Q&A for How to Publish a Book at a Young Age

Any age, but if you're under 18, ask your parents to negotiate on your behalf; they will need to sign the contract and ensure that you are getting a fair deal too. Look for a publisher that will publish a young author's book.

Many publishers work with talented, young writers, but it's important that you maintain a professional and mature demeanor. Your parents or guardians will need to be very involved throughout the process - signing all the contracts, talking to the publishers, accompanying you to publicity events, managing your money and taxes, etc.

How you end a chapter is all up to you. Most authors prefer to end a chapter with suspense, others just end it with a statement leading into the next paragraph and chapter. You could try having a friend or someone read your story and ask them where they thought a chapter brake was, as friends and family are often the best resources. If you are still having trouble try reading another book of the same type and genre. Pay attention to how they lead of into the next chapter and try to mimic it in your own story.

There isn't an actual amount of times, it could be every time you seek a publisher, it could be just a few. The point is really that every author goes through this and learns from it. Perhaps it's a nudge to edit your book some more, or perhaps it's just that you've not yet found the right publisher. To put it into perspective, a famous children's book, "The Dragon that Swallowed a Knight", took 49 revise attempts before it was published. Don't give up!

The word count should not matter. What matters is how many pages it is. Anywhere from 50 to 150 pages will be considered a short story, and 200+ pages would be considered a novel by most.

It may take some work. But calling as many publishers as possible is the best advice. Illustrators are even harder to get hold of.

There are many programs and websites you can type things and print them out. Google Drive can be useful for both PCs (computers) and mobile devices. Microsoft Word or Pages are good too. There are many more possibilities, it's best to ask friends who write too, or check forums of writers online, and ask for their recommendations.

You could share it with a teacher or a sibling. Remember, if harsh replies are given, learn from them. Some people are brutally honest.

It doesn't matter if people take you seriously or not. Just keep writing and doing your best, that's all that matters.

You can be any age, you just need your parents to contact the publishers on your behalf.

There isn't a page limit on the book, so it could be as long or short as you like.

You could try writing under a pseudonym or pen name and hiding your true identity for as long as you could. Mainly just let your work speak for you. If you are a good writer, the publisher will see it and not care about your age. However, do be aware that at your age, you may not show enough experience or maturity to write sufficiently "knowingly" for the adult market -- this all depends on which part of the market you're aiming at. Don't feel bad, it's bold on your behalf but also a little presumptive too, so have adults read the work before showing it to publishers, to get some decent feedback on its interest for adult readers.

Absolutely! Many authors are have partners such as P.C and Kristen Cast. Other writers have ghost writers or friends that help with brainstorming.

You can write using whatever you want, I prefer pen since its smoother. You will most likely have to type it yourself, publishers just read through the book to make sure it will be good for readers. If you can't type it yourself, ask someone for help.

More than likely a publisher would just publish the single book as a novel. Once the other books are finished or started, they will probably start advertising for them as a trilogy. Things differ between publishing companies so this isn't a standard across all.

If you don't have a printer at your house, you could ask your school or local library if you can print it out there. Or, ask a friend. You can also take a USB stick to the local office supplies store and ask them to print it for a fee.

Gather your pages into small groups. Staple the groups in order of page number. Stack each stapled pile together into one large pile, over which you will fit the cover. Finish making your cover and spine (cardboard works best). See How to Make a Book and How to Make a Book Cover for more help.

You could do both. Apps like Google Drive connect to almost all devices you're signed in on. Or you could use an app like Dropbox, to share between devices. Just be careful to always be working on the latest version, to avoid confusion and mistakes.

Go to an office supplies store, the ones that sell pencils, papers, notebooks and such. They usually have big printers, does usually can print anything from movie sized posters to a normal letter. Either take it on a USB device or email it in for printing and collect it when done.

It is best that you do, but you can also ask a friend or relative to edit it for you.

Wattpad is a really popular site for this. Many teenagers publish their work on Wattpad.

The most important thing for a good story is the writing. As long as you find the correct audience for your story, it doesn't matter if your story idea is "weird." Most original ideas were considered strange before they were published.

In all honesty, it's highly unlikely that any book, no matter how good it is, will be approved by every publisher you come across. J.K Rowling had to go to 14 publishers before Harry Potter got published. Remember, publishers want to publish books they think will sell. So do some research about what makes books really popular, but find a way to make your book stand out as unique also.

For word processing, many writers prefer Microsoft Word, and Photoshop can easily fix any image problems you face.

No! You can experiment with writing stories that fit various genres to see which one(s) you like the most. You can choose one or go with multiple genres; it's up to you!

It's not possible to list all publishers, or even recommendations. For one, there are too many. For another, if you live in Prague, you don't care about Chinese publishers; since everyone lives somewhere, most people would have no use for 95% of the names on that list. Finally, the updates alone would be a full-time job. E-mail addresses change, street addresses, phone numbers, not to mention names of contact persons. Your best bet is to do a search of publishers in your country that specialize in the genre of book you're writing, visit the publishers' websites to review their submission guidelines, and start sending out your work.

Don't let excuses like school get in your way. I'm sure your idea is excellent, because you started, and most people don't even get that far. Plan time each week, sit down to work on it and don't be disturbed or distracted. As for how to find a good opening, try and try again; whatever doesn't work, you throw away. I usually open with that one point I just couldn't get explained throughout the story. But really, imagine all the words of the finished story in one long line, one after the other, written on a highway. You're driving along and at some point, the story starts, and later it ends. Nothing-story-nothing. Stories really do simply begin.