I'm in High School and I love to Write: How can I get my work Published?

PUBLISHING YOUR WORK IN A NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE

Ned Vizzini, the author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Be More Chill, and Teen Angst? Naaah…. explains how to get your writing out in the world and begin developing a professional identity.

Siaree Asked:

I read in April 2011’s Ask A Writer (Getting Your First Story Published) that when you were in high school you wrote short pieces for the New York Press. I have been looking for a newspaper that publishes high school student work. If you could give me some advice on how to make this happen, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

Ned Answered:

If you’re in the New York area, there’s an easy answer: YCteen Magazine. FormerlyNew Youth Connections, this is a magazine by teens, for teens. It focuses on real-life stories and is always open to submissions. So that’s a great place to send your work.

If you’re not in New York, try Teen Ink, a long-running adolescent-written literary magazine. It takes submissions from all over the country and has teen editors as well.

That said, there are two additional things to consider, for your well-being and growth (and because who likes an easy answer?).

First, New York Press wasn’t a teen-oriented newspaper when I submitted to them. It was just an independently-owned paper, or “alternative press,” that was distributed for free in boxes around the city. There are still papers like that, such as the The L Magazine and LA Weekly, that are open to submissions from writers of all ages. For an in-depth look at how I submitted my work, read my advice on getting published.

Finally, the world is different than it was in 1996, when I started writing. Now it’s quite easy to get your work out there on blogs and bypass newspapers entirely. Although there’s nothing wrong with writing for newspapers and magazines, remember that youcan forge a professional identity with a well-written blog, and even get a book published (see Julia and Julia, Checkout).

Good luck!

http://blog.artandwriting.org/2012/03/26/ask-a-writer-publishing-your-work-in-a-newspaper-or-magazine/