Hey there! I'm 16 years old, but I have a huge passion for writing. I would love to get into the business of writing at an earlier age. I was wondering how one goes about getting started. I'd like to publish my book (when it's done) but I've heard it's easier to get a publisher to consider reading a manuscript after you've gotten your name out there (publishing in newspapers, magazines, est). I write fiction, mostly. Fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, and historical fiction. I'd love to get a short story of mine published. I was wondering if there were any creative writing magazines that feature stories of that genera. As well, are there any youth magazines. I'd like to try and get into the adult market, but even just shooting for a youth magazine would be awesome as well. Does anybody know of any magazines like that? I'm also in Canada, so if there are any region restricting magazines, I'd rather not chase a dead end. :3 Thanks.
being published in newspapers won't do any good if you're trying to get a novel published, unless you've become famous as a journalist... same goes for non-fiction in magazines... but that's really putting the cart before the horse, anyway... since you're so young, you'd do best to hone your basic writing skills to perfection and see what you can write, fiction-wise first... and your best bet for getting short fiction published would be YA mags, since i doubt you'd be able at your age to write well for the adult market, due to limited life experience... for now, in addition to working on your skills and constantly reading good fiction, start turning out short stories and get knowledgeable people to give you feedback on the quality... concern yourself with the 'business' part later, when you're sure you can write well enough that someone will pay you for what you turn out...
I'm from Canada as well. Some books that might be of help (I will not link them, if you are interested, please google them) are: The Canadian Writer's Market which includes everything. Magazines, newspapers, agents, publishers etc. All Canadian of course, but very useful. The 2012 Writer's Market is a must-have. Must. A gentle counterpoint to mamma's thoughts: In my Writing for Publication course the teacher said being published in newspapers was very valuable for establishing that you are a professional and to write as many articles as possible. He also pointed out that newspapers are a potential income source while you work on your novels. I hope the best for you Superevil!
Thanks guys! I'm also asking about this to look into the future as well. If I can't get jack published at my age (which is most likely) It's good what to know to do in the future when I'm ready. XD I'll look into your suggestions. Thanks again!
Don't be unnecessarily pessimistic. You can get published at any age, if your writing is good enough- which is possible if you put the effort in. My first story was published when I was 19, only three years older than you are.
