Dear Young Writers: Want to Self-Publish?
Dear Young Writers,
Nowadays, the economy is bad, and literary agents and book publishers don’t want to take the risk of losing money on a first timer, especially a young person. It may take up to a year to get your book printed and ready, with a book publisher. Why not self-publish? Self-Publishing is when you publish(for free or a small fee) without a literary agent and a book publisher. Plus, they take less than book publishers and agents on royalties. There are many pros and cons about self publishing. For example, you have to edit the whole manuscript by yourself. How awfully dreadful! Another example, is that it’s much quicker to release your book when you self publish, also, you get more royalties on your book. Self-publishing means promoting your book all by yourself, you know what that means- Twitter, FaceBook, WordPress, Blogspot, and your website(which you can build for free on Weebly.com, with the exception of .Weebly after your website name, and then .com).
If your interested in Self-publishing, I recommend these sites.
1. Lulu
2. CreateSpace
3. Blurb
©Copyright 2012
Pearl Bensimoun
Summer Poem
The hot, sweltering sun is glistening
It’s the season of ice cream and swimming
Of heat and sweat
Drought is near
Maybe the birds will be able to get a drink
There are no gasps of cool wind
Just tinges of hot sun
Burning on my face
The sun has settled in
Summer is here
Pearl Bensimoun
©Copyright 2012
Dear Young Writers: How To Develop a Plot
Dear Young Writers:
Need help developing, or starting, your plot? Read this article for help! I, sometimes, have trouble remembering my plot and thinking of it.
- Use flashcards- On the wall above your computer(make sure you can see the flashcards when you’re writing), or the place you usually write at home, tape flashcards on the wall. First, make them. The first one should have the first main event, the second one should have the second event, and the third one should have the resolution and conclusion. You can make as many as you want, depending on how many main events and conflicts your novel has.
- Make sure that you’re plot is interesting, and motivates the reader to flip the page and continue reading your script. For example, you can ask your friends, what kinds of events would excite them and persuade them to keep reading.
- Don’t forget your plot!- Every time you begin writing, review your flashcards, that way, you don’t forget what you’re writing about and start writing about something completely different.
Good luck in plotting!
Sincerely,
Pearl Bensimoun
© Copyright 2012
Poetry Contests
You may think that the only way to get other people(besides your family and friends) to read your poetry, is to get it published with a poetry publisher, but that’s not true. You can enter poetry contests, whether you’re an adult or young person, there are tons of poetry contests, free to enter, that even have prizes sometimes. Here are some great poetry contests to enter.
For young people:
1. Poetic Power
3. FanStory
For adults:
3. FanStory
A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.
-Robert Frost
© Copyright 2012
Pearl Bensimoun
Why Should You Support PETA?
Think of the word vegetarian. What do you see? You might just see: not eating meat. Being a vegetarian is so much more than that. It means having absolute dedication and being happy saying “No bacon bits on the baked potato, please. I’m a vegetarian.” When you’re a vegetarian, you save one hundred animals a year. PETA is like every vegetarians’ favorite company and organization. Actually, because of PETA I became a vegetarian. I was once on Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue, browsing through the site, and by accident, clicked on to a Youtube video, which showed horses being slaughtered. I was only six at the time, and after this life-changing video I became a vegetarian. Other videos, by PETA, showed slaughterhouses and animals, which also inspired me to become a vegetarian. I spent an hour browsing through PETA’s Channel.
Many famous people are vegetarians, like Ellen DeGeners, Pamela Anderson, and Anne Hathaway. Animals don’t have voices, it’s your job to speak up for them. PETA was founded by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. Animal activists who work for PETA go on protests, where sometimes they even get arrested, but for a cause that they believe in, they also go on undercover investigations to cruel circuses, animal-trapping zoos, and factory farms, just to name a few.
The Top 5 Books That I Can’t Wait For
1.
Tales From a Not-So-Graceful Ice Skater by Rachel Renee Russell. Release date:6/5/2012
2. Popular (Canter Wood Crest Series #14) by Jessica Burkhart. Release Date:5/1/2012
3. Alice Miranda on Vacation by Jacqueline Harvey. Release date: 4/10/2012
4.Comeback ( Canterwood Crest Series #15) by Jessica Burkhart. Release Date: 8/7/2012
5. Picture Perfect (Commercial Breaks #2) by P.G Kain. Release date: 7/24/2012
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This is the book trailer for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
Horse Statues!
Yesterday morning I went to the Wellington International Equestrian Center, and near the International Arena, I saw beautiful horse statues. They were created by students at Wellington, Florida Public Schools.
Dear Young Writers: Why Do You Need To Develop a Platform to Get Published
Dear young writers,
A very important step to developing your career as a young writer, is making sure that you have a very good platform. Whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog, you need to make sure that your name is out there and you can google- search your name with websites always popping up with your name on it. Why does it matter? Because it shows that once you’re discovered by a publisher or an agent, you are able to advertise your book on Facebook or Twitter, and with a great amount of followers ,you are then able to tweet to them automatically ,once they are following you.
Now that it’s 2012, the book industry has gotten more modern, and to succeed in it, you need to have a very good platform. Start from a young age, and you’ll have a thousand or more followers, in a couple of years, and remember, you don’t have to be Taylor Swift or Judy Blume to have a great amount of followers. You should always keep your accounts professional and not tweet personal things. For your profile picture, you can use a picture of yourself(make sure it’s not blurry), if your parents allow you, or use a picture of just about anything, like your pet or favorite book.
If you aren’t so social media savvy, don’t freak out, it’s 2012, you now have Google and Yahoo to help you out. Just simply search a question on how to do something on a certain social media site. And if you’re looking to start a blog site, I recommend WordPress or Blogspot, my two favorites. You should blog every day and have a theme that you are really seriously interested in, also cheek you site stats, and if your using WordPress, on your comments, some good comments are sometimes hidden in spam.
Good luck in social media!
