Too old to publish a book? Think again

Publishing can seem like an arduous process. It’s easy to think it will never happen. Your evil twin may try to discourage you with all sorts of reasons to give up, including that maybe you’re too old.

Think again. The longer we live, the more experiences and insight we gain and can use in our writing.

Here are several authors who were in their 40s and beyond when they published for the first time.

Paul Harding, author of Tinkers, won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize with his debut novel, published when he was 42.

Robin Black, author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, was 48 when she published her debut collection of short stories. Henry Miller’s first published book, Tropic of Capricorn, published when he was over 40.

Raymond Chandler debuted at 51 with The Big Sleep. Alex Haley published his debut novel Roots when he was 55. (His first book, the nonfiction The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published when he was in his mid-forties.)

For more examples, read the article Fifty+ Shades of Publishing A First Book When Over 40 (50, 60, 70, 80, 90 Years-Old) by Randy Susan Meyers on Poets & Writers online.