Yadkin Valley Community School middle schoolers released a book this year featuring poems and short stories.
ELKIN — This past school year, Yadkin Valley Community School middle school students wrote and published their very own book which is available on Amazon.
“We decided at the first of the school year that we were going to try to publish a book of creative writing,” said teacher Perry Lloyd. “The authors were a mixture of sixth and seventh-grade students.”
“They exceeded my expectations with regard to the quality of work that they produced for this project which includes poetry and short stories,” Lloyd said. “We decided on the title ‘Learning to Fly: The YVCS Collection.’
Lloyd said the students worked diligently on their writing and were involved in the entire process for publication, including editing and offering suggestions on one another’s work.
“The students and I worked together to edit the work. They learned about how to copyright material and each of the individual contributors established a ‘poor man’s copyright’ on their individual contributions to the book,” explained Lloyd. “Self-publishing by means of Amazon is a relatively straightforward process and the final product is something that these young authors and their families can be proud of.”
Lloyd said it was a fun and cool process for him to oversee and watch. He said during the editing process students were a bit defensive at first but then learned to listen and take constructive criticism to improve upon their writing.
“Tentatively we hope to make this an annual project,” added Lloyd. “This particular book will always be special to me because it represents the foundation of a tradition that I hope will continue for years to come.”
The book ‘Learning to Fly: The YVCS Collection’, which features student artwork as the cover, is available on Amazon for $3.58.
Kitsey Burns Harrison may be reached at 336-258-4035 or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @news_shewrote.