wannabe authress.

[teen_reader101]

i sooooooo wanna write stories for a living. that dream seems a little more reachable than becoming an actress. lol. but theres only one problem... can a thirteen year old publish a best-selling book?? can a thirteen year old even publish a book?? please please please help me if you know the answers!!

[aroundthewaybo…]

Sure, there is no rule that a minor can't get published. I think that the main reasons it hasn't happened before is (1) teens don't generally have enough ambition to write an entire novel and (2) the quality of work generally doesn't meet "best-seller" standards. That being said, if you have the ambition to complete a manuscript and your work has the quality needed, the sensational fact that you're a minor might even sell more books.

I would suggest that you finish your book then have your family and friends review it. Have them give you suggestions for improvement on character development, plot, spelling, grammar, etc. Fine tune your book then submit it with a well-written cover letter to publishers and see what happens. You might not want to mention that you are a minor until after your work is accepted for publishing. Some publishing houses might not take your work seriously if they know ahead of time that you are only thirteen. Good luck!

[Clippership14]

Just to add to the above: because you are a minor remember to keep your guardian informed of all professional communications, meetings, and such to avoid becoming a target of scam artists and people who will try to take advantage of a young person. There have been a couple of teenagers who published. The key is good writing, learning the rules of publishing, and perseverance. Love what you do and work hard; don't get blinded by ambition or the glitter of fame that could be around the bend. There is something to say about a minor who publishes, yes, but there is always something to say about anyone who publishes. It's quite an accomplishment.