Timothy Harper - Your Name in Print: A Teens Guide to Publishing for Fun, Profit and Academic Success

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Contents

For Nancy

Acknowledgments

We have a lot of people to thank, starting with Marian Lizzi, the editor who came up with the idea for the book and encouraged us to pitch it to St. Martins Press. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Julie Mente, the St. Martins editor who guided our book through the writing and production process.

Many professional writers helped us, sharing tips and advice, especially Kelly James-Enger and Sally Wendkos Olds, along with Jim Morrison, Amy Zipkin, and other members of the American Association of Journalists and Authors who provided assistance. Were also grateful to the teen writers who shared their experiences and insights with us.

At home, Lizzies mom, Nancy Bobrowitz, feathered the nestTims office, at the top of our houseand offered welcome moral support. She also provided invaluable suggestions in editing our drafts. And the lunches she prepared for the three of us to eat out on the porch were always a highlight of the work day. Lizzies brother Jonny, Tims unofficial computer support department, chipped in and helped whenever we had a technical problem. He also took over Lizzies usual lawnmowing duties during the summer that she was working on the book.

Finally, people warned us that wed be at each others throats, that working together would sorely test the good father-daughter relationship weve always had. Consequently, we were prepared for some tension, but were happy to report there was very little. The whole process went as smoothly as we had hoped, and we got along great throughout. So most of all, wed like to thank each other for making this such an enjoyable project.

Elizabeth Harper

Timothy Harper

Ridgewood, New Jersey

Introduction

T HE IDEA behind this book is that its never been easier for young writers to get their work publishedor more important for them. Our book advises teenagers, their parents, and their teachers how to go about writing something that is worthy of being published, and then guides them through the steps to actually get their work into print. We cast a wide net: from school newspapers to The New York Times to books; from the local weekly to USA Today; from a blog on a homemade Web site to Salon.com; from comics to poetry to journalism to essays to sci-fi novels. Our goal is to encourage, to inspire, to show that it is possible for anyone who writes well to get published and be read. And, most important, to lay out the specifics of how it can be done.

Were a father-daughter team. Timothy, whom everybody calls Tim, is a longtime journalist, author, foreign correspondent, and educator. This is his twelfth book. His eighteen-year-old daughter Elizabeth, whom everybody calls Lizzie, was an editor of her high school newspaper, and was a columnist for the weekly newspaper in Ridgewood, New Jersey. During high school she also occasionally contributed to the Bergen County (N.J.) Record , the metropolitan daily paper that serves the northern New Jersey suburbs of New York, and she was published in The New York Times. In writing this book in the months before Lizzie left home for her freshman year at Oberlin College in Ohio, we tried to offer a mix of straightforward explanation of how the writing world works, along with advice on how young readers/writers can make it work to their advantage. And the advantages of getting published are what the book is all about: better grades, self-esteem, status, influence in the community, maybe some spending money, and a credit that truly stands out on a college application.

In addition to practical how-to writing advice, weve collected insights from experts, writers, editors, publishers, parents, teachers, and others; at a glance mini-profiles of young writers; and little individual riffsTim Says and Lizzie Sayswhen and where it is appropriate for one of us to be offering our individual point of view rather than speaking with a combined voice. We thought it would be important not only to tell you what weve done and how weve done it, but to tell you what others have done, too. We also thought it would be important to include real-life samples; youll know what a publishable op-ed piece, a well-received local weekly column, a successful magazine query, and a satirical piece printed in the New York Times look like because well show them to you.

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By all evidence, the number of kids who are writingwriting something, anything, everythingis growing. Whether in the school newspaper or a blog (Web log) or music lyrics or a secret journal hidden under the mattress, this is a generation that has grown up not learning by rote memorization, but by being told stories. In school, virtually all learning exerciseshistory, languages, culture, even mathare now taught in story form. The popularity of reality TV is no mystery: people want to see real stories about real people, and how they come out.

Kids today recognize the power of the story, and many of them are experimenting with storytelling on their own. They recognize that storytellers are stars, and writing can lead to fame and fortune. Few of them can be Tim Burton, but nearly all of them can scribble in a notebook or tap on a computer keyboard. Well concede that not all those kids who are experimenting with writing want to publish their work. But how many people really write only for themselves? Were convinced, and thankful, that the vast majority of kids think they have something to say, think other people will be interested in what they have to say, and like the idea of having other people admire and appreciate their writing. It is easier than ever to get published, but make no mistakeit is still difficult. There are more potential places than ever for teens to publish, but finding the right publication can still be daunting.

In some ways, however, the message of this book is that getting published is less important than the process, discipline, and goals involved in writing. Even for teenagers who dont want to be professional writerseven for teens who really dont care whether they ever get published anywhere beyond their school paperwriting is something that can stretch their creativity and help them find their niche, and its fun. More than anything, we hope our book helps teenagers learn to be creative and expressive, and to appreciate good writing, whether its their own or someone elses.

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This book is not only for the kids who have already marked themselves out as the best writers in their schools, the kids who are already the stars of the school paper. We are aiming at every kid who writes or wants to writeand we recognize that not all those kids are on the staff of their school papers. Think about it. Often, the most creative kids, the ones who write exhaustive blogs on LiveJournal.com or scrawl comic books or dream up elaborate science fiction worlds are not the ones who fit easily onto the staff of a school newspaper. But they are just as interestedand often more likely to find successin getting published. This book is for any young writer who dreams of seeing his or her byline in print, and having other people read his or her words.

For many writers and would-be writers, getting published has an almost mystical appeal. Theres something about seeing your words in print, and knowing that they can inform and influence people, or sometimes even make people laugh. When your writing has been published and can be read by virtually anyone in the world who picks up the newspaper or magazine or book or clicks on the web site, youre having an influence on the world. Youre making a mark. We hope this book helps you make your mark.