Oh, so age matters now in writing? What do you think?

Question

Does being older make you better at writing? More creative?
Is it right is publishers say "Hey, this book sounds good" and then when they find out you're a teen they say "Never mind"?

It's so annoying when everyone always says, "You're too young to publish" or "no one will take you seriously."

I am serious about writing, though!
And being young doesn't make me worse!

what do you think?

A couple of things in response to some off the responses:
~Just wanted to make a really quick point that I am VERY serious about my writing and that I don't just write for the fun of it and just happen to want my book published
~Publishers publish you because of your PHYSICAL APPEARENCE? That's absurd but, nevertheless, hilarious
~I do not take critism as an insult, I love critism


I think that's all.

Thanks for all the ideas/comments so far :P

~MournfulBeauty

Answer 1

I think life experience and talent are more important that chronological age. If you're motivated enough to sit down and write a book, polish it, edit it and publicize it, your age shouldn't bar you from the process.

Answer 2

I'm 33, so I don't really care how old you are when you start writing. My only nagging concern is how *old* you are when you believe you want to be published.

There are writers out there who are too young to become published, and writers out there who haven't fully grasped their craft or the full impact of what writing a book is really all about.

It's no game.

Writing a book takes a long time to do. You may have two or three books under your belt, but neither you nor your works are *ready* for the maintream.

Teen writers wanting to get published at the age they are isn't *remotely* possible. Publishers *do not* publish teen authors.

If one shows extreme promise, they will work with them until they are ready to *be* published. And normally, that takes YEARS.

I know this for fact. And I've seen this happen.

Writing is a medium that takes quite awhile to master. It can't be hurried, it can't rushed, it can't be pegged early on as a 'masterpiece' or a 'blockbuster'.

If you are going to be a writer, than take your work seriously. You're in school, right? Then stay in school, focus on your grades, and continue writing until you get better at it.

If you try to submit to agents and publishers at your stage, all you'll get is polite rejections stating that they can't take you because of your age.

And this is the *mainstream* talking.

Even if I had my own imprint up and running right now, I would say and do the same thing. Teenagers are ill-equipped and ill-prepared for the *enormity* of publishing a book. There is so much that goes into it--they don't have the experience or the skills do *deal* with such an onslaught.

And that is the honest truth.

Answer 3

Older writers write from greater experience and (usually) skill.

However, you are in LUCK because they now want authors that they can MARKET to young audiences based on...get this...your physical appearance! That's right, I'm not joking. Celebrity authors generate buzz and sell books and young, hot females writing "dishy" YA fiction will get bought and marketed. The only problem is that the corporate folks will want to tell you what to write and might even do "extensive editing" to get the "product" that they want, then they get you to promote the books. This was what happened to that girl who got nabbed for pliagerism recently about "How (some Indian name girl) got busy, got a life, and got kissed" or whatever the book was called.

Here is what to do:
Write your book
Get a serious reader (not Mom, who will love it and won't give it enough red pencil) to slash it, and give you lots of criticism.
Re-write your book
Get another reader to look at it (these readers should be adults or old, smart teens)
Do NOT be thin skinned, criticism is good.
Go to a writer's group and chat it up.
Do your market research (are there similar books? What is the genre? who will buy the book? Can you market the book?) The hard fact is that publishing is all about the MONEY and it doesn't matter how good the book is if they don't think they can make money off of it.
Write a killer Query letter
Get the Writer's Market Guide out of the Library and scour through it
Mail a query letter and three sample chaps to publishing houses that you think publish similar books. Try again......
Look for contests for unpublished authors and youth authors. Enter the contests with your work. Keep entering contests.
Research "POD" which is Print On Demand publishing. You can get your book self-published with little investment, list it on Amazon, and promote it yourself. They will only print up copies as people order....Remember ERAGON???? Did you read Eragon? That is exactly how the teen author of that book did it.

Hey good luck, and get yourself a good headshot for promotional purposes.

Answer 4

Age doesn't matter, but there is truth to the old saying "practice makes perfect" - if you keep working at your writing, you will keep getting better. So while you may be a great writer now, you will be an even better writer in a year if you keep practicing, and even better a year from then.

I think that's true of most writers. If you compare their first book to their tenth you will usually see tighter sentences and a more fluid writing style.

L. Frank Baum is one of my personal favorite authors. While The Wizard of Oz may be just as creative as the sequels he wrote (and definitely the best known), it was also more crudely written. When you compare the style and ability he showed in the later books in the series to the first, you can easily see how much of a better writer he became.

Does that mean The Wizard of Oz was bad? Of course not - it's a story that has lasted over 100 years and will continue to be a part of our culture for years to come. But even Baum continued to become a better writer as he got older.

Don't take the criticism as an insult. Take it as a challenge. No matter how serious you are - no matter how good you are - you have the potential to improve yourself and become even better.

We all do.

Answer 5

Age makes no difference! (not to me, anyway) Those people are probably just jealous that they can't write as well as you can (if indeed you are a good writer); they wouldn't be able to take a teen making more money than them. Not all people care about age, though. Brian Jacques is awesome, and he's an older (much older!) author. Now, look at Christopher Paolini. He was a teen when he started writing his Inheritance trilogy (Eragon), and those books - the two that are out - are just as successful as Jacques's Redwall series. Whatever other people say, DO NOT give up writing! It'll just deprive the world of possibly another great author. Just keep writing and improving, and maybe someone will take your talents seriously. Show them that you can do it. :)

Answer 6

No age doesnt matter and many authors going back to Mary
Shelley have proven that. Mattie Stepanek had like 5 books on the NY Times best seller list before he was 14. Who says you are too young to publish?? If you have a quality work and submit it correctly, it will be read. Could you possibly have submitted a work improperly - which publishers and agents view as a sign of amateurism? Write me with details if you want. Pax - C.

Answer 7

It is very hard to answer the question of the relationship between 'age' and writing. One approach is to note that ones understanding of the world is broadened by experience. An editor friend who published my first poetry when I was 21 told me that as a general rule most people do not start writing well until they are in their 30's. Many writers either eliminate early work or note their dissatisfaction with it later in life. We haven't a single piece of Shakespeare's work from before he was 30. Clearly, he must of written something- he didn't spring up creating masterworks. George Bernard Shaw wrote his best into his 80's. My own experience has been that reading works by younger poets shows great virtuosity with language-but, often that seems to be the goal and the filling isn't sufficient to support the language. As the poet gets older the work tends to get more 'meaty'.
Of course, there are exceptions Keat's created monumental work and died young (25);but, he was brought face to face with mortality at a very early age. At 18 he was a qualified MD (practising) and both his mother and brother died of TB (consumption)-pulmonary embolism. Keat's knew he had the disease and would die of it-which he did. Until most folks hit 30 or 40 they do not have the experience of facing their own death as a concrete part of their personal understanding of life. If we lived forever perhaps the creative instinct would be weaker. My advice is write-write-write but also experience everything you can-watch and learn.
As for publication-keep trying. There may be legal complications to accepting work from anyone under a certain age. Submit elsewhere-send single pieces to literary journals (build your portfolio) and with work you will get there.
Write well

Answer 8

No age doesn't matter. The target audience can change due to how the book is written. Some teens are mature for their age though, so if the book matched the style of writing I preferred, I would read it.

Answer 9

Publishing is a business. I find it hard to believe that publisher care how old you are if your material is marketable.

If I'm not mistaken the author of Eragon very young.

Answer 10

I'm a writer myself. No publishers take me seriously.

It's terrible being young.