So I am currently writing a book, I have recently had a lot of writers block and don't know how I want my story to reach it's big ending. But also within this problem when I do have my book ready I don't even know how to start in the publishing world at the age of 14. and then the last part of my question is what should I write my manuscript on?
2 Answers
related; Is it okay to publish a book at a young age? and As a young author, how do you make people listen?. I'd recommend looking through those to get a good start.
Starting in the publishing world; I would email several publishers and hope for a response. Include a query letter(pretty much a trailer of your story) and maybe any other relevant impressive writing feats you have(if any). I would not include your age until they ask for it because as Leila said in her question, they hang up when they hear the age.
What to write manuscript on; I haven't gotten anywhere near publishing yet, but I write my stories on a google doc. I would do that for when you edit and stuff, but when you send it off, download it as a .docx format and send that instead. People don't like people watching them read.
I would also recommend finishing your book, finding betas, reviewing a few times, and getting everything all perfectly finished before sending it off. The better it is when they get it the better chances you have at getting published.
If all else fails, Amazon has a self publishing service call Kindle Direct Publishing you can use. I've never published with them but it's a way to get your book out there and build your writing profile.
I have recently had a lot of writers block and don't know how I want my story to reach it's big ending
I know, that happens all the time. I trust that I will find an answer if I give it time. Unless I can write something, then I write that and see where it goes.
Recently I got stuck with three major characters and their interactions so I spent time digging into their personalities and trying to figure out how they worked together and I realized that there would always be two that was on the extreme (e.g. for extraversion or un/friendliness, see FFM if you're interested in details) and one that would be in between that might help the two extremes understand one another.
It shook things loose and though I may not be using that information that much, it made other things become clear. Digging around in your world or characters might make the creative juices start to flow again.
Here are some other articles on writer's block (there's a ton of them out there... I bet you could get blocked a whole day by just reading them all... |-)
- Help! I've got Writer's Block
- Dealing with writer's block
- How to Overcome Writer's Block: 20 Helpful Tips
- 10 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
Also when it comes to endings there are lots of good resources out there to look into (here are some I like):
- How To Settle On An Ending?
- Writing a Satisfying Ending
- How to End a Story Right: 13 Tips Every Author Should Know
- Seven Unforgettable Ways to End Your Next Novel
when I do have my book ready I don't even know how to start in the publishing world at the age of 14
The short answer: WHEN you do have your book, you get the luxury of figuring this one out, but before that, you're probably preventing yourself from failing by preventing yourself from getting to the point where you DO have a book to publish.
I think like this: the book is going out there, via a publisher, via self-publishing, damn it! I'll tweet/blog/insta/facebook it if I can't do anything else. It's going out there! Period.
However, one way to start preparing yourself would be to subscribe to a magazine like Writer's Digest. I subscribe to a local sister magazine of WD and it has this section where they ask questions to a panel of publishers. Really nice reading if you're wondering about the publishing world.
Also, publishers want to sell. If you're able to create a good book at fourteen that could be a sensation they could use to sell the book, so being fourteen does not have to be a problem.
However, regardless of your age, the chance of getting published on the first go is very slim. I'm thinking most published authors are insanely stubborn. At fourteen you have many years of stubbornness to give!
what should I write my manuscript on
Start somewhere where your manuscript is safe. Preferably with backups that you don't even have to worry about. So, Google Documents might be a good bet, or on a cloud drive. However, neither of these do necessarily provide good backups. You may have to set a reminder to save the document at some third location at regular intervals. (Or just make a copy of the document in the drive so you have old versions of the text, especially when you're changing big things).
When it comes time to submit your manuscript, take time to research what each publisher needs in the shape of file formats, font sizes, margins, and other details, and make sure each submission is personal to that specific publisher... do not, for instance, CC them all or send them a mail that was obviously worded to fit every publisher in your hemisphere... ;o)
