submit my writing for publication

my name is Takiyah. Im 15yrs old. I am very interested in writing a book. Writing is my outlet as well as music and i feel thoes go hand in hand. My book(if im lucky enough to have one) is going to be an autobiography. I think i have been through it all, only as a kid. my parents are divorced i know what it feels like to be homeless, heart broken, and everything else a teenager encounters. I already got started on my writing. I just need some help. I hope i can get someone to be interested in my book (my life) and realy help me on this project. Thats all i want. PEACE LOVE : )

I’ve had upwards of a half-dozen manuscripts out at any given point so far this year and I’ve had three pieces either accepted or published so far this year.

So, I’m marking this done. The secret is just to drop the envelope in the mail or click on “Send.” If you get comments, actually read them before sending the mss. out again but, honestly after the first acceptance, the rejections are a LOT easier to take. And while you’re waiting for the first acceptance, just keep sending out your work.

Since last I wrote, I’ve submitted two more stories. One I’ve already received a “No Thank You” on and the other one I’m still awaiting response. I’ve got another story just about ready to go too. I always want to have at least one mss “in the mail.”

I discovered two very useful resources: duotrope.com and ralan.org (I hope I have those URLs correct) They’re on-line lists of markets for writing. Both of these are weighted toward speculative fiction though they include other publications as well. What I love is the immediacy. They track the actual response rates of each magazine as well as the current status. It used to be as much effort figuring out who to send something to as it was writing the piece in the first place.

One of my stories was accepted for publication this week and even better, it’s a paying market! The response time also was wonderfully fast.

The event has encouraged me greatly and I’ve written diligently all week. I’ve nearly finished a draft of another story.

I also discovered an online writer’s group, for lack of a better description. It’s focused on speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror) so it’s not appropriate for all my writing but it’s a great free resource. http://critters.org In order to get ones own story critiqued, each member must critique the stories of others, roughly 3 stories per month. Seems like a good deal.

There in the barren parking lot I stood surrounded by heroes. Some had proven their strength in the past, some were embarking upon such endeavors for the first time, and others, well, they like I were heroines only by association. For the first few moments at mobility, hugging and saying good-bye to friends and colleagues was manageable. Watching each soldier toss their life’s necessities all stuffed into large ruck-sacks seemed like people packing the car for a long weekend. Yep, everything was going to be okay… I could do this… no problem… it’s only six months, right? Only my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, our dating anniversary, Valentine’s Day, my entire senior year of college, and the Atlantic Ocean stood between us. Psh, we’ll be fine…
Once he had made his rounds through all of his buddies, Tommy walked up to me. His gentle blue eyes pierced through me as I watched them cloud over and become glossy with tears. “Baby, I want you to leave now. There’s no use making this any harder than it already is. I love you more than anything in this world and I will miss you so much. I need you to be strong for me, okay?”
I couldn’t even squeak out an answer. Eye contact was all it took to melt my strength. My stomach dropped and my heart raced. “NO I WON’T BE STRONG!” I wanted to scream, but all that came out were tears. I clutched Tommy so tight in my arms and quietly begged him not to let go.
The moments following happened so quickly I didn’t have time to really take it all in. I kissed him once on the lips, then he kissed my forehead and promised it would be okay. He helped me into the truck, shut the door, and kissed me again through the open window. As he backed away he never stopped gazing into my eyes. I held onto his hand as long as our arms would reach, but as I backed out of that parking space my grip just wasn’t strong enough.
Maybe it would have been easier if I had driven far away, but our empty base house faced Mobility where he remained for many minutes. Those minutes seemed like days, days I should have been with him! I peered through the open sliding glass door, and watched the now loaded van pull past the house and down the road. He waved through the window of that van, but I didn’t have the strength to wave back. My knees went weak, my body felt limp, and I was at a complete loss of what to do next. There were no more uniforms scattered around the house. ESPN was not blaring from the living room. The smell of his cologne no longer permeated the air. He was gone. I was alone.

I suggest sending your work to Teen Ink. It’s a really cool magazine, book series, and web site so there are alot of places to get published.

I started looking into submitting some of my writing.

I don’t know where to begin

I have been writing for some time and I don’t know how to submit or even to whom to submit it to. I don’t know how to get started. I could use some advice.

“Deal” came back with a “No Thanks.” (Doesn’t that sound better than a “rejection?”) so I sent it out for comments from someone outside my usual group of co-conspirators. He had some very perceptive comments which I’ll take into account the next time I revise it.

I also completed another extremely short story, just under 500 words that I sent off to a webzine that published flash fiction. We’ll see.