rebelling against low expectations

Young Writers Can Get Published (Lesson #1)

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Most people believe that teenagers can’t get published.

At least, not “normal” teenagers.

It takes outrageous talent, famous connections, or astounding luck. Just like making it to the NFL or winning the lottery.

It’s a common cultural assumption: normal young writers like you or me could rarely, if ever, get published.

But what if that was just a myth? What if that assumption is not so accurate after all?

What if young writers actually had a real shot at becoming young authors?

young-writers-young-authors-blog

Young Writers, Young Authors: A New Video Series

It’s these questions that Brett and I are exploring in a video series called, Young Writers, Young Authors Over the course of four videos, we’re going to ask questions, share stories, challenge assumptions, and get serious about young writers legitimately becoming young authors. In this first video, “Young Writers Can Get Published,” Brett and I sat down and I asked him some tough questions about how realistic it is for young people to get published. In return, he shared some surprising answers, insights, and a paradigm-shifting exercise that I believe every young writer needs to hear. Seriously. I got to hear these answers first, and they blew my mind. And I’m a young author! Ultimately, Brett’s answer is clear: Yes, young people absolutely can get published. It requires hard work, but, as he says, “It’s far more likely than most people think.”

This Video is For You If…

You’re a discouraged young writer wondering whether publication is possible. You’re a hopeful young writer looking for motivation. You’re passionate about anything (even if it’s not writing) and you’re wondering if it’s realistic for young people to achieve serious success. But here’s the catch: These video lessons are only free and available to the public for a few weeks. So get watching! Acccess The Video Series

Click here to start watching Lesson #1:watch-video-1-blog

“Very few young writers get published. But it’s not because they can’t. It’s because they’re not getting to the point where they have a legitimate shot.” – Brett Harris, author of Do Hard Things

You May Also Like:

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The Young Writers Guidebook is a collection of advice from young authors. If you’ve ever dreamed of publishing a book as a young person, take this opportunity to learn from those who have gone ahead of you. Click here to learn more.

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The WriterScore Assessment is a way to measure your growth and development as a writer in ten different categories. Click here to take the assessment. Once you’ve taken it, share your score and join the discussion in our private Facebook group.


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About the author

Jaquelle Crowe Ferris

is the former editor-in-chief of The Rebelution and author of This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (Crossway). She's the co-founder of The Young Writers Workshop and hosts a podcast for youth called Age of Minority. She's married to Joe and lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.

17 comments

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  • Yay! I’m so excited to learn from Brett and Jaquelle! This series couldn’t have come at a better time for me; I’m just starting to get serious about my writing 🙂 Does anyone have any tips for how to plan/maintain a writing schedule? I’ve read that having one is very important, but haven’t figured out how to make it work!

    • Yay! I’m so glad this comes at a good time for you, Katelyn!

      Here are a few tips for maintaining a writing schedule:

      1) Start small.

      Overwhelming yourself at the beginning is the surest way to make sure your writing schedule falls apart. Instead of having a word count goal or even a set amount of time — just focus on “touching” your writing every day. That way you can feel good about yourself even if you only have a few minutes to look things over and jot a few notes about what you want to write tomorrow.

      2) Attach your writing habit to another existing habit.

      It’s always easiest to add a new habit when you put it immediately before or immediately after something you already do every day. For example, “Every day after I brush my teeth, I will do 10 pushups.” Brushing your teeth becomes the trigger that reminds you to do the pushups — and allows you to add that new habit to an existing routine.

      You can do the same with writing. Decide that “every day before/after ________, I will ‘touch’ my writing.”

      Hope this helps!

  • Wow! This is amazing. I like to write my own devotionals ,but I had always ruled writing out as a career and thought it was near impossible. When I watched your video, I had guessed 10% of teens actually could get a book published. I was very much surprised and excited when I learned that it was much more than I had thought! My question is, how can I make my writing stand out so I can be in the fifty percent that does get published and which publishers should I give my writing to? Thank you both so much for creating this video series and I can’t wait for part 3.😀

    • Hey Meow! I’m so excited to hear how these videos have impacted you.

      Yes, the odds are far higher than most people think. Young writers who really work hard at their writing and give themselves a chance to succeed have a good shot at doing so. =)

      Have you taken the WriterScore yet? If not, that would be a good place to start in evaluating what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you should work on next.

      • I took WriterScore and watched part 3😀 Both were very awesome. I really like the format for WriterScore ;it works really well ,and part 3 was very helpful too. I’m so excited to learn how to make my writing even better ,and this website is always an inspiration for my writing.

  • Totally ready for the next ones!

    By the way, Brett, you and Jaquelle aren’t related in any way, are you??? Because you two are nearly identical. Just a thought I had as I watched the video.

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →