Vanity Publishing at Its Lowest

After reading this article this article, I have become very annoyed. Why? Here’s the message they tried to put: “You can basically do anything if you put your mind to it.” This is the message I saw: “You can basically do anything if you have money.”

The gist of it is that these parents vanity published (not self-published, Elissa Gootman) their child’s manuscript. Now there’s nothing wrong with encouraging kids to write and achieve their dreams, it’s just that that is the wrong way to do it.

If you wanted your child "to get that good feeling inside that you've done something," then you didn't have to publish his manuscript. He wrote a novel! That's already an wonderful thing! And wouldn't it have been an even greater feeling if it was truly accepted by publishers? Or if Ben published it all by himself?

Adults are quick to praise children when they do practically anything (that isn’t bad, at least). I remember when my mother had read my writings when I was ten-years-old. She had complimented it for its... originality. Years later, after looking back at that very same paper, I am embarrassed that I had let her read it. If that had been published and out, I would have been humiliated. Heck, I could have given up writing altogether. Do you want to do that to your child?

I'm not against vanity publishing. What I am saying is that they shouldn't be labeling themselves as self-publishers or be preying on ignorant people. Kids (and also people starting their writing career) should at least be able to distinguish and define these terms before publishing.

Sure, there are some other teens and kids that have an amazing manuscript (Steph Bowe, anyone?) but how do you know if you are in that lot? You research. You study about writing. You gain knowledge about it.

The thing is that they (and again, people starting their writing career) need to learn to improve. They need to learn to not entirely trust your friends' and family's opinion on their work. They need to learn that not everything they do is buttercups and roses. Most of all, they need to learn to query to publishers and agents first (instead of using up their parent's money). If they don't think that is right for them, then self-publish (which could also be at no cost).

A Suggestion to Alja: Instead of a dream to publish three books by age fifteen, why not a dream to publish three great books instead?

(Disclaimer: Screenshot is from the article "Young Writers Dazzle Publisher (Thanks Mom and Dad)" on the New York Times website. It is obviously not my site, nor do I own the article or images in it.)