The best age to start a career in writing

Whether you are teenaged or an older adult, a story may pop up in your head from time to time. You want to write it. But are you too young or too old to begin your writing journey? Is there a best age to start writing? Let’s find out.

If you are a teenager, do you think that you are too young to write your first book? If your answer is yes, you are wrong. There are a number of successful writers who published their first novels in their teens.

Recently, I had a conversation with a thirty something year old lady. She said that she wrote a book when she was sixteen. She is just ready to share it with an audience. Be like that lady! Write your stories. Eventually you will develop the confidence to share them with an audience. So why not start your writing journey today?

Are you between the ages of twenty and forty? Apparently, this is a good time to start your career in writing. It is during this period that many writers start their careers. If you are in this age group, I don’t think that you are worried about being too young to write. Your concern probably is about what to write. What you should write is right in front of you. Grasp it!

If you are in your forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and older, do you think that you are too old to write? The answer is, definitely not! Here is a list of writers who started their careers in their older years and enjoyed fame, fortune and recognition for their efforts. So, if you are over forty and you are wrestling with the question about whether or not to write that memoir that you think that you should write, or that children’s story that’s been crying for release or your first novel in any genre that you like or a non-fiction book on any subject in which you are interested, you have permission to start writing.

And if you are a parent and your pre-teens declare that they are writing a book, encourage them. They are practising for the real deal.

You may be just starting out on your career path or you may be switching career paths. Or, writing is that hobby that you always wanted to start. I believe that everyone has a book in them that is waiting to be written. It doesn’t matter your age. You have experiences. Experiences are the prompts from which writers begin their writing journey.

So what is the best age to start writing? The answer to this question is simple. If you are reading this article, you are ready to write your story. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, if you want to be published by a traditional publisher, being young seems to be an advantage. I read that traditional publishers prefer to get more than one book from a writer they sign. Apparently they believe that the older writer may lack the writing longevity that they require to boost their return on investment. This doesn’t mean that an older writer will not be published by traditional publishers. The evidence is there for all to see. If editors deem that your work is excellent and ticks all their boxes, whatever those boxes are, you may be in for a ride towards fame, fortune and recognition, whatever drives you.

Second, remember that we live in a world where writers no longer need to depend on traditional publishers for their books to see the light of day. There are many indie publishing options out there and there are a number of writers who have received mainstream success after they independently published their books. So, if you want to write, write. There is no right age to start writing and you determine the right time to begin your writing journey and how it will progress.

My right time to write was in my forties. Since I made the decision to write, I have written many articles, short stories, two non-fiction books and enough poems for a book of poetry.

As long as you have a passion for writing and you believe that you have something to say, that somebody somewhere has an interest in, go for it! Your writing success will depend on how you choose to define success for yourself.

Probably seeing your book in print will be success enough for you. Probably making enough money from your writing to live comfortably, comfortably as defined by you, will be success enough. Or probably writing for the sake of writing will be success enough.

Achieving a place on a bestsellers' list is the ultimate success. It is the dream of many writers. Use that as your motivation to write your stories.

Finally, I don’t have to tell you that success as defined by society or by you is not guaranteed. But if you have the writing bug, write anyway.

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About the Author

Janette B. Fuller is a teacher and author of three books. Her business is to write stories set in the place she knows best – Jamaica – while also helping writers to write their own stories. When you are ready to write your story, make contact with her @ writingwisdomtree@gmail.com. Check out her books here.