Verago

I'm wondering about your opinions on this...

Some people say that if you're, say, 15, you shouldn't get published, because you don't have enough experience.
But that's just your age, not how long you've been writing.

I guess the point is, which do you think would tend to have a better chance of published: A 14 year old with 10 years of writing under his belt, or a 25 year old with 2 or 3 years of writing under his belt?

Age, obviously, is a factor, but so is experience, and age and experience are not neccessarily the same thing.

Just for discussion, mostly.

-Ethan

Dookie

I think the thing to do to find the answer to this would be to look at writers that are young. The only one I know of is Darren Shan. To tell you the truth his writing is absolutely dreadful and has some of the jumpiest punctuation and grammer ever but he made it. He's not a good example of young writers though, I'd like to say, as I am 16, that a lot of young writers can write just as good if not better than those twice their age.

So yeah, I cant really answer your question.

Verago

It's kind of a personal question, for me, because I'm seriously considering trying to get published, and I have a trilogy worked out and in progress.
I'm 14, have been writing for as long as I've known how to read, which has been around 10-12 years.
People tell me that I'm really good at what I do...

I don't know. I don't want to get published if I can't do my story and characters justice...

Meh. Rant.

hirshmon

A 14-year-old writer with ten years of experience has been writing since four...none of that writing is probably very good. The problem is that his education isn't completed, he's not fully matured, and his thought process isn't fully developped.

Experience isn't always a factor - many times it's personality and brain-type. How much someone reads and how they read, there is another factor. All of that experience would only be useful if the kid used the time constructively. If he got support and analyzed his writing in comparison to better works so that he could thrive. Otherwise, he might just be writing crap after crap after crap and not improving at all. It's more about improvement and the rate of improvement, then about experience. That's my theory.

Dookie

Vergago don't take this the wrong way because I am only two years older than you but a lot can happen to your style, method and how good you are in that two years. You've not sat your highers/GCSE's/american equivalents yet. It's in these that you learn so so much in English to do with writing techniques. When I was 14 I thought my writing was amazing, I look back and read it now and laugh.

Wait a couple of years is all I'm saying.

Verago

I see your point.

Some of the stuff that I wrote when I was around 7 wasn't actually too horrible. I got a couple of short stories published at 9...I might post some of my (really) early work up here sometime; I've been meaning to, just for laughs.

@Dookie: Yeah. That's part of my dilemma...

bambie1984

People over twenty have a better chance of getting published but nowadays there are more teenagers than what used to be with a full novel under their belts. I think it shouldn't depend on the age, it should depend on the quality of the writng. But it's just more proof of the exhausted and utterly discriminatory phrase; Children are to be seen and not heard.

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Rob

I guess the point is, which do you think would tend to have a better chance of published: A 14 year old with 10 years of writing under his belt, or a 25 year old with 2 or 3 years of writing under his belt?

I think, actually, that this misses the point. How well do they write?

Cheers,
Omni

Verago

I guess that's the question...

Rob

But the answer cannot be determined from how old they are and how long they have been writing. In order to determine how well they write, you have to analyse their writing.

Cheers,
Omni

kalibantre

I think Ethan, you're going to have to wait a few years. I'm 19 and I'm not taken seriously no matter how well I write because I'm a first year at uni not a second or thrid year student. IT sucks, there will always be a dicrimination of some kind. Hold on to that work, keep goig over it, keep sending it off but don't expect a miracle for a while..

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Capulet

It also comes down to which audience you're trying to write for. If you're 14, and trying to discuss adult themes for a 25-35 demographic, you're going to have a serious challenge on your hand. It has nothing to do with writing skill, but understanding of the material being approached.

I've read some wonderful work by writers of all ages, and some pretty horrible stuff too. Age brings experience, not just with writing but with life in general. If you want to be taken seriously as a teenage writer, target venues where your writing will be appreciated, and understood. Otherwise, you're facing an uphill battle of your own choosing.

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mammamaia

as omni sort of said, the only thing that matters is how well you write, not how long you've been doing it or what age you are now or were when you started...

nothing else should be considered... it's simple... if you write well enough to have a chance of being published, then submit your work... if you don't yet, then don't...

of course, if you're still legally a minor, you'll have to have a parent sign any contracts... that's the only hindrance to good-enough youthful writers being published, imo...

hugs, maia

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Straylight

I've had several pieces of flash published, and never once has anyone asked how old I was. A couple of the venues asked for a bio, but there's no rule that says you have to tell them how old you are. Sub your writing and let it speak for itself.

If you talking about something of novel-length, than I'm not entirely sure. Certain genres would probably publish you with alacrity. Others might present some difficulty.

At the end of the day, publishing is a business. If you work is good enough, it will get published. Quite frankly, your age at that point is a selling point, not a liability.

Best of luck,
~SL

Achilles

As mammamaia stated, neither age nor experience matter at all, except that more publication credits look better. If your writing is good, you can get published. If you've been writing for forty years and still write crap, no one will publish you. I'm fourteen and have already had poetry published in numerous magazines and ezines. Also, it never hurts to try.

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