August, I read a post by Marisa at The Writing Dancer. She's also a teenage writer, and she was talking about querying too early and how many teen writers fall victim to this. "I know, I know, whenever you ask an agent they always say 'It's about the writing, not the age.' But the thing is, your age influences the writing," she said. "I'm fifteen, and I know that five years down the road my writing is going to be so much stronger than it is now...You can't write your best work at 15, 16, 17. And the thing about being a teen writer is, what's the rush? We're already a bit a head of the game for knowing what we want so young. And it's okay to write things that will never be published. As teenagers, it's our job to learn as much as we can before we can even thing about taking that next step."
I remember reading it and immediately feeling defensive. But what about my dreams of being a teen author? I thought. How can I possibly wait until I'm older to publish my work? I want to be recognized as a published author. I want the stories I'm writing now to be shared with the world. I can't wait for that!
But some time has passed since then, and I've slowly come to realize that she's got a point. I can look back on stuff I wrote several years ago and clearly see how much I've grown as a writer. Who's to say I'm not going to look back on The Sandcastle's Way in a few years, read it, and think wow, this is nowhere near good enough to be published?
Aimee Carter, the author of The Goddess Test, began writing fan-fiction at the age of eleven, but by the time her first novel was published in 2011, she was in her mid-twenties. "I say this without embarrassment - I wrote over twenty full-length manuscripts over the course of five years before I sat down to write The Goddess Test," she writes in her website's FAQs. "It took me a while to not only find my voice, but to figure out how to use that voice and craft a story that caught an agent's interest."
Go Teen Writers is a blog by published author Stephanie Morrill, where she hosts writing contests, posts writing advice and tips, talks about the book industry and how to get published, and basically encourages teen writers on their journey to becoming authors. And yet she, too, wrote a blog post on a similar subject, listing some of the reasons it might be best for teen writers to wait to get published. She mentioned bad reviews that, unless you've spent time having your work critiqued, can hurt. She talked about all of the time and effort you have to put into promoting your own book. And she told us that "if a publishing house signs you, they’re expecting you to treat this like a job...I work evenings, weekends, whatever it takes to make deadlines and stay on top of my very demanding job. Guys[,] this isn't something you need in high school. Or even college."
She freely admits that the stuff she wrote in high school sucks. Most writers do. So why are we so rushed to get our own high school work out there?
Bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson did a vlog about this, too. "Let me let you in on a little secret. When you are learning to write, you are going to suck," she said. "You are going to suck a lot. You're just going to keep sucking for awhile, and you're going to feel like you're sucking, and actually that's a sign that you're completely on the right path. Because when you are learning things, you suck at them...This is precisely why when [you] write to me when you're, you know, sixteen and seventeen and eighteen and you say, 'You know, I've written a book, I write stories all the time, and I want to publish them, how can I do that?', I say, 'NO, NO, don't do it! Stop!', because you haven't sucked enough yet."
And Malinda Lo, author of Ash and Huntress, also has something to say on the subject. "I get a lot of email from young writers who are in high school and want to know how they can get published," she said in a recent blog post. "The one thing I want to tell them—and you—is that you don’t need to hurry into this. It’s okay to slow down. Writing takes time, and it takes experience. There are young writers who have written amazing things, and I’m not saying you shouldn't write now—just that if you don’t, it’s okay. Because writing is one of the few professions where age is a benefit. The more life you experience, the more stories you have to tell, and hopefully, the better you’ll be able to tell them."
Let me be clear: this isn't a post saying I'm done with writing. I'm not giving up my dreams on being an author. But lately, I have been wondering if maybe I'm rushing headlong into authordom without giving any thought to what it really involves. Am I really ready for all of the responsibilities of being a published author? Have I truly given myself enough time to suck?
I don't think it's simply because I'm a teen that I might not be ready, writing-wise. I think that if you're beginning to write, whether you're fifteen or fifty, you are going to suck at it. And you're going to need time to grow as a writer, regardless of your age. I've read books by adults that, frankly, weren't that well written, and I don't want that to be me.
Maybe you'll grow by writing different novels, or maybe you'll grow by continually adapting one manuscript until it's developed enough to be published. But whatever you do, you need time to get your footing and develop your work and grow and learn and get better. And yes, I've been writing for years now, but in that time my writing has changed drastically. How can I have reached my full potential yet? And even if my work is good enough to be published, am I personally ready yet for the responsibilities and obligations of being an author?
I realize that this probably seems like a ridiculous subject to talk about when I've just given away a book on getting published to a teenage author. But I think that it's important to think about this, and consider all of the aspects of getting published, before we go ahead and do so. In fact, reading The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published helped me to see that maybe I'm not ready yet, maybe I do need a little bit more time to prepare. Maybe the novel I'm writing now isn't meant to be published.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to get published as a teenager. I'm sure that there are teens who are ready - and good enough - to be published. But I think that all of us teen authors should think carefully about what it involves. Do some research. Check out the blogs of published authors - they often have past posts or pages with advice for young or unpublished writers. Read books like The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published and get the facts about being a published author. You can check out my Resources For Writers page, where I link to posts and websites with helpful advice, tips and information on writing and publishing. And while you do, you should consider whether you're ready for this or not.
I'm coming to realize that it's great if you're ready, but it's also okay if you're not.
And quite frankly, I'm feeling kind of relieved. Now that I've recognized that maybe I'm just not ready, it's like it gives me permission to relax a little bit. I hadn't realized I was putting such pressure on myself, but it feels good to give myself more time to grow and experiment with words.
I'm still going to finish rewriting and editing this draft of The Sandcastle's Way; I may even get some beta readers, because right now it's my pet project. And I'm not giving up on being a teen author quite yet, either. But I'm also not going to put expectations on myself. I'm giving myself a chance to suck a little more. And by the time I think I've finished sucking, I'll have been preparing for authordom for long enough that I'll know when I'm ready.
Congratulations once more to Katie - look forward to an email from me!
