I’m European and had a book (written in English) published a few months back. Is this going to increase my chances of getting into top US colleges?
Did you pay to self-publish it? Did it sell copies to people other than your friends and family? Since it’s so easy to “publish” nowadays, it can be impressive when it’s very successful, but otherwise not so much.
@bodangles No, it was published by one of my country’s publish houses and it sold 350 copies so far. I live in a small country and like I said, the story is not written in the native language, so I don’t know if this would be taken into account. I am, however, trying to get my book on the international market, so let’s just hope for the best (:
It is a very nice accomplishment but I don’t think it will get you into a school you are not otherwise academically qualified for.
350 copies would not be particularly impressive to top colleges. If you got a favorable review in a major literary magazine, that might help. The only way this will be a major hook is if your book sells tens/hundreds of thousands of copies, gets a vote of confidence from the NY Times’ reviewers, becomes the focal point of a controversy making national/international headlines, or otherwise makes you a prominent author.
I’m assuming, however, that you didn’t write this book simply to get you into a top college, but did it because you enjoyed writing it and had something to say. For that, congratulations, and hopefully this precocious beginning to your writing career is indicative of things to come.
@happy1 My GPA is 3.9 (IB program), I just hoped it could be an advantage. Thanks 
@NotVerySmart Correct. I didn’t even thought of publishing it at first. Would it be worth mentioning it, though?
And thank you
It is very important to ‘mention’ things you do and what you choose to involve yourself with no matter what it is. This is what Holistic admissions in the US is all about, rather than numbers only driven formulaic admissions.Students have a different mix of accomplishments and passions they discuss and having tangible accomplishments to back up your interests make a stronger statement. They will look at your whole profile and the strength of the international applicant pool and make a decision.
Worth mentioning? Definitely - it’s an activity you’ve put significant time into, and showcases one of your interests.
Make sure to note that the book was published by a major publishing house (I’d strongly suggest you name the book and the company) - more and more students are self-publishing books (sometimes e-books), or using “vanity publishers,” who actually charge a fee to publish a book. It’s important that colleges know you didn’t publish your book by pursuing one of these options.
Of course it is worth mentioning. I imagine it was a significant expenditure of time and energy on your part and having a book published (not self-published) is an accomplishment. I may not have been clear enough – it is an important achievement that I imagine will be looked upon favorably by admissions officers. It could prove to be a benefit when you get compared to other similarly qualified applicants. I just think there are very few things that get people into a college they are not academically qualified for (would have to be along the lines of a recruited athlete, important legacy etc.)
It might help. See Kaavya Viswanathan author of “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Opal_Mehta_Got_Kissed,_Got_Wild,_and_Got_a_Life
A publicized $500,000 advance for the book (although that later turned out to be a misrepresentation) is on a very different order from a book that’s sold 350 copies, so I don’t know that that’s a comparable example.
I also think Kaavya Viswanathan is more a cautionary tale than anything else.
It will help, but there’s no way of knowing how much or how little.