First Time Authors

"Raises the shade on the editor's door and gives writers a look at what really goes into those decisions to accept (or—sob!—reject) a manuscript. A motivational must-read for any children's writer dreaming of bylines and bucks!"  Mary Lou Carney, Author and former Editor of Guideposts for Kids

The reaction to the book has been electric. New writers and veteran editors alike have been singing its praises.      It's easy to understand the reasons why editors praise the book: First-Time Authors gives readers the full story behind 64 glorious first-time publishing successes. The authors' own inspiring stories about how they did it . . . how they conceived the ideas . . . how they developed them . . . how they selected potential publishers . . . how they worked with the editors that accepted their stories and articles. Then the editors who said "Yes, I want this piece" reveal what attracted them to these stories and articles in the first place—the spark that caught their eye—and how they worked from their side of the desk to help the authors refine those pieces until they were ready for publication.  Together with the actual breakthrough story or article—64 examples of new writers achieving that all-important first success. With insights into how editors at leading children's magazines evaluate manuscripts, "clues" that may help you fine-tune your manuscript to publishable standards. Included are magazines such as Boys' Life, Boys' Quest, Calliope, Child Life, Cicada, Cricket, Faces, Fun for Kidz, Guideposts for Kids, Highlights for Children, Hopscotch, Jack And Jill, Ladybug, Nature Friend, New Moon, Odyssey, Pockets, Skipping Stones, Soccer Jr., Story Friends, Teen, Turtle, U*S* Kids, and Wee Ones, among others. With writing targeted to all age groups from preschoolers to teens. With stories that cover genres such as adventure, fantasy, mystery, sports, drama, inspirational, historical fiction, humor, and multicultural. And articles that include how-to, nature, profiles, history, sports, science, crafts, arts, rebuses, multicultural, biography, technology, and self-help.      Since you are a valued member of the Institute's family, we invite you to make good use of these inspiring success stories from fellow writers.  What it is      The hallmark of First-Time Authors is that these authors tell you how they replaced their writing dreams with published realities. They detail the mistakes, dead ends, frustrations, and anxieties they experienced, and you learn how you might avoid these same pitfalls.       They explain how they generated their ideas, how they revised and rewrote, how they adapted to an editor's needs and style, and how they finally achieved that breakthrough success. Each author takes you through the step-by-step process they used, what worked, what didn't work, and why. For example, you'll learn . . . How a mother of seven and grandmother of five wrote a story that won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Magazine Merit Honor Award. How a schoolteacher took her son's desire for a parakeet, added a neat story twist, and had her first publishing success. How a rescue squad worker used her training (and her biology major in college) to help fashion an article about fire fighting.  How a farmer observed his horses and published an article about how to interpret what horses are "saying."  How an English teacher successfully revised her story by reading it aloud to herself, over and over.   How a baseball and volleyball coach mined her childhood memories and wrote a winner.      There are 64 real-life publishing success stories in this exclusive collection. You'll learn hard-won lessons from a dentist, a pilot, a scientist, a legal assistant, an accountant, a school principal, an office worker, a librarian, an artist, a piano teacher, and many others. They are all different, yet they all shared one dream: to break into print.      Now they are sharing the secrets of their successes. You'll benefit from taking specific clues and directions as well as generous doses of inspiration and motivation from these heart-warming real-life success stories. What it isn't       There are hundreds of writers' how-to books published each year. Many of them are for children's writers. But all they give you is one professional and accomplished author's plan for success, based on his or her own personal experience. That's one road map. Maybe it will apply to you. Maybe it won't.         But with First-Time Authors' 64 success stories, you'll find a lot that may apply to you. You'll glean a nugget here that will apply to you as a writer, a nugget there that will relate to your story, and then another nugget that helps target a publisher. Pretty soon you'll have drawn your own road map for success . . . and you will be off and running.       Our 64 authors' stories and articles strongly demonstrate that there's more than one "right way" for a new writer to break through and achieve that initial publishing success. From our years of working with emerging authors we know for a fact that there are almost as many ways to break into print as there are writers.       We knew that the stories first-time authors had to tell would fill a need so widespread and so unfulfilled by other books on the market that we were truly excited by the opportunity to bring these inspiring stories together, to make them available to writers who have that yearning to get published and want to learn more about how it can be done. "First-Time Authors is an exciting compilation of fiction and nonfiction from new authors. The stories behind the stories that follow each selection are enlightening, showing how writers draw on their own interests and experiences to create stories that clearly engage young readers. First-Time Authors is a book to get lost in and learn from." Deborah Vetter, Senior Contributing Editor of Cricket, Executive Editor of Cicada, and Editor of Cricket Books      "Writers waiting for that thrilling first acceptance will gain both inspiration and insight by studying the selections together with the comments from authors and editors. First-Time Authors is a valuable inside view into how being published really happens."  Paula Morrow, Publisher of Boxing Day Books      "There is no other collection so motivating and revealing as First-Time Authors. It's a fascinating opportunity for any emerging writer."    Kent Brown, Executive Director for Highlights Foundation, Inc., former editor of Highlights for Children, and Publisher for Boyds Mills Press, Inc. And editors too      We think we've done it. Many editors agreed with us and wanted to include their perspectives on how these writers broke through. So not only do you get the authors' stories behind the stories, you will benefit greatly from the insights that the editors who bought these stories and articles have to share.  These editors reveal . . . How to use your own personal background and experiences to generate a good, saleable story or article idea; How to flesh out your idea and develop it into a publishable story or article; What to avoid that might make your submission look amateurish, and how to make your submission look more professional; How to tailor pieces to a magazine's readership, style, and language; How to revise, restructure, rewrite—sometimes multiple times-your story or article until it virtually yells "PUBLISH ME" to an editor; How to achieve that all-important collaborative working relationship with an editor, one that has potential to become ongoing. You'll be on the inside      You'll be sitting at the desks of these editors as they explain why they accepted a manuscript while rejecting others—what meshes with their editorial wants and what does not; what worked and what needed work on the manuscript they received; what the spark was that attracted them to the piece and why they decided to work with the author on polishing it for publication; how the revision process worked; how and why they decided to mentor this previously unpublished writer through to success.      Of course, each of the 64 stories and articles representing the authors' first published pieces are also presented in full, often with original artwork. You'll be able to relate the author and editor commentary directly to the final piece. It's a great way to measure your own ideas and manuscripts against known yardsticks of first successes.

If you're still not sure—read on "Although I've been writing and publishing for several years, I've found I can never get enough encouragement or knowledge, which is why I purchased this book," says Denise Dewald of Michigan. "I certainly haven't been disappointed!" "I love First-Time Authors!" says Jennifer Smith of Texas. "This is one of the most helpful books I've been able to get my hands on!" "I found the book to be most helpful," reports Alice Uvanvile of Ontario. "Now I have a better knowledge of what editors are looking for and what authors did to attract their attention." "I've been hesitant about submitting my work, even though my ICL instructor has said several are ready," says Alice Miller of New York. "This book has given me encouragement to submit." "I could hardly put this collection of stories down . . . My 'idea vault' is bulging at the seams, thanks to this motivating and inspiring book," writes Melody Friesen of Saskatchewan.

If you want to learn more about being a freelance writer, order First-Time Authors now.         Sincerely      C. Judith Brunstad      for the Institute of Children's Literature P.S. You can be a first-time author only once. Order First-Time Authors now. This is your chance. Why not click here now WN95286   Institute for Writers is located at 32A Wall Street Madison CT 06443 For questions or comments, please email us . This is commercial email.  You can opt out of receiving future commercial emails from Institute for Writers by clicking this link .