Number 51! We’re almost done with an entire year of blog posts. Today’s topic is a goodie — but then I’ve thought they were all goodies!
So, like my title says, I don’t like to give advice. The reason is simply because I don’t like to get it! Especially unsolicited.
But…(You knew that was coming, didn’t you?! HeeHee)
What advice would I give to New Authors? Well, it’s simple really. DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM. EVAH!!!
I was 55 years old when my first book was published. A time when people are thinking towards retirement, and I started a whole new career. I had many naysayers when I first submitted to publishers and entered contests at the age of 54.
“You’re too old to start, now.”
“You’re not the right age or demographic or personality to write and be successful with romance writing.”
“You’ll never make it. It’s a young person’s market.”
“You’re going to get your heart broken with all the rejections you’re going to get.”
I heard it all.
But I still dreamed I’d be published. I listened to those comments and then just as quickly forgot about them.
Yes, I’d had a few things published in my 20’s and 30s’ — mostly short stories in literary magazines that no one ever read, and professional nursing journals where a few people did see them. But nothing I could support myself with. The dream to be a published book author always stayed with me, though, despite that.
And yes, it took me until I was middle-aged, menopausal, and slightly neurotic before I ever saw a book of mine in print, but… and this is the key… I stuck to my dream and saw it fulfilled.
So, new writer who is hopefully reading this, if you want to write, write. If you want to be a published author, go for it. Don’t give up. Ever. EVAH!
I wonder what the other authors in this blog hop want to tell you? Stop by their sites and see:
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Peggy Jaeger, Author 
Wonderful advice, Peggy- and I love, love the quotes!
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Good for you. I did the same thing, starting much later in life. I plan to do it full time on retirement, now I fit it in when I can.
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Excellent advice! You’re a poster child for reinvention. 🙂
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I have to say I’m an older author and I’ve met agist editors and agents. The notion that someone could be too old to write romance is laughable. Great post!
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AMEN! Merry Christmas Alina:) And keep doing what you’re doing!
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I started about two years later than you, but I’m going to hang in there, too! Think of Dame Barbara Cartland. She was writing romances well into her twilight years.
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I like your slant on this. Not “You can be whatever you want to be” but “Dream Big,” with the emphasis on the dreaming rather than on whether the world will applaud your dream.
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Hey, I’ve actually read that “it is a proven fact that most of the best authors are over 50” so, there’s that! Dumb me never assumed my age would be a thing because I do all the work alone… at home… where no one has to see me aging! lol Thanks so much for the inspirational advice! Merry Christmas, Peggy!
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