It’s Never Too Early to Become a Published Writer . . .

Rachel Carson enjoyed saying that she became a professional writer at age eleven. That’s right. She was first published in St. Nicholas magazine at age ten and earned a $10 prize, but by age eleven she sold the magazine an essay for a penny a word and earned about three dollars. Her professional writing career had begun.

Times have changed and so have the opportunities for young people to publish. Eragon made Christopher Paolini a best-selling author at age nineteen, and he’s sold over 8 million copies of his first two books.

Whether your ambition is to someday publish a best-seller or merely enjoy sharing your writing with others, there are numerous places that you can publish at a young age.

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Very Special Contest

The Sense of Wonder: Rachel Carson Intergenerational Photo, Essay, and Poetry Contest

The EPA Aging Initiative, Generations United, and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc. invite people under 18 and over 50 to partner to produce a photo, essay, or poem that expresses their “sense of wonder” (title of Rachel Carson’s last book, published posthumously) and love of nature. Submissions are due by Friday, June 15, 2007. The finalists will be selected by a panel of judges. Then in “American Idol” style, the public will vote for their favorites in each category.

Places to Publish Your Writing Online

American Library Association (ALA) recommendations:

The great thing about publishing on these sites is the global audience.

National Council of the Teachers of English (NCTE)

This site also includes news of writing contests and lots of teacher resources for encouraging young writers.

Places to Publish Your Own Books

http://www.lulu.com/

If you’re looking to excite a hometown audience, then publish your own hand-held books and throw an autograph party. Lulu is a print-on-demand site that enables everyone to publish. There are no set-up fees, minimum orders, authors keep their copyrights and can sell their books right off the website. Many teachers are publishing class anthologies and holding huge autograph parties. Kids can become entrepreneurs and create their own publishing companies.

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Give us a heads-up for additional places to publish and we’ll share . . .
Cris Crissman