Try Again and Pick Up Your Pen: The Story of My Writing Journey
Hey everyone. No, this is not a Halloween post. I know, I know, who does a post on Halloween and doesn’t even make it related to the holiday? (Is Halloween considered a holiday? ‘Cause that would be kind of weird. *Googling it* Well, Google says it is, but I don’t know. If schools don’t close and people don’t get off of work, can it really be a holiday?)
Okay, I’m back, guys, everything is good. No need to worry.
(Wait, I continued scrolling on the Google search page! timeanddate.com (didn’t know that site existed) says it is NOT an official holiday. I knew it!)
Glad we got that straightened out.
Anyway, I will have one thing Halloween related. And that’s the quote I’m starting with. It comes from Disney’s 2003 Haunted Mansion movie. Though my family isn’t big into Halloween, we’ve always watched this movie every year. Except this year we didn’t get to it. Probably due to the fact last week I started the Mandalorian series. (Not season two. Yes, I know, why haven’t I gotten to the first season before now. *shrugs* NO spoilers in the comments. I’ve only seen like five episodes at the point I’m writing this. I’m all for talking about it after I’ve finished the first season.) Anyway, I really liked this quote said in the movie. (Yeah, I have no idea what the character’s name is, so that’s what I’m going for.) The quote is below.
"You try, you fail, you try, you fail. But the only real failure comes when you stop trying."
"What do you want me to do."
"Try again."
So, that is how I’m starting the post off. This will be a long post. Today, I wanted to share a bit of my journey as a writer and to give you encouragement to “try again and pick up your pen.” Because let me tell you, I get what it’s like to face rejection, I understand the feeling that I’m never going to get this book finished, much less published. I understand all of this. You know why? Because I have been there.
WHAT!!!!????
*ha, I LOVE doing that*
Moving on, I started writing my first book waaaaaaaaay back in the day. (Like when I was nine???? Not as long as I thought.) I honestly don’t remember, I just know I was young. And then like a week after I wrote the first thing I dropped it. Yep, that’s my tragic beginning. (Just kidding.) Around this time I was a reluctant reader. I still read because my mom is super big into reading and it was considered a bad word at my house if you said you didn’t like to read. (Which is why I only said it when she wasn’t around.) I found books here and there that I liked okay, but I had a list of other things I’d rather do than read…much less write. (I’m gonna pause, while you let the shock pass.)
*waiting*
*still waiting*
*wondering if I can do a post of nothing but waiting*
*though, that’d be kind of weird*
Okay, I think we’re all good. So, I started writing another story back in middle school and made it about fifty pages in before I stopped it. This whole writing thing wasn’t working out for me. And then in March 2017, I did it. I completed my first ever novel………in like a month. Literally, I wrote it IN A MONTH. Imagine how awful it was.
Opening paragraph: It was a sad and upsetting day. I’m kidding! It was one of the best days ever! The day I figured out the high school I was going to, Spy Academy! As soon as I got home from dance practice with my best friend, Nicholle, I checked the mail and there was a letter addressed to me. It said in big, bold letters: For Your Eyes Only.
First, it used way too many exclamation marks. Past Me, must’ve had some thing for exclamation marks. (Although, if any of you pay attention to my comments/replies you’ll noticed that the exclamation mark thing kind of stuck. Though, I DON’T overuse it in writing, I promise.) I mean this story had a LOT of mistakes. But you know what, that’s okay. There’s a reason I showed you this writing. I wanted you to see that we all start in these places. Though, most of you were probably at that point at much younger ages, but I haven’t been writing very long. (Spy Academy: The Truth Uncovered was the title, for all you who wanted to know.) Spy Academy laid the first foundations I would soon build my writing upon.
In March of 2018, I found it! (What is it with me and March?) The book that would grow in me a love of reading like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter. (I had a feeling most of you were going to think it was The False Prince, but that didn’t come until 2019.) I read this book in three days, because as soon as the first chapter was finished, there was no turning back. It showed me a lot of the things I craved for in a story, though I didn’t know it at the time.
Around this time I was working on my next novel first called Mystery at Disney Parks, but then changed to A Spy’s Life.
(To the left is my mock cover.) I completed the first draft in the summer of 2019 and by the end of August, in that year, I already had the second draft completed, too. My third draft would be the first book I ever typed on the computer. It was completed in January of 2020. (Also known as the year we all try to forget.) And then I went through a round of edits that was completed by March (again with the Marches).
Opening section: Danger.
That was what everyone said Skyler was going to get herself into. They were just closer to the truth than she would’ve liked to admit.
Agent Skyler Paxton has foiled plans of Organization 2389.
Skyler could almost remember the moment it all happened. More clearly than what The Spies of Our Time could describe in their renowned newspaper. It was a case she was sure to never forget, and that was saying something. The boy dominating the front page of the paper was far from looking like Skyler, and she was certain he was nowhere close to being the highly-trained spy she was. In fact, she didn’t really believe he was a spy for the National Organization of Undercover Espionage. He probably didn’t even know such an organization existed.
This was the manuscript I began submitting to literary agents. Now most people you meet will tell you, that, if you’re a teen you’re too young to be traditionally published. One time I was reading a YA author’s page and in her FAQ there was a question about advice to teen authors seeking publication. And her advice was to wait and not pursue publication until you’re older. On another author’s page, he had a post about things all teen writers should know. I clicked the post, hoping to gather some more information to help benefit me. And the first tip I meet is that all teen writers should know their writing stinks. These were negative thoughts piling around in my brain. They were also one of the reasons behind starting this website. I wanted to be able to encourage other teen writers to keep going. Because, guess what, the world is going to say you can’t do it. They’ll tell you to wait and that you can’t write something worth publishing at a young age. They will. But I don’t believe a word of it.
When I first started submitting A Spy’s Life, I had hopped it would work. I got my first rejection in May. And it hurt. Like REALLY hurt. But it was way more bearable than when I got my rejection from an agent I REALLY REALLY wanted to represent me. And I’ll admit through all of that, I often thought why I was doing this. It would’ve been so easy to walk away. I WANTED to walk away. And I know everyone says you have to be rejected first and in time it can work. There are many stories of authors who faced rejection for years before selling a manuscript. But no one wants that to be their story.
I felt like every rejection was a valid reason why I wasn’t a good writer and why I couldn’t make it. My true motivation to keep submitting was God. If He willed it, I knew a path would be made. That He would make it happen. But months after I started submitting, it felt like He was shutting all the doors. I remember this feeling of giving up. The last few weeks before I stopped submitting A Spy’s Life, I would be like I’m gonna send it, but I’m not going to get an acceptance. The only reason I kept trying was that shimmer of hope, that maybe, just maybe, this time it would work. I soooooo badly wanted it to work, to show everyone that teen writers can be published. That we can write. That we can do this.
And then I had to ask, can we? Is it really possible? Can I?
It was the last week in July. I received an email from an agent. And most agents don’t usually give feedback, and that’s okay. But she did. And it listed a bunch of things wrong in the first five pages I sent. It really hurt. Like, I’m gonna be honest, it hurt a lot. And used to, I would be afraid to admit that my rejection hurt, because I didn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t handle it. Now, I realize that it’s okay for rejection to hurt. It’s okay to feel sad and down. That doesn’t make you weak. In fact, there’s great courage in admitting when something broke you. But what you do afterwards is what really matters. So, I thought about it the entire day. I was hanging out with one of my sisters that day and had a blast, but the entire time the words in the rejection wasn’t far from my mind. They rang in any moment when there was a break, and still pounded when I was supposed to be having fun. I remembered that day we were watching the 2019 Disney Aladdin movie. I remember sitting there, going back to the rejection email. Turning over its meaning in my mind.
If I was to continue with A Spy’s Life, then I had MAJOR changes to make. I didn’t want to go through another draft. So, a new book idea I had earlier in the year was turning around in my mind. A contemporary retelling of “Aladdin.” On one hand, I didn’t want to drop my spy novel. But there was also this sense of excitement. It felt good to start over again. Crazy, right?
That night, July 30, 2020. My sister sat down and looked at the website I was working on with Lacey and Alana. And we published it! That night I officially became a blogger. And Teen Writers’ Nook officially went live.
The next day, I was out with my mom. And I asked her to get me a notebook, like one of them five subject notebooks. Oh, yeah, I was going to need that. I sat down and penned the opening line. And there was something exciting about this new story with genies and magic and secrets and all that stuff. Since then I’ve been working hard on it. And now, I’m almost ready to submit to agents again. I’m SUPER nervous, but I’m ready to face the rejections.
The drawing that inspired my character, Genie, in INTO THE LAMP and one that I did.
You see, though the rejections hurt, I have learned more from failing than if I had listened to all those people who said to wait. Looking back, I would’ve still sent A Spy’s Life in because it still built the blocks I needed to get to where I’m at. If I had waited, I’d have never started this website. And I learned so much about writing and submitting from failing. If I waited, my first manuscript would’ve probably still been rejection, but now I’m getting that out of the way at a younger age. And though this next one might end in a rejection, too, I WILL keep writing. That’s why I always end my writing post with keep writing. A reminder to you and me that we cannot give in because it’s not working right now at this moment. Face the rejection, endure the long writing nights, try again, pick up your pen, and keep writing.
Never.
Stop.
Writing.
Ever.
And if traditionally publishing is something you want to pursue, if you’ve worked on your novel and feel it is ready, then submit. Don’t let people tell you, you can’t do this. Don’t listen to A WORD OF IT. Because it is a lie. You CAN. I believe in you. Teen Writers’ Nook believes in YOU. Maybe we’re the only people on Earth who does, but isn’t that enough?
You know, I’m proud to say that I’ve been rejected, because it means I’ve tried. So if you have faced rejection in anything (it doesn’t have to be just from literary agents), don’t look at them as scars. Rejection means you had the courage to show someone your writing. And that’s something to be proud of. And if you’re not ready for someone to read your work, that’s OKAY, too. Really, just keep writing until you’re ready. KEEP WRITING!!!!!! I can’t stress this enough. That is how you will learn the most is to Keep Writing!!!! And I wish you the best in your writing and wherever you choose to go next. If your steps falter, may God give you the strength and courage to rise again. Because if you don’t fall, then you will never rise. And if you don’t rise, then you have no story. Keep Writing!
So, have you seen The Mandalorian?
Do you find rejection hard to deal with?
Any thoughts on the subject or words of encouragement to aspiring writers?
Whatever you want to say, feel free to respond in the comments below! I can’t wait to hear from you. KEEP WRITING!!!!!
Issabelle Perry
Issabelle Perry is a proud Jesus follower, an extroverted writer, and a homeschool graduate. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, jamming to Skillet, studying history, hunting for Narnia in wardrobes, or envisioning herself wielding a magnificent sword (but due to her clumsiness, let’s hope that never happens). This self-proclaimed exclamation mark enthusiast can be found hanging out at Teen Writers’ Nook, a community of teen authors Issabelle co-founded in 2020. She is the author of Don't Let Me Go (Sky's the Limit Press 2024), May We Make Them Proud (2023), and a co-editor for two anthologies. What she’s probably doing right now is fangirling about her favorite books to random people or scanning the pantries for chocolate.
28 Comments
Jane
Wow!! That was so inspirational! I was a little worried about rejection -I mean, you technically have to finish the book to get there and I’m still working on chapter one- but It’s always lingering in the back of my head when I write, this really helped with that, and thanks again for doing this blog (all of you) Its been helping so much.
This is a little off topic, but I just read this great book called ‘Empire Of Dreams’ by Rae Carson it’s really good and a LITTLE like the False Prince if you want to read it. Thanks again for doing these they really are helping. And no I haven’t seen The Mandalorian:)
Maggie
Aww, I’m SUPER glad you enjoy our website. I always told God if I had one person to read my posts that was enough to do it for. Every one of your comments always puts a smile on my face, so THANK YOU for reading and commenting. Yeah, facing rejection might be a little ways off for you, but the important thing is to always keep writing! And I completely get how scary rejection sounds, it does hurt but it makes us better.
Don’t worry about being off topic, I ALWAYS steer waaaaaaay off the topic. I looked up the book, it seems very interesting. And Hey, I didn’t know you were a TFP fan!!!!! (Like how have you not told me this before now???!!!! ;).) *High-fives* Have you read the fourth book? Yay, it’s good to know I’m not the only one who hadn’t yet (although, I actually finished Friday night, so I guess that doesn’t work).
Katherine
Thank you, Jane! I’m glad you like our blog. I’m still on chapter one in my current novel as well. Don’t be afraid of rejection. It will strengthen your character. And I believe you will be a great writer! 🙂
Thanks for recommending “Empire of Dreams.” I’ll have to check that out. 🙂
Jane
Yes I finished the forth book, it was really good. I just found the books this summer and probably reread each book 3 or 4 times because they were so good.
I actually found your blog because I was on Jennifer A. Nielsen’s blog and someone (it might have been you, I’m not sure) had put a link to here In the comments. I’m so glad I clicked on it🙂
Maggie
I found the books about March of 2019 and have been through the first three twice. (I LOVE them soooooooo much. Really, I’m obsessed.) Ha, when you mentioned the false prince, I started thinking you might have found it that way. I had seen the link, but honestly didn’t think anyone would click it. You’re now the second person who told me you did.
Katherine
Your story was so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story. I love that quote from the Haunted Mansion about failing and trying again. It really works here. And good luck with your submissions.🍀 You can do it!
Maggie
Thank you, Katherine. I hope my story was encouraging to you. And Yes, that is a pretty good quote if I do say so myself. Thank you again, and good luck with your writing as well.
Jane
*Smacks forehead* okay, so I was looking at empire of dreams, and apparently it’s the forth book in a series so you should probably read the first book instead, which is ‘The Girl Of Fire And Thorns’, Sorry.
Maggie
No worries, Jane. When I was looking at it, I had noticed it was the fourth book. Thanks for sharing!
Allie Andersen
Thank you for sharing, Maggie! <3
I have to agree with you, Halloween isn't really a "real" holiday. XD And the whole meaning of it is just… wrong. But I'm probably being controversial. 😉
It's surprising how much contradictory information is out there for writers! I haven't yet come across any who actually explicitly discourage young writers, thankfully. My speculation is that one of the reasons authors discourage young writers to publish is because we're competition. As Kara Swanson (a young writer herself) once put it, if we're this good now, as teens, how good are we going to be in ten years? Twenty years? The publishing industry is actually watching us young writers pretty closely, because if we can do as well as writers decades older than us, that means we can excel the generations of writers who came before us, and reach goals higher than anyone has seen before. Anyway, that's just my train of thought. 😉
We young writers have to stick together!! I appreciate your mission for Teen Writers Nook! Keep it up! 😀
Maggie
Your welcome!! YAY!!!! I’m not the only one on the whole halloween-not-being-a-holiday-thing!!!!! Yeah, I’ve never been big into it. When I was a kid, Halloween just meant getting a lot of sugary things to eat and dressing up as someone like Elsa or something.
I know right! Oh, yeah, you’re REALLY lucky to have so far by passed all of that. Wow, I’ve never thought about it like that. I don’t think I’m much of a problem to writers, though. I’m just kind of average in these things. Although, now I’m getting this just-watcha-back kind of feeling. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. Just some of my crazy, I guess. 😄 And Thank You for sharing your thoughts!!!
YES, YOUNG WRITERS UNITE!!!!! *pumps fist in the air* Aww, thanks a bunch, Allie!! <3 <3 <3 (Also, I think we're gonna get our email list up sometime later today, just if you wanna know.)
Allie Andersen
Yes, I totally agree!!
Well, it isn’t really a “watch-your-back” type of a thing, but publishing professionals are just curious to see how we young writers are handling all this new technology at our disposal. We have all of this potential at our fingertips (literally and figuratively, since we have the internet at our disposal to find almost anything out in just moments) waiting to be sought out. 🙂
YES!! XD Yay, I can’t wait!!
Maggie
Oh yeah, I totally agree. Yes, so much potential running through our veins! Okay, that sounded WAY better in my head. YAY, you’re excitement, just makes me even more excited!!!!!
Ally M.J.
Hey, Issabelle. Quick question. Where do you create book covers? I want to make one for my WIP. By the way, the Into The Lamp is amazing. *heart emoji’s*
Maggie
Okay, so have you heard of Canva? The link is here. On their site, they have a section/template specifically designed for book covers. So, sometimes I use the photos they have or I get them from either pexels or unsplash (though, they have a lot of inappropriate pictures there, I try to avoid, but heads up). And, I just mess around until I get them just right. Oh, yes, you should totally make one for your WIP, they’re super fun to make. Aw THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!
Joy Caroline
Hey, Maggie!
This comment is pretty late so you might not see this, but I just discovered your website and this is the first article I read. It was so inspiring I had to comment on it. I can totally relate to feeling like this writer thing is kind of impossible! (I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately.)
I wanted to say thank you for this blog. It’s great that you want to encourage others of us, and I was so happy to find you are a Christian. There are so few Christian posts out there, and I always want to read something that is God-honoring.
Just to tell you a little about myself, I write Biblical fiction. I’m working on a novel right now that I pray will be published by the time I’m finished with high school. It’s called “The Apostle’s Sister” and I’m super excited about it. It’s about the apostle Paul, told through the eyes of his loving younger sister. Paul’s sister is mentioned only once in all of Scripture, and I thought it would be awesome to write a story about her. Since Paul said to treat women like you would your own sisters and that anyone who doesn’t care for his family is worse than an unbeliever, and he definitely practiced what he preached, he definitely would have loved his sister very much. It’s definitely an emotional journey to write so vividly about the pain she felt for all the hardship he went through in his ministry. Basically, I want to help people realize that our Bible figures were actual humans with feelings, and not just statues and stuff.
I’m really passionate about the story, but sometimes it just gets overwhelming. I needed this bit of encouragement from someone else who understands those writing struggles. Thanks for sharing your story! Just wanted to let you know it really inspired me. And it takes a lot of bravery to submit to an agent/publisher!
Sorry for the extremely long comment. I’d better wrap it up 🙂 Happy to have found your blog!
Maggie
Aaahhhh, OF COURSE I see it. I treasure each and every comment, I DON’T CARE HOW LATE. (I mean SERIOUSLY, I don’t think I stress enough HOW MUCH I LOVE READING COMMENTS!!)
YAY!!! New reader!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and commenting. I’ve been feeling that way a lot here lately, as well. Especially ’cause I’m looking into submitting again, and man, REJECTION IS REALLY HARD. But I believe it makes us better writers.
You are absolutely welcome!!! Though really, I must be the one saying thank you to YOU for reading!!! I thank God all the time for my readers. They mean the world to me. I’m happy to hear you’re a Christian, as well. They are becoming harder to find nowadays. And some Christians don’t always produce God-honoring things. I strive my hardest to live like Christ always and to everyone.
Oooh, bio!!!! Wow, this novel sounds AMAZING!!! Like I-Wanna-Read-It-Right-Now A M A Z I N G!!!! I actually did not know Paul had a sister. It would be very interesting to see things from her perspective. Ah, yes, I imagine how emotional it would be. I think your mission and purpose for the book is so BEAUTIFUL!!! I wish you the best of luck in your writing, and I hope you make it to your goal. Which I have the same goal, too. I wanna be published before high school’s over. I guess we’ll encourage each other. 🙂
I think it’s super important to be passionate about the stories we right. So, that’s really great that you are. I’ve had MANY of those overwhelming writing days. And those days when all I wanna do is give up. But when we press forward, it shows great perseverance. I will definitely keep you in mind in my prayers, that God may give you the words and the courage to keep writing!!! Aw, I’m sooo glad my story could be an encouragement to you. And if you’re ever having one of those stressful writing days, say so in the comments of ANY post (even if it’s not related to the topic), and I will be more than happy to offer some encouragement. Writers should not face these struggles alone. I will say submitting is one of the scariest things I’ve done. Aaah, don’t apologize for your comment, I LOVE long comments. And I REALLY ENJOYED READING IT!!!! Aw, I’m SOOO happy to have you joining Teen Writers’ Nook!! Keep Writing!!! (Oh, and I don’t wanna seem nosey, but I’m trying really hard to expand TWN, so if you wanna share how you found our site, that would help a lot. But if you don’t NOT A PROBLEM. Like I said I don’t wanna be nosey.)
Also, I wanna add here: first I saw you subscribed to my email list THANK YOU!!!! But I feel like you’ve been cheated out, ’cause I had sent out a newsletter with an exciting opportunity in it (well, I HOPE it’s exciting) just a few hours before you subscribed and I wanted to give you the same opportunity as I did all my other subscribers. So, on my blog I’ve been talking a lot about my WIP, Into the Lamp, I have a portion of the opening chapter up under a page titled ‘Critique Corner’ and on a secret post I have coming up, the MC to Into the Lamp, Colin, is going to make an appearance, and I wanted to interview him. I had invited all of my subscribers to submit up to eight questions through TWN’s contact form (on our ‘contact’ page) for Colin no later than this Sunday at midnight EST. I thought I would open up the offer to you as well. You totally don’t have to, but if you would like to I wanted the offer to be open!! THANK YOU again for commenting.
Joy Caroline
Hi Maggie! Glad to know you don’t mind long comments. XD
Thank you so much for your kind encouragement! I got so happy when you said my novel is one you’d be interested in reading. It means a lot to me. You will be in my prayers as well. We teen writers definitely need to stick together, because you’re never too young to publish a novel!
I found Teen Writers’ Nook while on the Go Teen Writers blog, and I saw someone comment on an article with this website logo. I immediately looked it up, and when I read the founder bios and then this post, I thought this sounds like a great community! Thanks for welcoming me, I’m excited for more posts.
Thanks for letting me know about “Into the Lamp”! Sounds like so much fun. I’ll definitely submit some questions for Colin. A contemporary retelling of Aladdin sounds so cool. I’ve never read anything like that before, and when I read your Critique Corner I thought it sounded super creative. I would totally go for a book like that! (Also, your book covers are awesome.)
Thanks again! Really admire how you’ve created a site so positive when we’re in sore need of that.
Maggie
You’re soooooo WELCOME!!!! Aw, well I really did mean it. Thank you!! Yes, we teen writers should stick together, and of course, I agree you’re never too young to get publish.
Ooooh, FELLOW GO TEEN WRITERS GIRL!!!! Ah, yes, that would’ve been me. My name is really Issabelle, I’ve just always liked ‘Maggie’ (not really better, but I thought it would be a cool nickname to pick up) but I understand it gets pretty confusing. Wow, that means A LOT to me!!! I’m sooooo glad you liked our blog. 🙂 More posts are on the way…
Yes, I definitely hope you do!!! Honestly, I don’t even know if a contemporary retelling of Aladdin even EXISTS. At least not in the MG and YA categories. I’ve tried looking up Aladdin retellings and the few I found were not contemporary, so, *shrugs* maybe I’ve got something worth reading. Maybe I don’t. You never really know, do you? YAY, THANK YOU SOOO, SOOO, SOOOO MUCH!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 When people tell me they wanna read my book, it really helps motivate me to write it. (Also, another THANK YOU!!!! This whole comment is just making me so happy.)
Aw, I'm glad TWN could be an encouragement and bring some positivity to you. That was really my foremost vision for this site. Because of the negativity I faced as a teen writer, I wanted to make sure I had a chance to tell EVERY TEEN WRITER I POSSIBLY COULD that you CAN do this and that you're writing DOES NOT stink.
Joy Caroline
Yes, definitely keep pressing on with your story! And by the way, the name Maggie is one I’ve always liked, too. In fact, over the years I have had a few of my characters with that name. Yay more posts!
Maggie
I shall try my hardest. Yes, Maggie, is an awesome name. I’ve actually given a few of my characters the name Maggie before, too. 👍
Katherine
Hello,Joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for stopping by Teen Writers’ Nook! We really appreciate it. “The Apostle’s Sister” is a GENIUS idea!!!!!!!! I definitely want to read it. That is incredible that it is told through Paul’s sister’s eyes. I love that you are taking something that is little known in scripture and writing a story on it and that you are passionate about it as well. I wish you the best of luck and praying for God to help you through the writing journey. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Joy Caroline
Aww thank you so much! I do want my novel to be for a mainly teen audience, and have often wondered whether anyone would actually be interested. Can’t tell you how much it is motivating me to know that it is actually a good idea! God bless you as well in all your writing endeavors. We’ve been given a great gift, so we’ve got to use it! 🙂
Katherine
You’re welcome. I’m sure a lot more people would be interested because the Christian fiction market is growing. 🙂 Aw, I’m so glad! God bless you, too. Agreed. 🙂
Trixie
Wow Maggie you see so strong for facing your rejection like that. You are an amazing writer, not just for a teen and don’t ever forget that. I really think people need to more passionate about their writing and focus more on what they want in a story , rather then what others want( I understand that kinda goes against the idea of sharing a story but I think it’s true )
Then I have a question
Where do you find agents for publishing? I am currently writing a story , and it’s only 15 pages long right now but I still would look into it. Anyways great writing, love that quote” try again and pick up your pen” definitely going on my quote board. <3
Maggie
Aw, thanks, Trixie!! I don’t know about strong, but I do feel like it’s helping me in some weird way. THANK YOU again!!!! There are some days, I’ll admit, when I feel like I lack this thing called talent, but I try to remind myself, we all start out somewhere. I definitely agree. Though it’s good to know the rules and the foundations for writing, I do believe that we will write our best when we write for Christ and for ourselves. I mean, only we know how the stories we write should turn out.
Oooh, QUESTION!!!! (I got it right this time!! YEAH!!)
So, there’s a lot of different kinds of places. Publisher’s Marketplace, Query Tracker/Manager, and there’s this thing on Twitter known as #MSWL, it’s where agents will tweet about things they’re wanting for writers to submit and hashtag it MSWL (Manuscript Wish List). Normally what I do, is search authors I like to read or those who have books similar to mine and Google who is their agent. Like one time I did it for Jennifer A. Nielsen. I put in my Google search who is Jennifer A. Nielsen’s literary agent. And normally I get my answer, though not always. And other times I just google things like literary agents looking for fantasy. Now, though, because I’ve done this submitting before, I already known a list of agents I like and wanna submit to again. One thing to remember, though, is that AGENTS SHOULD NEVER EVER EVER ASK YOU FOR MONEY. Anyone who does is a scam. They work on commission, which means that they will get about 15% of whatever you make. Hope this helps!! I think it’s great for you to already be looking into that even if it is a bit of a ways off. I also recommend to start working on your query letter, ’cause it plays a big part in your submitting. I like to get to work on them in the beginning, so I have room to make it better. I think I’ll do a post sometime in the future, if you’d like, on agents and on query letters. Thank you again!! Anyways, I’m so glad you like my quote. Ooh, a quote board sounds EXCITING!! Best of luck with your writings!! <3
Trixie
Thank you Maggie that helps a lot. I agree with the writing for Christ and our selves. I mean I don’t get why we can’t do both at the same time. Just thanks for your advice , it’s helped me a lot on my writing journey , a journey that will hopefully end in triumph. Just thanks is what I am trying to say. Good luck to you too. <3
Maggie
You are soo welcome!!! Happy I could help!! Yes, very true. Even though, I don’t write Christian fiction, my mind is always on Jesus and writing what would please Him. Aw, I’m just SO HAPPY I could help. I do hope your writing journey ends in triumph. I’m rooting for you. YOU GOT THIS!!! *waving pom poms* <3 <3 <3