I am thrilled to have Alexa Schnee, author of Shakespeare's Lady, on my blog today to discuss the advantages of starting a writing career at an early age. Alexa is the youngest-ever recipient of the Mountain Hermon Most Promising Writer Award, and a first place winner of the Authors of the Flathead 2010 High School Writing Contest. Her first novel, Shakespeare’s Lady, was published this past spring by Guideposts.
Alexa is actually the one who encouraged me to attend my first writing conference when I was sixteen, which is where I ended up meeting my publisher. I also interviewed her a couple years ago on my blog.
So everyone, please welcome Alexa Schnee!
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Starting a writing career as a teenager is not an easy thing to do.
It may seem so overwhelming, and when you think about all that is involved in a writing career (writing, editing, publishing, reviews, etc.) it can easily feel like you’re facing a monster ready to devour you. However, I think that starting young in a career can sometimes be an amazing experience—and you’d be surprised at how much you can accomplish while you’re young!
Most publishers are supportive of young writers.
If the quality of your work is good and you’re willing to work hard, most publishers are excited about looking at a young author’s work. You represent something new and exciting. You’re a fresh, exciting voice in the industry and many publishing houses see that as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
You have time to shape and improve your writing.
By starting early, we younger writers have more time to find our voice and find out where we fit within a literary circle. By taking workshops and writing classes at a young age, we have the opportunity (and the time) to develop who we want to be as a writer.
There are a lot of young writers just like you.
Join a writing club or a book club! It’s a great way to make new friends with other young writers and you can see how many of your peers love to write as much as you do. Plus, it’s a great way to get feedback on your work.
You’re doing what you love.
I feel this is really important. If you can’t imagine not being able to write, if it’s just who you are as a person, why delay? Write whenever you can, read whenever you can. Write a novel if you feel like it. If that’s too intimidating at first, write short stories or poetry. Do what you feel like doing and make it your own. Who knows? Eventually it could become the next bestseller!
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Click here to visit Alexa's novel Shakespeare's Lady on Amazon. And if you'd like to visit her blog, click here. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions for Alexa, or if you have something you'd like to add on to the topic of young writers. Thanks for joining us, Alexa!
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