Is age important?

[the_faery_queen]

is age really that important? cos i have read all the articles (well ok a couple) that go on about how publishers/agents are now looking for younger writers and age has become a big factor. that makes me sad, because ia lways thought (perhaps naively) that writing was one of the few fields where age and gender wasn't that important in at least selling your book because no one would have to know

not that im age shy or anything! it just does make me a bit sad to think that age now matters over writing ability.

[John Jarrold]

Publishers just want to know what they're dealing with! So your age is important. If you're 21 and at university, it's a different situation than if you're 45 and have had stories published over a decade and more but have not had a novel published...

[the_faery_queen]

ah ok cos usually, up until now, i've just done the, this is about the novel, this is length, what its about. i have also mentioned where else i've had stories out. but not much about me. guess that's where im going wrong. i do find it hard to fit it into one page tho!

[John Jarrold]

I've honestly never seen an SF or Fantasy novel taken on (or not taken on) because of the author's age. I've published first novels by teenagers on upwards - Ken MacLeod was 42, I believe, when we published THE STAR FRACTION in 1995. The book remains the most important thing in every case, but yes, any publisher would want to know their authors' ages.

[the_faery_queen]

well, according to the story, the chris ergaon kid (whatever his surname is) was taken on because of his age. he marketted it well, and because he was young, he was taken on. (becuase many people who have read it have assured me its really bad, with bad grammar, bits that are copied from other writers and so on. they tend to believe he can't have been accepted because of the novel being any good.) also there was an article, not sure if it was here, or somewhere else that ir ead it, about a writer/publisher (can we tell i can't remember all the details?) who wrote a novel and submitted it and they wanted to know his age. and the article did mention him asking why that was important, why wasn't just the product enough. it was basically about this subject about young writers being accepted for publication simply because of their age, not their product.

*shrug* it is what i have heard/read that there is a current trend for young writers over older ones. wish i could find that article. i hate only remembering vague bits of it.

[WriterDoug]

becuase many people who have read it have assured me its really bad, with bad grammar, bits that are copied from other writers and so on. they tend to believe he can't have been accepted because of the novel being any good.

ahhhh, reminds me of Jim Theis and his little gem, The Eye of Argon.

[John Jarrold]

I've read Eragon - and like some other fantasy novels I didn't particularly enjoy it. However, it has sold huge numbers of copies and you don't do that simply because you're young. Believe me, hundreds of young authors are turned down in publishing every day!

If the book, and the series, has continued to sell very well, it's mostly because readers have recommended it to their friends. Publishers can only do so much, in terms of marketing, promotion, etc. Word-of-mouth is still what makes books sell, long term.

You need to be positive, don't look for negative things. Concentrate on your book and your writing. As I said, any publisher who doesn't want to know their authors' ages is being unprofessional, but it really, really isn't the sole reason for taking on a new writer.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

As I said, any publisher who doesn't want to know their authors' ages is being unprofessional, but it really, really isn't the sole reason for taking on a new writer.

I've never dealt with an American editor who was in the habit of asking that sort of thing. Possibly because it might open the company to a class action suit if it could be shown that they had a habit of turning down more authors within a certain age range.

But even given that the laws are different in the UK -- and possibly the citizens are less likely to take you to court at the drop of a hat -- why would the matter of age be so important to British publishers that it would be unprofessional not to be interested, John?

[John Jarrold]

It's part of what one does, Teresa. With an author who is brand new, as an editor you need to give your sales and marketing colleagues as much information about them as possible when they are first mentioned at a publishing meeting, because marketing, publicity and promotion is tailored to individual writers. In the case of a known author, it isn't necessary. The book trade already has them fixed in their collective mind. But with a new author, the publisher chooses how to promote them to the trade and the public. So their age is another thing to consider - it may be a promotional point, or it may not. This isn't about 'Young is good, older is bad'. It's just necessary information with a brand-new author of any age. Most UK publishers have an author information sheet, which the author fills in when they are taken on, which includes favourite writers, hobbies, trade contacts...and age. It's not a big deal, just another piece of information.

[John Jarrold]

By the way, with my agent's hat on, when I submit a first novel by a new writer to publishers, I say 'He/she is in their mid-twenties/early thirties/early fifties' or whatever. It gives the editor a picture.

I don't do that when I'm submitting a novel by Ramsey Campbell or any other well-known writer...!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

Most UK publishers have an author information sheet, which the author fills in when they are taken on, which includes favourite writers, hobbies, trade contacts...and age.

Well yes, they have that sort of information sheet here, too -- I don't remember if they ever ask about the author's age or not -- but in my experience that comes very late in the publishing process, the book is already well into production, and it involves the marketing department not the editor.

[John Jarrold]

The editor gives as much info to sales and marketing as possible. I've always sent out those forms myself as soon as an author was taken on.

[John Jarrold]

And, as I said, the question here is really about new writers, first novelists. Every little thing helps sales and marketing.

[SJAB]

You know John, on all my submissions over the past couple of years I have never put my age, or much personal detail for that matter. Strange, it is not something I thought of doing. I always approached them as I would a business letter, detailing the product i.e. the book. But when I sit and think of it I suppose I am the product.

In future I think I will say; I am one 51 year old, mother of two, suddenly gripped with the desire to write a book or four and see them published before I pop my clogs


Sue

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, I'm sure you know your own business far better than I do, but I'm still having a hard time figuring out what use sales and marketing could make of an author's age -- unless the author were either very young or very old -- much less why it would be important enough to include in a cover letter.

But times change, and maybe the information age is teaching readers to expect to know as much about the authors they read as they do about their favorite actors and other celebrities, even if the information ought to be irrelevant. Depressing thought.