Ask Ned reader Katie asked for some guidance on becoming a published writer. Ned shared his experience on starting out in the writing world.

Katie Asked: Hey there, Ned! I’m a writer, too. Well, I’m in the midst of becoming a published one – hopefully. Sadly there’s a slight problem keeping me away from accomplishing my dream: I don’t know where to start! Someone told me I either needed to find an agent – which I’m sure would cost big money – or enter a contest online. The thing with online contests, though, is that there are just so many participants and it causes me to get discouraged. Plus, you can never be too careful when it comes down to trusting a stranger with your precious novel. Where and how did you start out? Please, I ask you to help me out. Even if it’s just a little.

Sincerely,

The troubled but not giving up,
Katie

Ned Answered:

Katie, I started writing by freelancing for the alternative weekly newspaper New York Press in the 1990s. I contacted New York Press after becoming an avid reader of the paper in high school. In the front of each issue there was a small address that said “Send unsolicited submissions to:” so I wrote an unsolicited submission (an essay about my high school) and sent it in.

A few weeks later it came back in the mail — not enough postage.

I put more stamps on it and sent it back. A few weeks later I got a call from an editor. He liked my piece and told me that if I wrote shorter pieces, he might run one. So I wrote an essay called “Horrible Mention” that ran in New York Press in May, 1996. I continued to write for the Press throughout high school; in my senior year I was contacted by a publisher (Free Spirit Publishing) that felt I had a good voice for teen boys; Free Spirit compiled a few dozen of my Press essays for my first book, Teen Angst? Naaah… (2000).

The information you have about starting a writing career is correct but incomplete. It is important to have an agent — but it shouldn’t cost you any money up front, and it’s not necessary if you work with independent publishers. You can get a list of all of the independent publishers in America in Writer’s Market 2011. Send them your book just like I sent my essay to New York Press and see what happens.

If you don’t have a book, don’t worry — stick with short pieces for now. You’re absolutely right that online contests can get you exposure. Luckily the greatest “online contest” is already on your radar screen: The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. I suggest you enter for 2012 and take it from there!

Thanks,

Ned

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Have questions about writing, or the business of publishing? Ask a real writer! Ned Vizzini Vizzini is the author of three acclaimed young adult books: It’s Kind of a Funny Story(now a major motion picture), Be More Chill, and Teen Angst? Naaah…. Ned has spoken at over 200 schools, universities, and libraries around the world about writing and mental health. E-mail your questions to askned@artandwriting.org.