A good friend of mine was recently telling me about her (almost) 13 year-old daughter and her poetry. She told me I needed to read some of these poems to believe them. (They're so good, in fact, that her teacher thought she plagiarized them; I thought you were presumed innocent till proven guilty in this country!) She also wanted to know how she could go about trying to get them published.
I told her I knew nothing about the poetry publishing world, but that they'd have to either find some publishers to approach or a good agent to represent them...or, they could just go the self-publishing route. I gave her information on a couple of options and she wound up choosing Blurb. Within a very short period of time, my friend had her daughter's poems loaded into Blurb and ready for sale.
Self-publishing rocks! Where else could an (almost) 13 year-old get their poems published, virtually overnight?! And btw, her mom is right. See for yourself by reading a couple of the poems in her new book, Thirteen: My Poems. Use Blurb's preview feature to read the one called "I Tried to Touch the Sky" and tell me this kid doesn't have remarkable talent!
The author's name is Annie Mackowick and it just so happens that tomorrow, June 11th, is her 13th birthday. I'm about to order a copy of this one for myself. If you'd like to make an aspiring author's 13th birthday extra special, be sure to order a copy of your own.
P.S. -- I have no financial interest in this. It's just my way of helping spread the word for a great service (Blurb) as well as an up-and-coming author.
Joe,
Thanks so much for your guidance and support for us. Sometimes it's difficult to know how exactly to help nurture and progress a child's talent but Blurb has been a wonderful find. What a great thing for Annie to see her poems bound in a beautiful book and discussed on your great blog. See you next month!
Sincerely,
Paul Mackowick
Annies proud father
Posted by: Paul Mackowick | June 10, 2009 at 08:38 PM
annie-
your book looks great! you must be so proud! :+)
now go practice your violin, and feed your rabbits.
and then wash your hands, because we've got cake!
birthday cake! and ice cream! happy birthday, miss 13!
-bowerbird
Posted by: bowerbird | June 11, 2009 at 03:02 AM
She should also Publish to Kindle using the DTP platform!
Posted by: J | June 11, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Joe,
You are the nicest godfather a girl could ask for! =) You are soooooo nice for this blog (now if you google "annie mackowick" you'll get 9 links to me!!!!). I hope i get to see you soon, I miss you and your whole family! Tell Hannah I say "Hey", thnx! Miss you!!!!
A proud god-daughter (if thats a word),
Annie (teehee!)
Posted by: Annie | June 16, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Hey Joe!
We received our copy of Annie's book today. I'm very impressed with the quality of the paper and printing for the price. Blurb's software was easy for even a first time user to understand. I was able to create Annie's book in just a few hours. I would recommend Blurb to any unsigned author who wants to copyright and publish their work.
Joe - Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.
I think you deserve an extra donut the next time you come to the Burgh!
carmack00
Posted by: Carol Mackowick | June 17, 2009 at 12:09 PM