<p>I am in the process of writing a utopian, 1984-style novel that can be read on many levels. The first would be an all-out action and adventure story, which on its own is very good due to the fact that I tend to make my stories sound like movie screenplays. But the deeper meaning lies behind what everything stands for in the novel, which is very similar to an allegory. The novel symbolizes how you should't always believe what you are told because if you are like a robot, taking orders from whoever gives them, "they" will keep decieving you until you are left with nothing. So far, I've written the first 150 pages. I'm not sure how many words this comes out to but I'm sure you can make an estimate when you take into account that I use size 12 font, single spaced, and no bold. I'm just hoping I can finish this thing before I go to college this September.</p>
<p>I hope you get to publish it. :] I wanna read it.</p>
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Don't take this personally, but us teenagers are not known for our literary skills.
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<p>I second that.
I remember all the hype about Christopher Paolini writing his fantasy book Eragon as a 16 year old... well, his age shows. I think the more good books I have to analzye the more I realize where I would go wrong. Good luck.</p>
<p>Also:
For all the writers, a good (free) place to post work and get feedback is <a href="http://www.writing.com%5B/url%5D">www.writing.com</a> Then we could read it. :)</p>
<p>A friend of mine who is currently a freshman in college wrote a short book that was published about a year ago. It's 128 pages long, and his Amazon sales rank is currently #757,634. Here's a description of his book (from Amazon):</p>
<p>"Roderick Conroy finds himself in a quandry. He has rejected his talent as an artist, but in denying its existence he has driven himself into a waking dream world in which he attempts to control people and events, usually with disastrous results. </p>
<p>In this dark tale of misguided love, wrenching betrayal, twisted revenge, and unexpected discovery, once mans exploration of himself and his potential leads him through black truths to a shattering climax. Hit men, coffee shops, an art teacher and a fire-breathing midget all converge to form a singular story of love won, lost and redeemed poignant, powerful, and very, very funny."</p>
<p>Yes, mesotired9. I applaud his motivation. Unfortunately, you're giving us false hope. See, your friend wasn't actually published in the traditional sense of the word. His book was published by the Dorrance Publishing Company. They are known as a "vanity publishing company." They'll print what they're handed, regardless of its content. The system is not a whole lot different than CafePress and its personalized underwear.
[quote=<a href="http://www.dorrancepublishing.com%5DWe">http://www.dorrancepublishing.com]
We</a> can offer publishing contracts only for completed manuscripts, and we will accept most manuscripts. We do not evaluate manuscripts for literary merit or market potential. There are, however, categories of manuscripts which we choose not to accept. We do not accept libelous or racist material, hate literature, or pornography.
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I will readily admit that I didn't write a book this year. I don't mean to down play this accomplishment of his. It's his "published" status that irks me. He wasn't. He's Kinkos-ed.</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://www.vanitypublishing.info%5B/url%5D">http://www.vanitypublishing.info</a></p>
<p>the longest "story" I've ever written was 5 pages (and it's not even finished), and I considered THAt an acomplishment hahaha</p>
<p>What other publishing companies are good then for people of our level of professionalism if vanity publishing isn't the way to go?</p>
<p>If you're a good enough writer any traditional publisher will buy your manuscript, regardless of age. If not, well, I guess you have to practice.</p>
<p>One time, I was 70 pages into a screenplay, and my computer crashed and I had to wipe my entire hard drive. Awesome.</p>
<p>It is really a cool idea to write a novel during summer. So maybe your mom will not send you off the summer school. Actually, a novel does not need to be a complete story. It can be a few stories merched together in a book. I have never written one before, so I am not sure about the no. of words. sorry. Good Luck*</p>
<p>Just write the story. Let everything come out. When you finish writing, then start editing. When you finish editing (you're probably going to have to do that quite a few times), start looking for an agent/publisher. </p>
<p>If you're putting up your work to get feedback, don't put it on open sites (fictionpress.com, etc) -- by doing so, you're actually publishing your novel. Anyone who clicks a link to your story can view it (and since publisher/agents are trying to make money by selling a unique novel that no one has seen...well, open sites defeat the purpose). Find sites that have closed off sections so few people can access and give you feedback.</p>
<p>Word Count (WC) usually depends on the genre. I think novels for kids ballpark WC = 50k. Romance ballpark=80k. Fantasy ballpark = 90k. </p>
<p>Try to send yourself an email with your work attached. Computer freezeups and crashes suck. I email myself with a gmail account.</p>
<p>I agree with whoever said do NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month). I've done it twice and met the goal (even went over) both times. It's a lot of fun and you get the chance to churn out 50k in a month...Heck, I'm holding my own personal NaNo once summer truly begins for me. :)</p>
<p>Great advice, twiggy. :)</p>
<p>Maybe you do some practise before you actually start to write a novel. Like writing a novella first.:)</p>
<p>never have i felt so inadequate. you people and your novels. think of all the feelings you have hurt. tsk tsk. (can i write a novel about that? ::-P:)</p>
<p>The other suggestion is that you could write many short stories and then combine them all together as a book. Or maybe a little story book. But it's kinda like a book instead of a novel...:(</p>
<p>The book I had written was an autobiography, or a semi-autography since the second half is about my future. No one will publish it or even read it word by word. And it is in Chinese. But the process of writting a book proved my ability and expressed my passion. I just love it.</p>