Blog What Is Young Writers? Parent FAQs
By Young Writers Admin | FAQs, Parents
Your child has come home from school, excitedly waving a letter and a certificate (or, if they’re like my child, you have to dig the crumpled letter out of their school bag). The certificate is from Young Writers, and the letter says we'd like to publish their work in a book. But who are we, what does the letter mean, and what do you need to do?
What is Young Writers?
We are a company based in Peterborough, created to inspire a love of creativity in children and young adults, by publishing their work in real books. We do this by running national writing and drawing competitions for schools with engaging themes and amazing prizes. We also create outstanding resources (which are all free) to support teachers with creative writing lessons.
What does this letter mean?
Your child’s school has entered one of our competitions, and your child’s piece of work meets the publication criteria for that competition. You now have the option for that piece of work to be published in a book alongside their classmates and other children from across the country.
Does this letter mean my child has won?
No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an achievement! This letter means that their piece of work has met the competition criteria and is eligible for publication. We aim to publish as many children as possible, as we know it’s the best way to inspire their love of reading, writing and drawing; as long as their work meets the competition criteria, they will be selected for publication.
The winners of the competition will then be chosen at a later date from published entries only.
How did my child enter the competition?
Your child’s school has entered their pupils into one of our competitions, and your child was included in the entries they sent in.
How did you get my child’s name?
Their school has entered a piece of work into one of our competitions. We only ask for the child’s name and age, and if necessary, can accept a piece of work with only initials or anonymously if requested by the teacher for protection purposes.
If you wish for your child’s piece of work to be published, but without their full name or without the school details, we can absolutely do this, just let us know (and you can also make this update in your online account).
How many of my child’s classmates will be in the book?
That depends on how many were entered, how many of those entries met the competition criteria, and how many give permission to be published.
Do you put everyone who enters into a book?
No. Entries have to meet the criteria for each competition. Our aim is to encourage creativity and create confident writers and artists, and we know the best way to achieve this is for children to see their work in print. Therefore, we will select all entries that meet the criteria and won’t reject entries just to meet a quota, as we believe this will have a negative effect on children’s confidence and self-belief. This does mean that often a whole class or a large percentage of the class will be selected for publication, but that’s the whole point - it’s a celebration of their effort! If a whole class is selected for publication, then that’s a fantastic achievement.
Did the school pay to enter?
No. There is no charge to enter. Every single one of our competitions is absolutely free, including the supporting resources that are available to download.
Do you give the school anything for entering?
We provide free creative writing resources, which are available for download from our website. This can include lesson plans, PowerPoints, idea generation activities and examples, just to name a few. Every school that enters will receive 1 copy of the book for every 30 entries they submit. There are also school prizes to be won for the best set of entries submitted for each competition.
Do I have to pay for my child to appear in the book?
No. All we require is your permission to publish their work.
Do I have to buy a copy of the book?
No. Every school will receive a copy of the book in which their pupils feature, so every child can see their work in print at no cost. We simply ask for preorders where possible so we can better estimate the size of the print run.
How do I give permission to publish?
The quickest way is online using the login information provided in your letter. You can log in or create your account here. In your account you can make changes to your child's name & age, and their poem or story text. You can place an order and request a replacement certificate if there is a spelling mistake in their name.
Alternatively, you can sign & post or email the Copyright/Permission back to us using the information provided on the form.
If you need any help giving permission or accessing your online account, please give us a call on 01733 890066 or email [email protected].
What does the book look like?
All books are A5 paperback, perfect bound, with a full colour front cover. Insides are black and white for poetry and creative writing competitions, and full colour for art competitions.
How will you use my child’s details?
Details are required for competition purposes only. We absolutely do not, and will never, pass on any details to third parties.
If you give permission for your child’s work to appear in the book, their name and school name will appear under the work and in the contents. If you wish for their work to be published without their full name or school details, we can do this, just let us know.
Does my child keep the copyright to their work?
Yes. We ask for your permission to use their work in the published book and on our website or in publicity materials if they are selected as a winner, but that does not mean the ownership or copyright of that piece of work passes to Young Writers. Copyright remains with the author.
What if my child didn’t get a certificate?
First check with their teacher – the certificates are separate in the parcel so they may be holding on to them to give out in a celebration assembly. If not, get in touch with us and we can send out a new one.
What do I have to do next?
If you wish to give permission for your child’s work to be published, you can do so online here. All the details on how to access this are in your letter. Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected] stating your child’s customer number.
If I have given permission online, do I need to do anything else?
No, if you have given permission online, then that is sufficient.
You have spelt my child’s name wrong!
Sorry! Our team do their absolute best, but sometimes hard-to-read handwriting or a simple mistype can result in a misspelt name. You can correct this in your online account, and we will send out a new certificate with the correct spelling.
What is the typeset for?
These are sent out for poems or creative writing, and there are two reasons: firstly so you can see what your child has written and be proud! And secondly, so you can read through and check that there are no errors in the work or your child’s name. Please check this carefully, as this is how the work will appear in the book.
How do I make changes to my child’s work?
If there is a typo (because they do happen despite our best efforts), then you can make changes to the work in your online account. Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected] stating your child’s APB number, or by posting back the Copyright/Permission Form and the typeset with the changes clearly marked. Changes cannot be made to drawings - we can tidy them up, getting rid of any smudge marks, etc, but can't change the drawings or text your child has written.
How do I order the book?
You can order copies via your online account or by giving us a call on 01733 890066.
Books cost ÂŁ19.99 and before publication we have a 3 for2 offer.
How much is postage?
Delivery to the school is 99p. Home delivery is ÂŁ3.99.
Why do the books cost ÂŁ19.99?
The print runs are small and therefore more expensive to produce than mass-market books. There are also a lot of costs that go into creating the books, including: designing, printing and sending out competition resources; editorial time to read, type and edit entries; customer service time to deal with queries and ensure you get the best experience; design time for the book cover and insides; ink, paper and machine costs to print the books; packaging and postage costs. (Not to mention the coffee and tea supplies to keep all the teams going!)
We have faced an increase in costs across all areas in recent years that everyone in the country has been experiencing. We have had to factor this into the cost of books in order to continue supplying free resources to teachers across the country, as well as the bookmarks, stickers, certificates and prizes for each competition, all of which help to encourage children to join in and keep writing.
Is Young Writers a scam?
No! Absolutely not. If you have placed an order and have not received it, please contact our Customer Care Team on 01733 890066 or by email [email protected]. Every order will be fulfilled and if it's gone missing in the post, we will look into it and redespatch your order if necessary to ensure you receive the books you have paid for.
If my child is in the book, why don’t they get a free copy?
We would LOVE to be able to give every published child a free copy of the book they appear in. Unfortunately, it’s just not viable at this time. The print runs are small and the market for selling them doesn’t go much beyond friends and family. The money generated from sales goes back into the next competition, allowing us to continue providing free resources to teachers to help them inspire a love of creativity in their pupils and to give out amazing prizes!
When and how do you pick the winners?
Winners will be chosen once all the books in the series have been published. Editors mark any good entries as they read, type and edit work, and these go into a longlist. From that longlist a shortlist of the best pieces is created, which is then passed to an independent judge to pick the winners. For more details on the selection process and timeline, please read our Winners FAQs blog.
I hope that has answered any questions you have, but if not, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Customer Care team, who are available Monday – Friday 9am-5pm and are ready and waiting to help! You can email [email protected] or call 01733 890066.
We hope that your child enjoys their experience entering our competition and that it inspires them to keep writing and being creative!