A guide to becoming a published writer
Hannah Rofe describes her experience as a young writer and gives other aspiring writers the perfect method in getting their books published, for free.
Hello! My name’s Hannah Rofe and since I was little, I always wanted to be an author. Writing is a huge passion of mine and personally, I enjoy creating fantasy stories. There is something fascinating about creating a world which is beyond ordinary and utterly idiosyncratic. I’ve recently finished writing a novel called, ‘The Brightening Star,’ which has taken me just over a year to complete. When I’d done so, I was so amazingly proud of myself for doing that and sticking with writing it. But then, it hit me. If I wanted my book to be properly read by others, I would need to publish it. I was bewildered and rather anxious to say the least, because publishing a book costs a lot of money and as a fourteen-year-old girl, I wasn’t sure what to do at all. That was when I found out that my father’s close work companion had published a book, but on a website run by Amazon. This website is known as Kindle Direct Publishing. It allows you to publish Kindle ebooks or actual paperbacks, for FREE! I was over the moon by how easy and free this route of publishing was and now I’m going to put my book on there and have it printed as an actual book as a paperback. The people of Amazon also print your book for you and you are able to design a cover, to make your story catch shoppers’ eyes.
I am currently editing the final touches of my own story at the moment, but I wanted to take the time to share this method with other students my age who want to become authors. My goal is to inspire many people with my fantasy stories and I hope that people reading this would perhaps choose to try and write a book. Yes, you have to be extremely patient and I must admit there are sometimes a few obstacles. But, as a writer, it’s your individual job to overcome what ever may be thrown at you and keep going! That was my work ethic during my year of story writing and I’m ecstatic about where I am now. The fact that we are now in lockdown could be a positive thing, because now lots of you who have been sitting on an idea for a book, could actually begin writing it. We have quite a bit of free time on our hands and I most definitely think we should use this time to do something creative!
I hope that this article influences you and allows you to embrace the Heathfield Habits outside of school, as well as in school. The habits for this in particular would be Determination and Reflection. By being tenacious, you can continue writing your book, but when editing, reflect on your mistakes and happily correct them. I’ve made plenty of errors, but I’m still improving. So, get a notepad or open a Word document and have a go! If anyone is interested, please have a read of my own book, ‘The Brightening Star.’ I’ve worked really hard on it and I’d like to see if anyone enjoys what I’ve done. I’ll be releasing the book sometime later this Spring.
Stay safe and healthy during this difficult time. I know it’s challenging, but we must stay strong, focused and make the most of every day!
Hannah Rofe, year 9
Hello! My name’s Hannah Rofe and since I was little, I always wanted to be an author. Writing is a huge passion of mine and personally, I enjoy creating fantasy stories. There is something fascinating about creating a world which is beyond ordinary and utterly idiosyncratic. I’ve recently finished writing a novel called, ‘The Brightening Star,’ which has taken me just over a year to complete. When I’d done so, I was so amazingly proud of myself for doing that and sticking with writing it. But then, it hit me. If I wanted my book to be properly read by others, I would need to publish it. I was bewildered and rather anxious to say the least, because publishing a book costs a lot of money and as a fourteen-year-old girl, I wasn’t sure what to do at all. That was when I found out that my father’s close work companion had published a book, but on a website run by Amazon. This website is known as Kindle Direct Publishing. It allows you to publish Kindle ebooks or actual paperbacks, for FREE! I was over the moon by how easy and free this route of publishing was and now I’m going to put my book on there and have it printed as an actual book as a paperback. The people of Amazon also print your book for you and you are able to design a cover, to make your story catch shoppers’ eyes.
I am currently editing the final touches of my own story at the moment, but I wanted to take the time to share this method with other students my age who want to become authors. My goal is to inspire many people with my fantasy stories and I hope that people reading this would perhaps choose to try and write a book. Yes, you have to be extremely patient and I must admit there are sometimes a few obstacles. But, as a writer, it’s your individual job to overcome what ever may be thrown at you and keep going! That was my work ethic during my year of story writing and I’m ecstatic about where I am now. The fact that we are now in lockdown could be a positive thing, because now lots of you who have been sitting on an idea for a book, could actually begin writing it. We have quite a bit of free time on our hands and I most definitely think we should use this time to do something creative!
I hope that this article influences you and allows you to embrace the Heathfield Habits outside of school, as well as in school. The habits for this in particular would be Determination and Reflection. By being tenacious, you can continue writing your book, but when editing, reflect on your mistakes and happily correct them. I’ve made plenty of errors, but I’m still improving. So, get a notepad or open a Word document and have a go! If anyone is interested, please have a read of my own book, ‘The Brightening Star.’ I’ve worked really hard on it and I’d like to see if anyone enjoys what I’ve done. I’ll be releasing the book sometime later this Spring.
Stay safe and healthy during this difficult time. I know it’s challenging, but we must stay strong, focused and make the most of every day!
Hannah Rofe, year 9