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Think of why you want to be an author. Are you writing for fun? Maybe you're in it for the publicity and fame. Or perhaps you just want to earn an extra buck or two by publishing your book. Even if your intentions are not originally to write for fun, make it your goal to have fun while you write. If you aren't having fun, what makes you think your readers will?
Try reading some books. Reading will help you see the work of published authors, how they write, and maybe get some inspiration. Try a different variation of books - fiction, biographies, poetry etc. write down all interesting words which you think will look impressive in your writing and find out the meaning of them.
Make sure that you understand the "basics" of your plot. Even if you do not have the entire plot line figured out, you should be able to decide what kind of genre you're writing for, and who the characters are. You should also have at least the big idea about the problem that your main character will encounter. Make sure you write this information down-- it's very easy to lose your way while writing.
Study about grammar and spelling. So, you may not be the best in making reports because of your grammar. That's completely okay. You can learn. Not the best speller? Grab a dictionary and look for some random words. It may not sound completely appealing at first, but if you want to become a published author, you have to know the difference between "your" and "you're".
Write out the basic event line for your book. You don't have to include every single little detail, but it's a good idea to have an idea of what will be going on in each chapter. Try dividing your event line into sections, this will help you decide where to put chapter breaks and the like later on in your writing.
Get inspiration. You can't write about nothing. An article on plastic cups and lint may be exciting to others, but most of us prefer an interesting topic over gibberish about that weird-looking hairball your neighbor's cat left on your front porch. Be interesting and creative, and think about any message you are trying to get across.
Use good punctuation. Wrong punctuation is annoying. You see that post your classmate left on your wall on Facebook that looks like it was written by toddler? No one likes that.
Don't worry about your age. Your age won't define how advanced you may be at writing. So what if you're just eleven years old? Or even ten? If you can write like you're a college grad, that's all that matters. There are so many young writers on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Write a rough draft. This can be handwritten, or typed, depending on your preferences. Don't stop writing, whatever you do. Sometimes, the hardest part of the process is not giving up on a story. Challenge yourself, keep writing and use your imagination. Remember; this is not going to take a day, or even a week. Writing your entire story down may take months on end. When you write something, do not reread it until the next step. For now, just get everything written down.
Write descriptively. You want your readers to feel like they're in the scene themselves. Every chapter of your book should be like a chapter of their lives. If your writing isn't descriptive and well written then it doesn't particularly make yourself stand out from other people in your class. Become an Accomplished Young Author Step 10 Version 2.jpgHowever, by all means, do not go overboard and make your writing flowery and fill it with purple prose. You want your readers to be able to feel like they're in the book, but too many details clog up the writing.
Create good characters. They're the ones that make the book. You could base one on someone you know, or make a mash up of a few of your friends to make a completely unique person. Most importantly, make them likable. Who wants to read a book about someone they would find annoying if they were real? Would they care if they died or if something terrible happened to them?
Try different kinds of genres. Want to be known as the rom-com writer? That's alright. But how about you try writing a thriller? Or even an adventure? Don't just stick to the stuff you know you're good at, try out something new and you might be even better at something else. The good thing about being a kid writer is that you can write about people your age and you'll relate to them better than Jacqueline Wilson ever will, so you have an advantage.
Read your first draft over. Although you can decide to fix any spelling or grammatical errors, the purpose of this step is to decide whether it makes sense. Also, check for overused words. If you notice that you've used the same word or phrase, make a note to yourself, and head over to a thesaurus to find more "interesting" words that will appeal to your readers.
Find somebody that you know who you are positive will give you their full opinion on what they think on your writing. This person will be a "beta reader" of sorts. Ask them to take notes on what they liked or didn't like, and how they would change it. They can also fix any errors you missed, although this wouldn't need to be required. Read each and every one of their notes when you are done, and take their ideas to heart. Even though you may love a certain part, chances are that your reader's won't.
Type (or retype) your rough draft onto a word processor, including any revisions made, of course. Keep in mind that this will not be your final draft, as your editor may decide to change something else.
Write up a copy to send to your editor. Make sure you use large margins, so that they can make notes. Also, make sure that you include the page number and your surname in the footer of each page, just in case a page gets separated from the rest.
If you do not already have an editor in mind, do some research on editors that would read the work of a young adult. Make some sort of connection with them, and send in your manuscript if they show interest.
Re-type your final draft with any corrections made by your editor.
Find a publisher willing to read a younger author's work. A quick Google search can help you find publishers who have, in the past, published the work of child authors. Join networking groups that allow you to meet with different people. Once you meet someone and connect with them, then you can discuss your work being read by a magazine or publisher.Become an Accomplished Young Author Step 19.jpg
Send in the final copy to the publisher of your choosing. Be sure to check if they will publish work by kids.
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