telling my story

[freshart]

I have been told for years that I need to tell my story. And that it could be very helpful to teenagers. How would I go about getting connected to write a book for teens? My writing is okay, but would need a lot of help!

[midnightwriter]

Originally Posted by freshart

I have been told for years that I need to tell my story. And that it could be very helpful to teenagers. How would I go about getting connected to write a book for teens? My writing is okay, but would need a lot of help!

What do you mean by "getting connected?"

[freshart]

Originally Posted by midnightwriter

What do you mean by "getting connected?"

I guess I'm not really sure???

I know nothing or no one from the writing world. Besides some freelance writing I have done for some gardening magazines.

[midnightwriter]

If it is non-fiction, you need a proposal, with chapter outlines, and the first 2-3 chapters completed. When this is done, you write (and polish) a query letter and start querying agents (agentquery.com or querytracker.com).

Start writing!

This might give you some ideas http://www.shepardagency.com/writing_proposals.html

The best thing about NF, as opposed to fiction, you don't need, and should NOT have the entire book written before querying.

[marsupial*mama]

Really? That is not the advice that I've garnered over three years of writing my memoir - but I'm in Australia, so wonder if that makes a difference. I imagine there's a christian publisher out there who'd take on a polished manuscript. Depending on the content, regular publishers might be interested too. Memoirs are outselling fiction in some demographics, and the publishing industry is always interested in GOOD, POLISHED, PROFESSIONAL memoir.

In the beginning I just wrote a bunch of chapters that I felt were important. Later I studied The Hero's Journey (Google it and you'll find plenty to get you started) and started writing in the gaps.

I read a lot from www.memorywritersnetwork.com/blog and the companion site www.jerrywaxler.com that will help you define what to tell, what NOT to tell, and ways to tell it that will keep your reader engaged.

I joined my local writer's association and did a few workshops in writing and editing. Through the association I can find writing and editorial mentors, legal advice (because not everyone wants to be in my story) and access to the minds and email addresses of many other relatively successful writers.

I found myself a circle of fellow-writers (of fiction though, and sometimes that was a bummer for me process-wise, but because their expectations for an entertaining read were so high, it had its storytelling benefits too).

Now I have a complete story and, after three years (!) I'm starting the REWRITING process, because it would be highly unusual for your first version to be anything worthy of publishing.

Writing the first draft is a confronting internal journey. Writing the second draft is a confronting external journey - learning about what makes a story worthwhile for the reader, and their market, and building a platform NOW upon which you might build your reputation upon publication.

Some publishers have prizes and and scholarships specifically for non-fiction writing. Your writer's association will make those known to you.


All I really know though, is you're about to undergo a very emotional journey in writing (and thus, reliving) your personal story. Ensure you have supportive people around you as you write and that you have someone to debrief with on a regular basis. Stuff can bubble up and surprise you when you least expect it.

Start writing and let us all know how you progress!

[midnightwriter]

How's this different in Australia?

If no publisher is interested in the project proposal, they won't be interested in the complete memoir, so writing it ahead of time could be considered a waste of time.

However, if someone is interested in the proposal, then of course saying, that you can deliver the complete product in let's say a couple of weeks, will probably be advantageus.

What I read is that querying with a completed NF project is not very professional. And indicating in your query that you have it completed might send red flags to the publisher. You'd still need to query with a proposal.

It least in the US and Canada.

[marsupial*mama]

What you say is true for non-fiction - but not for memoir, which you treat just like any fiction story as far as I'm aware. If you're writing a reference book, a How-To, a Self-Help, an opinion piece, a travel book, a recipe book, whatever, you'd start with a proposal. But not with memoir.

[midnightwriter]

Originally Posted by marsupial*mama

What you say is true for non-fiction - but not for memoir, which you treat just like any fiction story as far as I'm aware. If you're writing a reference book, a How-To, a Self-Help, an opinion piece, a travel book, a recipe book, whatever, you'd start with a proposal. But not with memoir.

Okay, I thought a memoir would be the same as non fiction.

[Pernwebgoddess]

If you're writing a memoir... you just write it. Write it, write it well, edit it, edit it some more, and then edit it some more. Get it flawless.

Then you can stary querying agents and publishers. But before you do that... you need to get it written, because believe me... no one is going to be interested in a memoir that's unwritten from a complete unknown, and it's going to have to be a VERY exceptional story even if it's written to garner interest.