When you think of published authors, a 14-year-old probably doesn’t immediately spring to mind. But South Carolina 9th grader Sarah Renee has earned the title – twice (and counting!) – with her third book due out next month. Her two current books are titled “The Tiger Princess” and “Dash”. The ambitious teen has been writing seriously, usually five to seven hours a day, since the incredible age of 9 and has recently published two novels for young readers, both through Amazon’s CreateSpace
By publishing through CreateSpace, Sarah Renee and her mom, her biggest supporter, got to retain complete creative control over both the content and the artwork, as Sarah Renee is also the artist who designed the covers for both books! And she’s not done yet! Sarah Renee found the process of self-publishing her work so simple that she plans to use the platform for another of her projects, a planned 15-book series entitled The Saderia Series.
Sarah Renee’s accomplishment shows that self-publishing is not just for adult authors. For young writers everywhere, CreateSpace is a great way to get their budding talent and work out to a broad national audience – right alongside bestselling independent authors such as Amanda Hocking, the highly-successful writer of young adult fiction – for very little cost.
Following are some practical tips for bringing out your child’s inner author, including several that Sarah Renee and her mom still practice together today:
Make it a Page-Turner! Read with your child each night before bed. It encourages a lifelong love of literature, while giving you precious together time and lasting memories. Always have a great book on hand and, when that cliffhanger comes, you can bet your child will be begging for more! Expose them to a variety of authors, genres and subjects to help them discover what they like best. Some of Sarah Renee’s own favorites are “The Warriors” series by Erin Hunter, “Dragon Rider” by Cornelia Funke and, of course, the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling.
Dear Diary, Give your son or daughter a diary. Encourage them to express themselves and let their creativity flow – it can be for their eyes only. And, who knows, there may just be the makings of a future novel within those pages!
Hit the Road! Before embarking on your next family vacation, buy your child a travel journal or notebook. Kids and teens can write down their observations of the new people, places and experiences they encounter all along the way. They can even include photos and write captions!
Extra! Extra! Encourage your son or daughter to put on their “reporter‘s hat” and record the events unfolding around them! The budding journalist in the family can report on humorous, odd or interesting happenings at home, at school and in the neighborhood – and they can even develop their “reports” into a fun newsletter to entertain the neighbors!
Love Letters Leave daily notes for your son or daughter on the fridge, on their desk or in their lunchbox. Include a pen and encourage a reply! This could also take the form of an ongoing tale that the two of you “author” together!
Whether it’s poetry from their journal or their own take on a passed down story, many kids, like Sarah Renee, may also have a book inside them, which, with just a little encouragement, can be published and enjoyed by an intimate group of family and friends – or a wide national audience.
This is a guest post that I thought was beneficial for my readers.
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wow, amazing that sarah renee is, her mom must be like very proud of her daughter.
This kind of idea of jorunals and reading before bed and etc is really great, because you can’t expect the school to edcuate your children as in the education system these days no offence ain’t that good, so it’s important as well us the parents, to keep educating them at home as well
keep up with some of these great blogs =]
Hi Brandy! Thank you so much for the wonderful piece that you wrote about my daughter, Sarah Renee! Yes, Antony, I am so incredibly proud of her – she never ever fails to amaze me – she is so creative and talented and dedicated and just a wonderful kid – we have a lot of fun and laughs, though she also works me – lol! We just finished editing the 3rd book in her Saderia Series, ‘Hunted Home’, and it was just released yesterday! The work is certainly worth it though – her stories are wonderful – they make me laugh and cry and cheer and boo and go through all sorts of emotions! They are so full of adventure and mystery and the relationships between characters are amazing and are both heartwarming and heartbreaking! She does great “bad guys” too!
Reading to kids is so important. I read to Sarah from birth and we still read together nearly every night before she goes to bed. She would get so excited with a book in her hands, kicking her little legs and grinning with glee! I have also always encouraged her from the minute she got a pencil in her hand and just started scribbling! We would do a lot of imaginative play too – using figures or stuffed animals or even lego sets – we would give characters personalities and roles and make up adventures and scenarios. I still treasure the first little book she made based on some little cat figures we played with that we called the Rescue Cats – she wrote it by hand and drew the pictures in crayon. I also got her a diary and we would write in it together every day for awhile – she does not really journal or keep a diary anymore but that is probably because she is too busy writing her books now! She does keep a notebook at all times though for her stories. I also put little notes in her lunchbox! And she used to write me sweet little notes and draw me pictures – some that are still displayed on my refrigerator! All in all, it is just a matter of taking the time to read and play with your kids and watching their interests and talents emerge and encouraging them.
We did a lot of trial and error and research, into publishing before we finally decided on self publishing through Createspace and we are pleased with our choice. We tried the old way but found way too many obstacles, especially for young authors, which only discourages them. Self publishing is so much more open and encouraging and there is nothing in this world like the look on my daughter’s face when she got the proof copy of her 1st book, ‘The Tiger Princess’, in her hands! And, being a struggling single mom, it is free, which is always nice! One of the wonderful things that has come from her doing this too is that she has encouraged so many other kids to go for it too – one of her facebook friends, that she helped and encouraged, just finished her story and published it!
Thanks again Brandy! The hardest part is marketing and I so appreciate you helping spread the word about her wonderful books.
What an accomplishment for a girl that age. I can’t wait to read one of her books! It takes an amazing mother to raise such an amazing daughter! Keep up the great work Sarah!