![Should Parents Pay Big Bucks to Get Their Kids’ Books Published?](http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/tsminteractive.com/files/2012/04/child-writing-300x200.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Should Parents Pay Big Bucks to Get Their Kids’ Books Published?
Over-indulgent parents aren’t just making kids dumber. They’re also costing themselves money in the process. The latest trend? Shelling out hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars to get books written by their children published.
In recent years, self-publishing companies and print-on-demand technology have given way to a plethora of new authors. No longer do you have to hope a publishing house will agree to release your work — you can do it yourself and call yourself a “published author.”
And while that’s certainly had its share of deserved success stories, scores of children and teenagers are now self-publishing books — with their parents footing the bills. Those moms and dads say it’s no different than buying expensive sporting equipment for a promising young athlete, but detractors worry they’re sending the wrong message to kids about the merits of perseverance.
Jacqueline Hines pays $2,700 every time her daughter Elizabeth, an Annapolis, Md. high school junior, self-publishes a book. While she initially worried Elizabeth would get “a little too much of a sense of self,” Mrs. Hines eventually agreed to open her checkbook because “self-esteem usually is not a bad thing for kids this age.”
But novelist Tom Robbins disagrees.
“What’s next? Kiddie architects, juvenile dentists, 11-year-old rocket scientists?” he asked. “Any parent who thinks that the crafting of engrossing, meaningful, publishable fiction requires less talent and experience than designing a house, extracting a wisdom tooth, or supervising a lunar probe is, frankly, delusional.”
More From KSEN AM 1150
![105-Year-Old Allene Wynn Celebrates Her Birthday By Meeting Kobe Bryant [VIDEO]](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/Kobe-Bryant.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Amazing 12-Year-Old Skateboarder Nails World’s First 1080 Spin](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/1080-skateboarder.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![10 Things ‘The Killing’ Can Do to Win Back Viewers](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/The-Killing-AMC.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Rolling Stones Featured in ‘Mad Men’ Plot](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/Rolling-Stones-George-Stroud.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![1940 US Census Is the First Census Available Online](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/census.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Which Cities Have the Best and Worst Job Markets?](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/job-fair.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Play Ball! (And Run Fast…)](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2011/06/softball.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![FWS Invites Comments on Metcalf Refuge Plan](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/04/5622621951_2f9c904930_m.jpg?w=980&q=75)