Look at what that ACTUAL Ivy League college admissions officer wrote above. They care about your grades, your test scores — not about your publishing credits. Publishing a book is not “extra credit.” It’s not a stunt to up your chances at getting in somewhere good. It’s a career.

I’m not sure why this is such a popular misconception, or why “publishing a book” became this year’s “Way to get into College” tip. (I think, when I was a teen, it was “learn an unusual musical instrument” because they’d be all, wow, we don’t have a Hammered Dulcimer Player here at Competitive University.) Either way, it’s a stunt.

As I said in the post, a much better rturn on investment for an aspiring writer is to keep working on their books nad their craft, attend writer’s conferences, work on their school’s newspaper or literary magazine, take creative writing classes, teach literacy or writing skills, or start a book club or writing club at the school. All are GUARANTEED returns on investments — things you can put down on your apps as accomplishments. And you can certainly look for a publisher during all this, but do not pin your college application on getting a book published. It’s way too risky, and might not even pay off.