Can a 12 yr old publish a book?

Question

can a 12 yr old publish a book? and keep the money? without having to put it into a college fund?

Answer 1

I think 12 year olds should be able to publish a book. Life shouldn't be based on barriers. I mean sure, it's a young age. But at least they found something they really love doing, and if you think about it, if a child gets his/her book published, then maybe the publishers from say scholastic reads the book. They can be able to see the perspective of an actual child instead of 30 year olds with children writing what their children would read instead of children around the world. So, I personally think 12 year olds should write books and have them published.

Answer 2

sure, why not? (=

I believe in you.

Answer 3

Not to discourage you because I think it's great young people are writing & learning to express views from different angles, but you're chances aren't very good.  First of all, you're a minor so you need parental consent.  A lawyer w/ a background in publishing is a good idea.

And get the chip off your shoulder about going to one of the highest ranked private schools.  If a publisher read the sentence you wrote about that tidbit of information, your manuscript would be back in the mail the next day.

Pay your dues by learning to write, rewrite, and edit.

Go to Resolved Questions where dozens of preteens & teens have asked questions about writing.

Answer 4

Anyone of any age can have a book published. About the money though, since you're under the age of eighteen, and not yet a legal adult, I think you're parents have the say in what you do with the money. You can talk to a financial analyst about that.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You can do whatever you want with the money as far as the publishers are concerned. But when you're 12, you're still a minor, and your parents are in charge of your money. So if they decide to put it in a college fund, that's where it will go. Hopefully you'd be able to convince them to give you a little to have fun with and celebrate your success.

However, it's extremely rare for a 12-year-old to be a good enough writer to have a book published. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, it's just uncommon. But if your book was good enough, publishers would probably be keen to sell it, since books written by young writers are pretty big right now.

Why not join a writing forum to brush up on your skills? You can have your work critiqued by other writers:

http://authorsnotes.info/forum/index.php

Answer 6

professionally, no i dont think so. but Christopher Paolini wrote eragon when he was 15? im not sure that he published it until he was 18 tho... i bet he did. sorry, i dont know. but 12 sounds young. u should post a chap of ur story, i wanna see if its good =D

Answer 7

Sure, my 7 year old cousin published a stupid book but there was only 1 copy...

Answer 8

Sure, if it is good enough you can get a book published. And the money can go wherever you want it to