Blog Archives

Teen Tuesday: Contest for High School Writers and Artists with Cash Prizes

6/30/2015

The deadline for the Bold New Worlds Short Story contest is November 1st. (Submissions open on August 1st.) Visit their website for complete contest details, but in general, stories should be 1000 words (or less) and science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, steampunk, or other types of speculative fiction. Entrants must be high school students in the US.

Bold New Worlds is also holding a logo design contest with a deadline of August 1st. Both contests offer cash prizes.

Special thanks to blog visitor Liz A. for letting me know about this contest.

Friday Five: Summer

6/26/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Hooray for summer! Here are five images (courtesy of morgueFile) that remind me of the best of the season.

What's your favorite part of summer?

Teen Tuesday: LGBTQI+ Anthology

6/24/2015

David Levithan and Billy Merrell are putting together an expanded edition of The Full Spectrum and are looking for essays about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and other queer identities by writers under 21. If you have a story you want to tell, go to www.queerthology.com for details on submitting. Deadline is August 1st!

Prep for Doom Anthology

6/19/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Prep for Doom, a YA dystopian anthology, is now available! I'm thrilled to have my short story, "Escape to Orange Blossom," as chapter 13. You can learn more about my story through this blog post. Here's more information about the book.

About Prep for Doom

From the imaginations of twenty authors of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction comes PREP FOR DOOM - an integrated collection of short stories that tell the tale of a single catastrophe as experienced by many characters, some of whom will cross paths.

What begins with a seemingly innocuous traffic accident soon spirals into a global pandemic. The release of Airborne Viral Hemorrhagic Fever upon New York City’s unsuspecting populace brings suffering within hours, death within a day, and spreads worldwide within a month.

An online community called Prep For Doom has risen to the top of a recent doomsday preparation movement. Some have written them off as crazy while others couldn’t be more serious about the safety the preppers could provide in a global disaster. But when AVHF strikes, their preparation may not be enough to save them.

From authors Laura Albins, ER Arroyo, Amy Bartelloni, Brea Behn, Casey L. Bond, TK Carter, Kate Corcino, Harlow C. Fallon, Kelsey D. Garmendia, Caroline A. Gill, DelSheree Gladden, John Gregory Hancock, Casey Hays, Kate L. Mary, Jon Messenger, Monica Enderle Pierce, Cameo Renae, Hilary Thompson, Yvonne Ventresca, and Megan White.

Prep for Doom Links

Where to Buy: Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Paperback

Other Links: Prep For Doom Website, Prep For Doom on Goodreads

Release Party (Facebook): Join us June 27th for a day full of author takeovers, games, and great prizes, including a Kindle Fire HD7!

Next week: the regularly scheduled Friday Five is back!

Teen Tuesday: Teenreads Board Opportunity

6/16/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Teenreads is accepting applications for new Teen Board members now through Monday, July 6th at 9:30AM EST.

According to their website, they are looking for twenty to thirty teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years old who are passionate about books and committed to contributing to Teenreads.com from September 2015 through August 2016.

Teen Board members write reviews, write blog posts, answer the monthly Teen Board question, and participate in special features among other responsibilities.

Click here to read the FAQ about the Teen Board.
Click here to apply for the September 2015 - August 2016 Teen Board.
Good luck!

Friday Five: How to Get a Book Published

6/12/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

"How do I get my book published?" is a common question, but not a simple one. There are various paths to publication, with multiple steps along the way. Fortunately, there is a large amount of information available online. Here are five resources to help.

Set aside some time to read this extremely comprehensive answer from Jane Friedman:
Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published.

If you're interested in finding a literary agent, read this article from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association: How to Find a (Real) Literary Agent by A.C. Crispin. (The information applies to all genres, not just science fiction.)

What are the main difference between traditional and self-publishing? Writer's Digest breaks it down in How to Publish a Book: An Overview of Traditional & Self-Publishing. (The self-publishing section touts their own services, but their are certainly other options.)

For some general advice, here are 11 Tips on Getting Your Book Published by Melody Moezzi.

To learn more about the business of children's books, visit Harold Underdown's site, including this list of links: Publishing Children's Books.

If there is a specific writing topic you're interested in, let me know in the comments. Feel free to share your own useful links.

Teen Tuesday: Point of View

6/9/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Last week, Maria Andreu and I did a joint author visit at Overbrook High School on "Books from the Headlines: Contemporary Issues in Teen Fiction." (Maria wrote The Secret Side of Empty, which I highly recommend.) We met with lots of students who had questions about the writing process. The book club group, in particular, had come technical questions about point of view, so I thought I'd pull together some resources.

Point of View

Here are some blog posts about POV that I recommend:

Veronica Sicoe's My Ultimate POV Guide with Graphics and Examples
Jody Hedlund's 7 Point of View Basics Every Writer Should Know and A Few Tips for More Complicated POV
Jodie Renner's POV 103: Engage Your Readers With Deep POV
CS Lakin's Staying in Character: The Convergence of POV and Voice

Contests

Three contests that I mentioned in earlier blog posts are still accepting entries:
Skipping Stones Youth Honor Awards: Deadline is June 25th.
Mark Twain-Inspired Humor Contest: Deadline is July 10th.
Teen Ink Community Service Essay Contest: Deadline is ongoing throughout the year.

Looking for more Teen Tuesday blog posts?

For easy access to all of the Teen Tuesday blog posts, visit my Resources for Teen Writers Pinterest board, or select the "Teen Tuesday" category on the left of my blog.

Teen Tuesday: Contest for High School Writers and Artists with Cash Prizes

Friday Five: Summer

Teen Tuesday: LGBTQI+ Anthology

Prep for Doom Anthology

About Prep for Doom

Prep for Doom Links

Next week: the regularly scheduled Friday Five is back!

Teen Tuesday: Teenreads Board Opportunity

Friday Five: How to Get a Book Published

Teen Tuesday: Point of View

Point of View

Contests

Looking for more Teen Tuesday blog posts?

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Teen Tuesday: Contest for High School Writers and Artists with Cash Prizes

Friday Five: Summer

Teen Tuesday: LGBTQI+ Anthology

Prep for Doom Anthology

About Prep for Doom

Prep for Doom Links

Next week: the regularly scheduled Friday Five is back!

Teen Tuesday: Teenreads Board Opportunity

Friday Five: How to Get a Book Published

Teen Tuesday: Point of View

Point of View

Contests

Looking for more Teen Tuesday blog posts?

Get new blog posts by email:

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