teaching ideas

Mary Amato’s How to Become a Writer

Writing

Write a lot of stories, poems, songs, essays, articles, plays: whatever you’re interested in writing. Your work will improve if you keep writing.

Read like crazy. Read for enjoyment first; but if you really love a book, read it again. Try to figure out what techniques the writer used to make the book so good.

Invite others to read your work: friends, teachers, parents, etc. Ask for feedback. What do you like about my work? What can I do to make it better?

Tackle revisions with gusto! Don’t be afraid to change your work. Every writer needs to revise. Revising is the real writing.

Exercise your imagination and observation muscles by being an active part of the fascinating world around you. Keep a journal of your notes, thoughts, and ideas.

How do I get published?

Start small. Many local newspapers have a children’s page that features poems and stories by kids. That’s a great place to start.

Understand the market. If a children’s page only prints short poems, don’t send a long story. Read the newspaper or magazine carefully to see if they publish work similar to yours. Often, a publisher will list info about what they accept and where to send it.

Be professional: send in your best work, neatly typed. Put your name and address (and age if they request it) in the top corner. Include an SASE: that’s a stamped envelope with your name and address on it, so they can send you a response.

Move on. Don’t sit around waiting to see if your work will be accepted. Keep writing new material. If you’re going to be a writer, you must write, write, write.

Interpret rejections as necessary stepping stones to success. Publishers get many more submissions than they can use. Expect rejections. Take comfort in the fact that the most famous writers have received rejections.

Try again. Keep revising your work, writing new work, and submitting. The writers who become successful are the ones who don’t give up.

A writer’s glossary

Work : the stories, poems, essays, plays, or songs you are writing. It is also called material.

Market: the magazines, newspapers, and book publishers who publish stories, poems, plays, etc.

Submit: to send in your work to a publisher to be considered for publication.

Acceptance: Great news … the publisher decides to publish your work!

Rejection: Not such great news … the publisher decides not to publish your work.

Masthead: information in a newspaper or magazine that lists the staff and publisher’s address.

SASE: a self-addressed, stamped envelope, which should be included in all submissions.

How to write to an author

William Shakespeare

You can find a lot of information about authors on the computer. But nothing beats writing a real letter to a real author. If you write an author, you need to send your letter to the writer “in care of” his or her publisher.

Here’s how. Look in the hard-cover edition of the author’s book for the publisher’s address inside a book. Usually, the mailing address will be listed in the first few pages of the book.

Address the envelope to the author in care of the publisher. For example:

Author Mary Amato
c/o Holiday House, Inc.
425 Madison Ave.,
New York, NY 10017

Will an author write back? Some authors write personal letters in response. Others send printed material, such as a flyer about an upcoming book. Others receive too much mail to respond to all letters.

Here’s how to increase your chances of receiving a response:

Get the best publisher’s address for your author. Some books are published in hard cover by one publisher and reproduced in soft cover (paperback) by another publisher. Get the address of the hard-cover publisher because that’s the publisher who has a real relationship with the author. Also, choose the most recently published book to get the address from (even if it’s not your favorite book). If you get the address from a book that was published a long time ago, that publisher may no longer be in business.
Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the author—that’s an envelope with your name and address (written neatly) and a stamp on it, ready to go. Make it easy for a busy author to respond.
Write a thoughtful, personal letter. Don’t just ask questions. Tell the author something about yourself and why you enjoyed his or her book. Writing is a lonely business. Authors enjoy hearing from readers. Your letter may inspire an author to keep writing!

Filed under: activities • teaching ideas

Mary Amato’s How to Make Mini-Books

Mini-book

Materials needed:

Heavy 8 ½ x 11″ 110-lb. paper, such as “heavy card stock” copier paper
Standard copier paper
Stapler
Black masking tape (optional)

To make the cover:

1. Cut card stock or heavy paper in half (lengthwise).

2. Cut into thirds.

The template below will give you an idea of how to cut and fold an 8 ½ x 11″ sheet of paper to make mini-books. One sheet of heavy weight paper will give you six book covers. One sheet of standard paper will give you six interior open sheets, which when folded makes a 24-page book (because you’re using both sides).

Template

3. Fold along fold lines (you should get six books for every sheet of 8 ½ x 11″ paper). Crease this well.

4. Put masking tape on fold of book to make binding (optional).

To make inside pages:

1. Follow instructions above for #1-3 using standard weight paper.

2. Place six open sheets inside one open cover. (Six open sheets will make a 24 page book. Use fewer sheets if desired.)

3. Staple along fold on outside of book.

Making the cover

4. Fold and enjoy!

Filed under: activities • teaching ideas

Next Entries

Mary Amato’s How to Become a Writer

How to write to an author

Mary Amato’s How to Make Mini-Books

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