Tick Tock: When is it Too Late to Publish?

Never.

Yes, you read this blog post from the beginning. "Never" really is my first word. I know I don't usually start off a post with such a random statement, but for this one I'm making an executive decision.

Never is my response to the question of today's blog post. It's a question I've heard so much throughout the writing community.

When is it too late to publish?

It's always said as if there's some expiration date on good writing—as if good writers have to be a certain age.

The romanticization of publishing young.

Among the writing community, I often see writers struggling with the fear of never publishing. Many times these writers are still in school. They're young.

But publishing young has been so idealized that many people feel as if they're a failure if they don't do so.

There are many writers to look up to, especially in the writing community, but something I've noticed is that the majority of them—or at least many of the popular ones—are young.

There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, publishing successfully so young is something to be celebrated.

However, publishing young is not the pinnacle of publishing success.

It's important to remember that simply because you aren't publishing at a remarkably young age doesn't mean your success will change.

C.S. Lewis actually started writing at an incredibly young age. However, he didn't publish successfully until he was around 20. While this is still fairly young, it shows that it took a long time for Lewis to be prepared for publishing. A few years after he started writing, he still wasn't ready. And it's important to point out that Lewis didn't publish the work he's most famous for, The Chronicles of Narnia, until he was in his 50s.

Publishing takes time. It takes effort.

Clearly, the fact that Lewis was in his 50s didn't stop his books from gaining readership and success. Authors of all ages can be successful, and publishing older is not a bad thing.

Everyone's publishing journey is going to look different.

Everyone's time for publishing is going to be different. There will be a unique "right" time for everyone.

Some authors may publish at 16. Some may publish at 60.

It completely depends on you and your writing journey.

There is no age limit on publishing.

Don't worry. You have time.

This is the short response I can give to someone worried about never being published. As a writer, this statement is something I tell myself on the daily.

I have time.

I don't need to pump out the next book on the America's bestseller list tomorrow. I'm still young.

And even if you aren't young, there is no expiration date on writing.

Authors come in all different shapes, sizes, and ages. There is no age where an author has to publish or else they've failed. In fact, age doesn't have much to do with publishing at all. Your writing and your writing journey is what matters. Is your book ready to publish? Do you have the time and resources to get it out there? Are you willing to spend time querying? If you're self-publishing, are you financially and mentally in a place to do this?

These are the sort of questions you should be asking yourself. Not "Is it too late to publish?"

Because, friends, it is never too late.

You can be as old or as young as you are. If your book is good, if it's ready for publishing, you are ready to begin the publishing process.

Publishing is not a one-stop shop.

Many people look at authors and see the finished product. They see the final book and the publicity it gets. What they don't see is all of the work that went on to get to that point.

For traditionally published authors, you usually spend a long time querying before even getting an agent to represent your work. Then comes finding a publisher, which also takes a long time. Then there's all that comes with the actual publishing process. This isn't quick. There's a lot that has to be done before your book baby can head out into the world.

For self-publishing authors, you may have control over how long it takes, but that doesn't mean it will be quick. Publishing is a journey, and it's not a short one. There are so many aspects of it and different things to consider. And if you're self-publishing, that work all falls on you.

Whether you're self-publishing or traditional-publishing, it's going to take time.

So try not to stress about it being too late to publish.

You'll get there.

It may not be as fast as others, but that's okay.

It's your journey; it's not going to look like everyone else's.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to put them in the contact box below! I love you all and wish you the best of luck on your individual publishing journeys!

Happy writing!

- Jocelyn