I published my first novel when I was 55 years old.
I'm 66 now, and I'm about to publish my 14th book.
If I'd listened to the little voice telling me I was too old to start a writing career, those fourteen books wouldn't exist. All those characters, adventures, strange worlds, and terrible things I've done to imaginary people would still be rattling around inside my head.
Here's something I've learned: Age isn't a disadvantage for a writer. It's ammunition.
By the time you've accumulated a few decades, you've experienced love, loss, triumph, failure, heartbreak, and enough human stupidity to fill an entire library. You've met heroes, villains, fools, and people who somehow manage to be all three before breakfast.
That's a lifetime of material.
Sure, I wish I'd started publishing earlier. I could have written more books by now. But I also know that the writer I was at 25 wouldn't have had nearly as much to say as the writer I became at 55.
And at 66? I'm still learning, still improving, and still coming up with more stories than I have time to write.
The wonderful thing about writing is that there's no mandatory retirement age. Nobody comes along and takes away your keyboard because you've qualified for Social Security.
So, if you're 50, 60, 70, or 80 and you've always wanted to write a book, write the damn book.
Don't worry about whether you're too old to become a successful author. Don't worry about how many years you have left to write.
Worry about getting that first sentence onto the page.
I started at 55. Eleven years later, I'm about to publish book number 14. I have 3 more in first draft!
And I'm nowhere near finished.
I'm 66 now, and I'm about to publish my 14th book.
If I'd listened to the little voice telling me I was too old to start a writing career, those fourteen books wouldn't exist. All those characters, adventures, strange worlds, and terrible things I've done to imaginary people would still be rattling around inside my head.
Here's something I've learned: Age isn't a disadvantage for a writer. It's ammunition.
By the time you've accumulated a few decades, you've experienced love, loss, triumph, failure, heartbreak, and enough human stupidity to fill an entire library. You've met heroes, villains, fools, and people who somehow manage to be all three before breakfast.
That's a lifetime of material.
Sure, I wish I'd started publishing earlier. I could have written more books by now. But I also know that the writer I was at 25 wouldn't have had nearly as much to say as the writer I became at 55.
And at 66? I'm still learning, still improving, and still coming up with more stories than I have time to write.
The wonderful thing about writing is that there's no mandatory retirement age. Nobody comes along and takes away your keyboard because you've qualified for Social Security.
So, if you're 50, 60, 70, or 80 and you've always wanted to write a book, write the damn book.
Don't worry about whether you're too old to become a successful author. Don't worry about how many years you have left to write.
Worry about getting that first sentence onto the page.
I started at 55. Eleven years later, I'm about to publish book number 14. I have 3 more in first draft!
And I'm nowhere near finished.
