Getting published is a challenge for any writer. As a teen, you might think that publishers will never take you seriously as a writer. However, there are teens who have published writing of every category, from poetry to articles to books. Bestselling novels have even been written by teenagers. If your dream is to publish your writing, it's never too early to get started.
Instructions
Prepare your manuscript
1. Write the first draft of your manuscript. Don't worry about making it perfect yet; just get your ideas down on the page. For a poem, this might take only a few minutes; for a novel, it could take a year or more.
2. Revise your draft. In your first revision, don't worry as much about spelling and grammar as about content. Make the ideas, story and imagery as good as you can.
3. Get feedback on your piece. Find someone who will read your work and give you honest feedback and suggestions on improve it. This could be a teacher, a friend who loves to read, or an online writing group.
4. Revise your draft again. Consider the suggestions you've gotten and incorporate the ones you think are good.
5. Edit your manuscript for submission. Now is the time to make sure your spelling and grammar are perfect. If you can't do this yourself, get a teacher or someone who's good at grammar to help you with it. Nothing will get your manuscript rejected as quickly as poor punctuation or spelling.
6. Format your manuscript according to publisher's guidelines. For fiction, this usually means double-spaced with at least one inch margins in a 12 point serif font. For a magazine article or poem, it could mean simply an electronic Word document, since many magazines accept email submissions.
Find a publisher
7. Raise your chances of acceptance by looking for publishers who specialize in teenage writing. Many magazines that are marketed to teens also seek out writing by teens. Look at the magazine's writer's guidelines (usually available on the magazine website) to find out what kinds of pieces they are looking for. For a novel or book, find a publisher who accepts unagented work.
8. Make a list of publishers from the ones you like best to the ones you like least. The top of the list should be publishers that are looking for work similar to the piece you want to submit.
9. Double check that your piece is formatted correctly for the first publisher on your list, and submit it to that publisher, following their submission guidelines exactly. Most publishers prefer that you not submit your piece to more than one publisher at the same time, so wait till you hear back from your first choice before sending your piece anywhere else.
10. If your piece is rejected by the first publisher, send it to the next publisher on your list. Keep submitting your piece until it's accepted by a publisher.
11. If your first piece doesn't make it to print, write another piece and start again.
