Writing for Young Adults [Paperback]

Sherry Garland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898798574 | ISBN-13: 978-0898798579 | Publication Date: October 1998 | Edition: 1st

This comprehensive guide explores the issues specifically related to young adult writing and publishing, from style and structure to marketing and the marketplace.'

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books; 1st edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898798574
• ISBN-13: 978-0898798579
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sherry Garland is the award-winning author of twenty-eight books for children, teenagers and adults. Several of her books focus on the Vietnamese culture due to her close friendships with Vietnamese families. As a fifth generation Texan, she also sets many of her books in the Lone Star State. She especially likes to write historical works. For more information, visit her website: www.sherrygarland.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for the beginning writer, June 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing for Young Adults (Paperback)

Author Sherry Garland takes the mystery out of writing and publishing children's books with her collection of guidelines devoted to writing for young adults. After reading many books on the topic of writing for children this is the first one I have found that deals specifically with the young adult market in detail. The author defines young adult genres and offers valuable insight for keeping your writing in tune with this quickly changing market. She gives the reader a detailed overview of how to write fiction and non-fiction that will keep this fast-paced age group interested. The business side of writing such as proposals, negotiating contracts, and dealing with agents and editiors is discussed at great length. Included is a resource list that contains children's writers associations, where to find additional reference materials and popular young adult magazine markets. This compilation saved me many valuable hours of research time before starting on my own young adult book. I would recommend this to anyone aspiring to write for young adults.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent source for learning the craft of writing, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing for Young Adults (Paperback)

I don't know what book Michigan Writer read, but I thought that Sherry Garland's book on writing was excellent. I'm far from a beginner (numerous magazine stories, chapter books, novels published), and I still learned new things from this book. I also found it inspiring -- here's where you learn what you need to know. That's a much better inspiration than reading a book about writing, smiling and punching the air and saying "Yeah!", and still not knowing what to do next. Sherry Garland is an award-winning author. Read her book and then do what she says. She's a pro!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Skims the surface; good start for beginners, March 6, 2002

By 

JB Shanks (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing for Young Adults (Paperback)

This book is a good start if you were just hit with the "I want to write" voice. While it covers the basic elements in little detail, the beginning writer will read it then want to move on to books with more depth on character and scene construction. Of course, the novice will continue to read a zillion novels as they are the best text books. With due respect to Sherry Garland for she knows the fiction genre, it was not very inspiring. Then again, it's a book on the craft and not really meant to inspire. Nonetheless, any writing book could offer some glimspe of hope that one CAN make a good living writing for children and teens. Anything is possible if you only believe it first. If you want to stay inspired and are vulnerable to disappointment at this early stage of your exciting new writing career, don't read chapter nineteen. Wait until you've written your first manuscript and sent it out before learning the facts from this chapter. However, I did like how she suggests breaking down your writing goals into months, weeks, and days. See chapter seven.