Tag Archives: Haggard & Halloo

Publisher wanted for 12-year-old’s novel

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Just saw this ad on Craigslist in the writing “gigs” section, and felt compelled to respond with a few suggestions for the writer in question (NOTE: typos, etc, are included as originally posted):

SUBJECT: Publisher

Hello, I am looking for a publisher who can publish my novel, this is a 20 chapter novel, it is one of a series of five that I am writing. I am currently on my second book. It is fiction and has romance, adventure, suspense and action. By the way, I am only twelve, so of course my mom is trying to help me find a publisher. But we need direction.

Thank you all in advance.

Obviously, this kid needs to narrow his or her focus; romance, adventure, suspense and action are all great, but you’ve gotta pick ONE to sell it to an agent or publisher.

Other than that, I’m impressed that the kid already has a 5-novel series in mind with 2 done. I’m still working on my first novel, age 32, thanks.

Best of luck to ya, and be sure to hit up Haggard & Halloo, Green Leaf Books and Dalton Publishing with those queries!

P.S. She may have some friendly competition from this 15-year-old author in Canada, but only if her book is also a fictionalized version of former PM Paul Martin’s childhood.

Become a successful writer in 3 easy steps!

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“Become A Writer” collage by Laura Roberts

Today I’ve been catching up on my Twitter feeds, and I’ve found some interesting posts from a variety of writers. There’s The Worst Love Poem in Chicago by Mel Schwartz over at the Tribune, Bo’s Café Life (a cartoon about writing in cafés by Wayne E. Pollard), a list of 100 Little Ways You Can Dramatically Improve Your Writing at a site called “Online Colleges,” and my friend Jason Mashak has recently published a book of poetry entitled Salty as a Lip with Austin’s own Haggard & Halloo, (and which you can buy online here).

In short, I’ve been inspired, and I feel compelled to sit down and write like the wind. Because, ultimately, if I were to write a book on How To Become A Successful Writer, it would only have three steps. They would be:

  1. Sit your butt in a chair and write.
  2. Edit your work.
  3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 as necessary.

That’s it, that’s all. Publication? That’s a concern that comes later, and it’s up to a wide variety of whims. Ultimately, the way to become a successful writer is to write. That’s what all the great writers, and even the not-so-great writers who get it, will tell you. If you’re not writing, you’re not a writer. Period. So sit in the chair and write!

How to become a successfully published writer is a whole different blog post, my friends. Don’t bother yourself about it right now; just get out there and get writing!