Ally Carter

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Mini Blog: What Maureen Said

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Hi all!

One of the highlights of tour is getting questions from readers–and their parents.  And without fail every night the subject of writing (and publishing) will come up.

Let me say this, I am a HUGE proponent of teens and young people writing if that’s what they want to do.  Huge.  Mega.  Do it.  It’s a good thing.

Where I get a little more iffy is on the subject of teens PUBLISHING.

Why? Because publishing and writing are two vastly different things.

Writing is shooting hoops in your driveway or playing in a summer league.

Publishing is joining up with the NBA.

In one you are learning life lessons and honing your skills and hopefully having a lot of fun.   In the other, you’re competing with professionals who have massive expectations on you, your time, your life, and your general well-being.  Can you make some money and brag about doing it at a young age?  Sure.  But you can also get seriously hurt and ruin your chances of a long and healthy career later.

So that’s why when parents ask about self-publishing (and it’s always the parents who ask–not exactly sure why) it bothers me (and bothers me quite a lot).  Consider this article from the New York Times.

People want to skip ahead, go pro.  And they want to know if I have any thoughts on the subject.  Well, I do.  Lots of thoughts.  And occasionally I’ve considered writing them down here for the world to see, so imagine my tremendous pleasure in seeing that Maureen Johnson has already done it for me.

Yay!

Seriously.  If you want to write, and if you want to publish, and if you think that self-publishing your book in your teens is the way to become a “published author” then you need to go read this post by Maureen and read it RIGHT NOW.

I agree with everything she said 100%.

And now I’m going to go get to work on my book.  Because it is my job.

 

-Ally

 

PS:  Seriously READ THIS POST.

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. I have a HUGE question… What book are you working on?.. And i thought you just released a book. Do you really have to write the books back to back like that!?!

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  3. Wow, that is crazy! I totally agree with you and Maureen Johnson, having a book published does not mean it’s good! It takes work, and any piece of writing can always be improved. I’m sure you, Ally, even have sections of your books you could improve after taking a break from them (though, don’t worry they are already AMAZING), it’s just how writing works. And I do hope self-publishing fades into a fad, I would like to be an agent one day, and I don’t want the field to 1. Disappear and 2. The quality of good books to go down the drain.
    Thanks for posting this Ally!

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    • I agree. I’m writing a story about a girl who lives in a CIA retirement town (I don’t think they exist but I can make stuff up if i want to right?) but she doesn’t know it. The plot is aside from the point but every time I read the whole thing or even just a sentence it changes drastically. I am (hopefully) always getting better and always finding more reasons why I shouldn’t be worried about people finding out about me. 🙂

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  4. I read the arcticle in the NY Times and I completely and totally agree, but I couldn’t read the one by Maureen Johnson. Are they the same?
    Incredibly Confused-
    Lizzy 🙂

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  5. Ally,

    I’m a mom of a 15-year old who loves your books. (I love them too, actually.)

    I just wanted to personally thank you for writing books that are so much fun to read and that portray the romance the way you do. It’s realistic for teenagers, but it doesn’t go overboard with having teens thinking that they’re mature enough to get married and go all the way and all that. Yes, I know many teens think they are, but I don’t think we need heroines in books reinforcing that… not with today’s divorce/heartbreak rates. Your books celebrate the beginnings of romance without the pressure to make it move too fast… and as a mother, I appreciate that very much.

    So thank you. We’re looking forward to Heist 3!

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    • Mom Katie,
      I totally agree with you. I’m sixteen, and a sophomore in high school, and it is VERY hard to find books that are clean. The only reason I picked up one of Ally’s books in the first place was because a friend told me that it wasn’t full of “stuff” that a lot of the other books for my age group are. So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Ally, for writing books that are “classy, not trashy.”
      -Evie

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      • I totally Agree with you Evie. That is one of the reasons i love Ally and her books. 😀 NOW I just can not wait for Heist 3!!! but i will try to be patient ….

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      • Yeah, half the books I can find that look at all good have a higher percentage of potty-mouthed-people than are at my school. (Considering my school that is probably about 80%.)

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      • Same here! I can’t tell how sick I am of people who are my age ( the still young 15) confessing their undying love. Sure in middle ages set books that’s okay but in this age? No.

        I love that both Kat and Cammie can fend for themselves, and that they are their own people outside of their (on so hot) dudes 🙂

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  6. hear hear! Haha Why would you want to peak as an author in your teenage years even if you were fantastic. You”ll be even better in adulthood after practicing. Besides, poor Ally is exhausted after her tour so you wouldn’t be able to get great grades at school if you were tired.

    Thanks for GG5 Ally! It was amazing!!

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  7. I’m a junior in HS and when my guidance counselors ask me what I want to do and I say write, I always get the same response. Why don’t I self publish RIGHT NOW? Um… because I still suck and want a publisher that will think I’m good enough to publish me and send me on tour and all the perks that come with being a writer. I get that writing takes time and practice, that’s why I’m learning now. Why would I just jump right into publishing?

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  8. Thank you so much. That post helped me A LOT. I’ve already written an entire book (not published) but I wrote it like two years ago and I think it’s a little rough. My parents wanted to publish it but I wanted to write something better, but now I feel pressured to write b/c I don’t want people to come up with the same ideas and I’ve always wanted to be a teen author. But after reading that article, I see that it’s okay to wait until my adult years to become an author. I will MOST DEFINITELY keep writing stories and getting better, but I don’t want to start publish until I’m an adult. I’m taking a journalism class next year at high school (I’m a freshman) so that should help a lot. Thanks a lot, Ally!

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    • Kristina,

      Don’t worry about people coming up with the same ideas as you! You will always have your own unique voice as an author.

      Also, if you look at the over-arching plots of a lot of the books out there, you can see that they often seem similar on the surface. It’s the details, the characters, and most of all the WRITERS who make individual stories stand out.

      I mean, I don’t think that the Gallagher Girls series and Harry Potter have much in common at all, but for someone who has never read either of them, they could think, “OK, they both go to special schools, they both have unusual skills, they both have someone trying to kill them. How different could they be?” Answer: VERY different.

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  9. Thank you Ally for putting this up. I love writing, I (sometimes ) look forwored to doing essays and reports in school because I can write what I’m thinking. Ever since I started writing I kept thinking how cool it would be to publish my stories (I’m 15 btw) but now I understand it’s not such a great idea, not in till I’m older anyway and more experinced. Whenever I read GG or any other books I learn something new to use in my stories and that happens A LOT
    (I might as well have my books attached to me). I have more then 10 stories that I’m doing and in keep thinking of new one all the time just from watching a tv show or another book it crazy sometimes, my mom says to write them all down in a note book and not totally write them out yet lol. Anyway thanks Ally for giving us a pice of advice!!!

    P.S. LOVED GG5 CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

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  10. I really love your Gallagher Girls series I wanna be a spy and go to that school 🙂 But you have inspired me to publish a book and so i wanted to know if you could help me, it would be a great honour 🙂

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  11. I’ve always found this concept of self-publishing kind of a joke – to me, it’s more like you’ve paid extra money to have lots of copies of your work bound professionally rather than having it actually published, just like a famous author.

    Which is kind of funny because I self publish my work all the time – on the internet. But it’s not the same, because whatever I write and post has no criteria for quality and it’s up there whether it is the standard of a professional or a two year old.

    For me, to be published means that it’s been through competition, strain and critical analysis and still made it there, as with prominent publishers and magazines.

    However, I do agree that it’s wonderful that they have written so much. It’s darn hard work.

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  12. Hey guys, do you know how many books Ally is writing in the Gallagher Girls series?? I heard six books, but I don’t know for sure. Thanks! :))

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  13. I totally agree with you, Ally!
    Encourage kids to write but wait with the publishing until they have developed their own style and can make the story justice. And most people don’t do that until they are “adult”. I always prefer a well-written story with less action to an exciting story that is badly written.
    Something that can be fun though is to just print about ten copies of the child’s book and give it to grandparents and others who are interested. That can be a very nice Christmas present! But that is a totally something else than what your post is about. 🙂

    I’m now 32 years old and I’m still trying to develop my writing. I hope that some day I will be published but the chance is probably one in a million. But I will keep on writing anyway, because I love it and there are always some friends and family members who want to read it.

    Thank you for writing your books, Ally. I don’t care if they are written for teens because a good book is always a good book, no matter who is “supposed” to read them. Keep up your good work! I’m looking forward to Heist 3!

    Lots of love from Gabriella in Sweden

    P.S. Will Molly ever come back with her Molly Mondays? I miss her!!!!

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    • It was like a one-in-a-million chance that Justin Bieber would get discovered on the Internet. or Lady Gaga getting discovered. They did it. 😀

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      • Thank you! That is really good thinking!
        And a chance is always a chance, even if it’s one in a million 🙂

        Happy Easter to all of you out there in Ally-space! (At least it’s Easter here in Sweden …)

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  14. Im so excited for the gallagher girl book! Like words cant describe how psyched i am. Im in lobe with all the characters especially zach!(:

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  16. Agree with you, Ally! Looking back I’m REALLY glad that I didn’t try to get that “novel” published when I was younger!

    Sure, S.E. Hintons exist, but I for one am going to keep on honing. Thank you for being such a great supporter of young writer!

    -Nicole, 18-year-old Gallagher girl 😉

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  17. Hi Ally!
    I am starting to write a book, and hope to get it finished in a year or two. I want to get it published, but through a agent, not by using my mom’s money to get it self published.
    One Question: Do you have to pay money or anything to you agent and editior before a book is published? Or do they just take money from the sales of your book? I read the Writing part of this website, but an still confused about that.
    I dont want to get published for money. I want to get my book published so people can read it and hopefully be happy, like i am if I read an awesome book like yours (not that my book will be awesome, far far from that).
    Anyway, cant wait to read GG4 & GG5 (your thinking, WHAT?! GG4 CAME OUT A YEAR OR SO AGO! Im thinking, BOO HOO, I LIVE IN CHINA, WERE I CAN ONLY GET THE BOOKS I WANNA READ FROM SCHOLASTIC OR MY SCHOOL LIBRARY!! *Sniffle*)
    Anyway, byas!
    Black Fire-SilverGallagherGirl (FanFiction name).

    Reply

    • OH, and im 12, so if I say, finished my book in a year or two, would I still be young to publish my book? And if you write a book, then become a say, Vet or CIA language translater (which I might do after getting an American Citizenship when I graduate) how would that affect my future? that part I dont get.
      Over and Out
      Black Fire-SilverGallagherGirl

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  18. Omg!!! I read the fifth gallagher girl book, and I LOVED IT!!!!! Were you writing the 3rd heist sociesty??? Because when I met you in Kansas at the Watermark Book and Cafe`, you said you were working on the 3rd one… You are really nice and pretty in person!!!! Thank-you for autographing all of my gallagher girl books!!! I hope you remember me, Ally. My name was Alexis, and I had dark brown hair and you said you really like my blue eyes!

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  20. I agree with Maureen. My gosh, I had no clue that the self-publishing industry was going THAT big. It’s so… agh! I really don’t like it. I mean, the whole concept is rather simple: it’s life self-awarding. “Oh, yeah. I’m a published author.” *cough* “Because I paid $xxxx for the title.”
    What a dumb world we live in. Seriously.
    I remember when I finished my novel. I was beyond ecstatic. So I told myself: “Yay! I’m going to read my own work!” And then… well, I didn’t make it past page three. Seriously, my writing stunk at the time. Badly. I’ve been editing that thing forever and I feel like I’m never going to finish. That’s how bad I was.
    I’m proud to say that I’ve gotten better, bit by bit, and I really, truly hope to be a published author one day. But I want to do it the right way… and that is why I’m waiting until I can actually say: “Okay. I’m ready.” – mind you, that day seems millennia away.
    My point here is, those that self-publish don’t learn the lessons I’ve learned. Or the lesson’s Ally and Maureen have learned. And they certainly won’t if they keep going this way. They skip straight to the “glory” of being published without going through the pain and stress that comes along with publishing. I really don’t like that, because I consider it cheating. It’s unfair. It’s not right.
    So, as Mindy said up there, I seriously hope self-publishing fades into a fad. But, knowing how badly the world is turning out nowadays… well, I really doubt it.

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  21. Dear Ally, If you are reading this i was just wandering if theri is going to bee a book 6 to the gallagher girls series.
    So far you are mt favorite author but i reall gave never been more intrested in a book.
    So is their going to be a book 6?

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  22. I love your Gallagher girl series I can even repeat what they say
    Honour her sword, keep her secrets, learn her skills.

    What I really want to ask is are u doing another book on top of the gallagher girls.
    Because u kinda left me in a clif edge with the last lines
    Now I know that, from this point on, we’ll be the ones doing the chasing.
    And i like it.
    Plz do a carry on I beg u.
    And will these be made into movies because I am a actress at a school and I have passed all the exams.
    I think i would SUITE Macey or Cammie

    Reply

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