How can you get your writing "out there"?

[Taka]

Before I start, thank you for looking at this. Hopefully the karma gods will reward you. :pirate:

Right. I was working a little on one of my various literary projects one day when I was suddenly struck by a realization. Basically, it came down to this: even if I finish one of my novels-in-progress (which I think I will), it's very unlikely to get published because:

1. I'm 15
2. First novels are rarely published
3. It might not be good enough

So I thought that it might be a good idea to start on smaller things first; then, when I've become more experienced, I can try and get a novel published. The problem is that I don't quite know where to start. I mean, where can I get experience writing and having that writing available to people to read? I thought of the following:

> Writing for magazines
Problems: I'm not eighteen (I assume this is a problem); I don't know what kind of magazine I could reasonably hope to apply for (if any); not even sure if there are magazines that have fiction written for them...

> Putting my writing on a blog
Problems: No-one would read if it were my own blog; if it were one that was already frequently read then I would have no chance of getting on it...

> Posting my writing on YWO forumsProblems: I want to write stuff really regularly, and it's rude to post too often; also, I want the feeling that I'm writing for "real life". (No offence meant to this site, because I actually find it really useful. It's just different from what I'm looking for in this instance)

> Applying for writing competitions
Problem: Can't find any, though I'm assured they are very common.

> I can't think of anywhere else...

I realise I haven't put this particularly clearly, but hopefully you can understand what I mean. How can I get some experience with "proper" writing at my age and with no great... well, experience? I'm not looking for my work to be read by thousands of people (well, that would be nice, but it's not feasible really): I just want to put some short stories, essays etc. "out there". Anyone know how?

[Majyk]

I've got to make this quick because I've got to log off pretty soon (so excuse me for the detail-lacking response), but you mentioned writing magazines. YWO has its own magazine, which--of course--is for young writers, not only people eighteen or over.

http://sbsmag.wordpress.com/

You might want to check it out, if you haven't already.

[Spacepirate]

1. I'm 15

It can be done. There are authors out there who are teenagers, but again, this isn't very likely.

2. First novels are rarely published
3. It might not be good enough

These are probably the big reasons. Writing is one of those jobs where getting older does actually help you, and no offence but relative, we all probably suck as writers. Regardless of how well we think our writing might be, it's just not that likely.

So I thought that it might be a good idea to start on smaller things first; then, when I've become more experienced, I can try and get a novel published. The problem is that I don't quite know where to start. I mean, where can I get experience writing and having that writing available to people to read? I thought of the following:

> Writing for magazines
Problems: I'm not eighteen (I assume this is a problem); I don't know what kind of magazine I could reasonably hope to apply for (if any); not even sure if there are magazines that have fiction written for them...

Actually, apart from SBS (SBS is a good thing, you should submit to that), you could try a number of other online magazines which don't really have any specific age limit. A couple comes to mind already for SF, and fantasy. There are actually millions of them out there, and it's a pain to search through the proper ones, and even then, getting in is another thing altogether. You're probably needing to submit short stories, and those are possibly harder to write than novels. Yeah. Life's a bitch. Don't hate me, all you novelists. :P

I'm sure someone else with more information (like Shaun) will be able to help with this.

> Putting my writing on a blog
Problems: No-one would read if it were my own blog; if it were one that was already frequently read then I would have no chance of getting on it...

You'd need to do a hell of a lot of advertising to get it read by a lot of people. Arduous task in itself and self-publishing is always that bit wishy washy.

> Posting my writing on YWO forumsProblems: I want to write stuff really regularly, and it's rude to post too often; also, I want the feeling that I'm writing for "real life". (No offence meant to this site, because I actually find it really useful. It's just different from what I'm looking for in this instance)

Well, how much do you write now? I'm sure YWO wouldn't mind a short story a week. And you'd need to crit just as well so it does even out.

> Applying for writing competitions
Problem: Can't find any, though I'm assured they are very common.

There are loads. I swear to god. You just need to ask around, go to big library sites and find out. There's usually like a national writing organisation or something. Although, a lot of the stuff I've seen is for poetry.

To be honest, this is possibly a really good option for you. Just entering, and winning, writing competitions.

> I can't think of anywhere else...

A roundabout way is find some sort of writing group, and get some funds to publish a little book. Albeit it's not a big publishing thing, it's quaint enough. That's the way I'm doing it.

I realise I haven't put this particularly clearly, but hopefully you can understand what I mean. How can I get some experience with "proper" writing at my age and with no great... well, experience? I'm not looking for my work to be read by thousands of people (well, that would be nice, but it's not feasible really): I just want to put some short stories, essays etc. "out there".

Honestly, options are limited. Your best bet is with magazines (online), hope and pray, and get to a standard where you can make it. But realise that since you started out early, you have soooo much time ahead of you. No need to rush into things. You gotta be strong also, for that first rejection (which is always a joy), but good luck. :D

EDIT: YWO should compile some sort of list of competitions/magazines/publishing stuff.

EDIT 2: I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so no stone set. Also, it all depends how good at writing you actually are. If you're amazing, you could do anything.

[Taka]

OK, thanks for the responses. I hadn't realised there was the SBS magazine (put it down to a "newbie" not reading all the information he should have... :rolleyes:) Anyway, I checked that out and it looks pretty interesting. One small problem though - i checked the site, and on one page it says submissions are OPEN, and on another it says submissions are CLOSED... um... yeah.

Also, I spent a good hour searching for competitions, online magazines etc. The good ones are actually really quite hard to find. Still haven't found any decent magazines to enter for, but I managed to locate some contests which I'm thinking about joining.

Thanks for the help and suggestions! :ninja:

[Majyk]

I'm pretty sure it's still open. That might have been submissions for the first SBS issue that you saw.

[Shaun]

SBS is still open to submissions, yes.

I'll get to this in a more detailed fashion later. I have lots of information.

That said, the only reason YWO doesn't have a market list is because Duotrope already has one and I really have no interest in putting in the kind of work they do and provide for free. So, if you want to find markets to submit to, whether for short fiction, poetry, or novels, then go to Duotrope (http://www.duotrope.com/). I'll have more on that too, when I come back.

[Shaun]

Alright, now I can get to this with an appropriate amount of words.

Right. I was working a little on one of my various literary projects one day when I was suddenly struck by a realization. Basically, it came down to this: even if I finish one of my novels-in-progress (which I think I will), it's very unlikely to get published because:

1. I'm 15
2. First novels are rarely published
3. It might not be good enough

1. It is unlikely that your novel will be published at 15. It happens, but rarely. That shouldn't be a deterrent, however. It's very difficult to get anything published at any age, because it has to be. There's a reason why self-publishing grew so much in the last year: because some people can't handle rejection and the difficult process of publishing the real way.

2. Yes, that's true. Generally you write a first novel, move on to the second, and so on. First novels are practice. You should give it your all, but be willing to move on to another one when it's done.

3. So make it good enough. Get people to read it. And by people, I mean folks who will be brutally honest with you, like some folks on this site. We need to have some sort of novel critting camp on this site...

So I thought that it might be a good idea to start on smaller things first; then, when I've become more experienced, I can try and get a novel published. The problem is that I don't quite know where to start. I mean, where can I get experience writing and having that writing available to people to read?

This is actually the "traditional" route that many genre fiction writers go. You write short stories and then move up to novels. It's a nice way to do it, sure, but you don't have to. I'm doing that, but that's because I actually enjoy short stories (they're easier to write when I'm in the middle of school...novels require a lot more attention).

> Writing for magazines
Problems: I'm not eighteen (I assume this is a problem); I don't know what kind of magazine I could reasonably hope to apply for (if any); not even sure if there are magazines that have fiction written for them...

It doesn't really work that way. Most fiction magazines require you to submit work to them. They then decide if they want it, or not. Then you submit it somewhere else. Magazines only rarely commission work from authors.

Non-fiction magazines are trickier. They either take submissions the same way, or they do things by commission or query. Non-fiction pays more, but it's not easy to get into, and you have to develop an entirely different craft than for fiction.

Secondly, there are magazines that are specifically open to submissions by youngsters like yourself (such as Survival By Storytelling, YWO's magazine), and a lot of magazines out there do take submissions from anyone. The only problem you will have is that you have to have your parent or guardian sign the contract with you, assuming you're in the U.S. Whatever the legal "adult" age is in your country of origin, if you're under that, then you need a parent of guardian. The reason? Because only adults can legally sign contracts, and to get published by a magazine, you have to sign a contract.

> Putting my writing on a blog
Problems: No-one would read if it were my own blog; if it were one that was already frequently read then I would have no chance of getting on it...

Neither of these are necessarily true. Everyone starts blogging as a nobody. I did. I now have about 400 subscribers. Others have many more. It depends on your niche and what you do with it.

The second part is only true if you're a nobody. If you blog and start building a readership, you can end up on other blogs writing fiction and the like.

My recommendation is to only post fiction on a blog for practice. Don't use it as a vehicle to get noticed by publishers. The chances of that happening are slim. That said, having a bog with a modest readership can make you look good to publishers, because you come with a built in PR machine. It's something to think about.

> Posting my writing on YWO forumsProblems: I want to write stuff really regularly, and it's rude to post too often; also, I want the feeling that I'm writing for "real life". (No offence meant to this site, because I actually find it really useful. It's just different from what I'm looking for in this instance)

You should be using YWO to get help with your writing, not for posting stuff to get noticed. We're here to help you get better so you can get published :).

> Applying for writing competitions
Problem: Can't find any, though I'm assured they are very common.

They are very common, very competitive, and can be very sketchy. Be wary of any competition that requires a submission fee. Some are legit, but most are not. You can use Duotrope to look for competitions, but they usually only list ones without submission fees, which means some really big competitions don't end up there. Google is your friend on this instance. Just be careful.

I realise I haven't put this particularly clearly, but hopefully you can understand what I mean. How can I get some experience with "proper" writing at my age and with no great... well, experience? I'm not looking for my work to be read by thousands of people (well, that would be nice, but it's not feasible really): I just want to put some short stories, essays etc. "out there". Anyone know how?

At your age, your best bet is to write and develop your craft, and then submit. That's how you get experience. Take classes if you want, read books, experiment, and so on. Practice is what will help you in this endeavor. There's no easy way for you to get experience at 15. You might get lucky, sure, but you should be most concerned with writing good stories, making them better, and writing more.

Let me know if you have any questions...hopefully this helped.

[thecollector]

I agree with most views already expressed, though I have to admit that the most realistic of the options you've listed are the YWO magazine and the writing competitions. YWO magazine is quite massive on this site, as you know, and a few works published here and there could not hurt. If someone of importance would, in fact, be viewing the magazine, and seeing the works, they might become interested enough to want to see more of the works. However, odds are slim, of course. Frankly, the chances of getting published for all of us are next to none, or at least in my opinion, but don't lynch me for it. :P If I were you, though, I would shoot for the competition. Because that gives a chance to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak, by laying your cards out on the table (Sorry about all the figures of speech.). In this sense, the competition can let you know, in some instances, what you must improve upon, and if the work needs improvement at all. However, I think that any work can be improved over enough time. That's just my take on the question of publishing.

[Weirdside]

Short stories are the place to start. Even if it is in some no name, no payment online zine, it's good to get your name out there. And keep writing. IF you write everyday for six months and look at what you started at and where you are now, you'll fall down in shock. Write and submit everyday and the pieces will fall into place.