Why Most “New” Novelists are 30
The most excellent writer, John Scalzi, explains this better than I ever could over on his blog post: Why New Novelists are kind of old. (btw, buy all his books; they’re wonderful.)I agree with everything he says.
My experience was similar...with a few differences.
I started writing when I was 27. The first thing I wrote (after one back up to get a better running start) was, indeed, published. Age when it was published: 30.
Not to say that my writing hasn’t had its ups and downs since then. Oh boy, that’s that the subject for another eye-popping post (or one that I might save for my never-to-be published biography and exposé on the video gaming industry).
There are many exceptions to what Sclazi is saying, too. Stephen King was 24 when he wrote Carrie, and Christopher Paolini was 14 or 15 when he wrote Eragon. If you’re an aspiring writer, I hope you’re one of these lucky (and extremely hard working people!). But the vast majority of writers follow the it-takes-years-of-hard-work-and-rejection-and you’ll-be-middle-aged-by-the-time-you-break-into-print method.
The point is: it is harder and takes longer than most people think to write, write well, and get published.
This is normal.
Don’t be discouraged. Take heart. Just keep your head down and write and learn how to improve your writing along the way.
If it were easy, everyone would get published...and then there’d be more competition!
Labels: Scalzi, Writing advice, Writing business
posted by Eric Nylund at 8:12 AM
8 Comments:
I couldn't agree with you more about John Scalzi. It's rare that I laugh out loud when I'm reading a book, but I thought "The Android's Dream" was both brilliant and hilarious. And I recommend the "Old Man's War" series to anybody who asks for recommendations.
Wow, John Scalzi so hit the nail on the head. He's so right.
started writing at 25, thirty today.
Five good years.
I started writing when I was 7, earlier than R.L. Stine when he started writing.
Darren Shan was in his 20's when he was published, and was writing when he was 6.
The person who wrote Swordbird was only 10-12 when she wrote it, is now 14 and has 2 books and a 3rd coming out, Gordon Kormon wrote his first book at 12.
And I was on the brink to getting one of my stories published, but the sin of laziness caught up with me, so that went down the drain. And laziness has pervented me from learning the guitar or drums, and tells me to do my homework at 6:15-7:00.
I know just realized that lots of writers are 30,but with hard work, lots of words, and a good story idea, a person will get published. I hope laziness doesn't pervent me from that.
But the reason why some young people get published is that they know someone. Like Christopher Paolini, his parents are publishers, but ERAGON was a very good book.
Stephen King also wrote like 3-4 books before he got published, and I think a few of those turned into Bachman books.
:^)
30 years, you'll never think of something like that unless someone told you. Like in Chess, you look everywhere on the board for a move, can't find it,then you lose and your opponent tells you you could of moved there and pretected your king, or got me into a checkmate right there or you could of gotten my queen... etc.
But you still realize that people have been writting for a long time before publication.
Stephen King - around 10 or so when he started writing.
Christopher Paolini - Always has.
Darren Shan - was 6.
R.L. Stine - was 9.
Johnathan Rand - was 7.
Robman Philbrick - was 12.
That was a really good article. And it does what good non-fiction writing about writing does: it informs as well as encourages.
Sometimes I read things about aspiring writers and the article might not even be a little bit discouraging but you still come away feeling like crap and like you'll never do anything good at all. Other articles and pieces...you come away ready to bang out 5,000 words an hour. This doesn't often happen, but it's nice to get that kind of encouragement every now and again.
I completely agree with this. While I started really writing when I was 12-13, it was a long while before I actually started writing anything good. I'm a couple days out from 29 and when I look back on what I wrote even a couple years ago, I cringe. I can also see where I didn't know myself very well and was searching to meet myself, something I'm getting a better handle on now. I still don't think I'm the Greatest Writer Evar (TM) but I do think I've improved drastically. I also think I have a better handle on myself. The thought of putting all of that together into something worthwhile is terribly exciting and I can't wait to see what I produce. I'm also glad I haven't had anything really put out into the public yet because I know I would have regretted its quality and its representation of myself. Being older, wiser, and more self-aware certainly has its merits.
Since I'm 40 and still unpublished, perhaps the moment has passed. 40 is, like, ancient.
40 is not ancient, age is all in the mind. Just think you're 20 and BAM!!!! You'll become 20. Don't listen to Life and all the time that goes by.
Tell mother nature and father time, "I'm not your kid, I don't have to listen to you!" And just go to that Computer and type till you fingers are fused with the keyboard, then you'll have to try and prosper your work with just 10 keys do to the fact you're fused to them. Make sure ones a shift key and the other one's the Space Bar.
:^)
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