Paul Whybrow
Full Member
Two days into turning officially old, after my 65th birthday on Monday, I came across a writing competition that reassures me that I'm actually 'Ageless':
Contests | Ageless Authors
Mind you, there have been a few debut authors of mature years, such as Mary Wesley (71, when her first adult novel was published), Tim Finch (debut at 51), Diana Athill (memoir published in her early 80s), Penelope Fitzgerald (60, when her first novel was published) and Kit de Waal was 56, when her award-winning novel My Name is Leon was published.
In my latest querying campaign, I've approached 80 literary agencies and several indies and digital publishers, each time contacting specific agents best suited for my crime novels, none of whom are as old as me. A couple of agents look young enough to be my grandchildren—I own belts older than them!
Researching the success stories of their recently-signed clients, I found just one 64-year-old debut novelist. Having said that, my new source of inspiration is James Oswald, who initially found success for his crime series by self-publishing, before signing to Penguin Books for a six-figure deal at the age of 45:
How a Scottish farmer became crime fiction's next big thing
He still runs a cattle and sheep farm, and I enjoy reading the newsletters from his blog, telling of how he juggles tending livestock with writing and promoting his latest title. He comes across as a nice man, hard-working and humble.
James Oswald
If you're ofmature ageless years, there are a couple of writers' groups of interest:
Prime Writers: theprimewriters
Bloom: Bloom
Contests | Ageless Authors
Mind you, there have been a few debut authors of mature years, such as Mary Wesley (71, when her first adult novel was published), Tim Finch (debut at 51), Diana Athill (memoir published in her early 80s), Penelope Fitzgerald (60, when her first novel was published) and Kit de Waal was 56, when her award-winning novel My Name is Leon was published.
In my latest querying campaign, I've approached 80 literary agencies and several indies and digital publishers, each time contacting specific agents best suited for my crime novels, none of whom are as old as me. A couple of agents look young enough to be my grandchildren—I own belts older than them!
Researching the success stories of their recently-signed clients, I found just one 64-year-old debut novelist. Having said that, my new source of inspiration is James Oswald, who initially found success for his crime series by self-publishing, before signing to Penguin Books for a six-figure deal at the age of 45:
How a Scottish farmer became crime fiction's next big thing
He still runs a cattle and sheep farm, and I enjoy reading the newsletters from his blog, telling of how he juggles tending livestock with writing and promoting his latest title. He comes across as a nice man, hard-working and humble.
James Oswald
If you're of
Prime Writers: theprimewriters
Bloom: Bloom