Age and Writing by James Van Pelt

A writer friend of mine ruminated briefly on age and publishing success on his Facebook thread, basically wondering if a writer can age out of relevance.

At first, my reaction is “hell no!” There’s nothing age-related about writing, assuming the writer hasn’t descended into dementia (a genuine concern after a certain age). I can think of a dozen names off the top of my head of writers who have continued to sell work well after a traditional retirement age.

The list of writers whose publishing success happened later in life is extensive:

• Laura Ingalls Wilder, first novel, Little House in the Big Woods at 65
• Raymond Chandler, first novel, The Big Sleep at 51 (which doesn’t sound particularly old to me now)
• Frank McCort, first novel, Angela’s Ashes, which won the Pulitzer at 66
• Richard Adams, first novel, Watership Down at 52
• Delia Owens, first novel, Where the Crawdads Sing at 70
• Norman Maclean, first novel, A River Runs Through It at 74
• Lorna Page, first novel, Dangerous Weakness at 93

The list of successful writers who continued to publish in the later years is much larger.

But I wonder if I’m cherry-picking my data and leaning into hopeful confirmation bias. Are my examples above the equivalent of the self-published author who is sure money and fame are flowing their way because Andy Weir’s The Martian appeared first on his website, or Fifty Shades of Gray started as Twilight fan fiction, and was self-published before being picked up by Vintage in a major publishing deal?

Is there an age curve in the overall data that tracks with publishing success? I don’t know of one.

I know writers who seemed to have blossomed, enjoyed a stretch of success, and then tapered off.

Is it age-related? If it is age-related, is it because publishers have some age discrimination going (I don’t believe this, in general)? Or is it that a writer finds their greatest stuff at some point, mines it out, and then is weaker and self-derivative after that? Is it difficult for most writers to have a second act after they hit some peak?

If you are interested in how some writers fared in their later years, try Starting Later & Starting Over: Launching a Writing Career When You’re No Longer ‘Young’ by Jane Friedman. The Art of Growing Older: Writers on Living and Aging, edited by Wayne C. Booth.

In some ways, as personal as the topic seems, the questions don’t matter for me. I will continue to write even if the sales quit coming. I’ve maintained that writing and publishing are related but separate hobbies. That might be the same for other writers who once were selling their novels (or stories or plays or poems or whatever), and felt like they were riding higher than they are now.

But maybe not for all. Constant rejection, especially after having once been a regularly selling author, would have to be discouraging.

Here’s the only data point I have that might pertain to the question. If writing success can happen to anyone at any age with the same statistical probability, then there should be a fairly even spread of the age writers break in and make their first sale. But when I was collecting the data for eligibility for what used to be called the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, I couldn’t recall a single author who made their first pro sale in their 60s or older.

Maybe, despite all the time a retired person might have on their hands, they don’t often decide to take up writing, although I’ve talked to tons of wanna-be writers who claim they’re waiting until they have more time to write.

Also, and very importantly, writing, and the benefits that accrue from the lonely pursuit, is not the same as publishing. There are numerous books discussing how writing fulfills and enriches us without measuring success through sales. I’m reading one right now: Anna Quindlen’s Write for Your Life.

I have no conclusions to wrap this up. My initial question – is it possible that many older writers have fallen out of the zeitgeist and have a tougher time writing to a younger audience – hasn’t an answer.

I believe the question should be irrelevant to whether you are writing or not. It also shouldn’t matter if you aspire to publish.

Write your best. It’s good for your soul, and if the urge strikes you to publish for the first time, learn how to do that and get your work out there.

You’ll be richer for it.

Age truly is only a number.

James Van Pelt has been selling short fiction to many of the major venues since 1989. Recently he retired from teaching high school English after thirty-seven years in the classroom. He has been a finalist for the Nebula, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, Locus Awards, and Analog and Asimov’s Reader’s Choice awards. Years and years ago, he was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He still feels “new.” Fairwood Press recently released a huge, limited-edition, signed, and numbered collection of his work, THE BEST OF JAMES VAN PELT. He can be found online at his website or on Facebook.