How hard would it be...

[Jewel101]

... to find an agent or publisher while being a first time author at the age of 17-18, with a fantasy series (or maybe a stand alone thriller), and living in hawaii? (wonder if i missed anything)

(ps i'm not really worried)

[aadams73]

Not hard at all if you have a saleable manuscript.

[JerseyGirl1962]

I don't see why it would matter how young (or old) you are if you have a good story to tell (that is, if you tell it well enough for it to be saleable).

Don't get hung up on the age thing. If you've written a story to the best of your ability and feel it's time to start submitting to agents and publishers, then start doing your research (and make sure that research includes a thorough check out of agents and publishers, because there are plenty of scammers out there).

Remember, money flows to the writer.

Good luck!

~Nancy

[blacbird]

Remember, money flows to the writer.


Well . . . let's just say money should not flow AWAY from the writer.

caw.

[Jewel101]

ain't saying that i think age affects anything. But you gotta admit, some people do. Don't you think that a person who reads my manuscript might do so with a biased attitude because they might think that people of a young age might not be able to write as well.

[blacbird]

ain't saying that i think age affects anything. But you gotta admit, some people do. Don't you think that a person who reads my manuscript might do so with a biased attitude because they might think that people of a young age might not be able to write as well.

So don't tell 'em.

caw.

[jules]

... to find an agent or publisher while being a first time author at the age of 17-18, with a fantasy series (or maybe a stand alone thriller), and living in hawaii? (wonder if i missed anything)

The one thing that might get in the way is that (at least on the assumption that US law is similar to the UK law I know about) as a minor you wouldn't legally be able to sign a contract that gives exclusive rights to a publisher -- or, if you did, you would be able to back out of it at any time (I think. I'm not a lawyer, but I've read a few cases), which the publisher wouldn't be exactly thrilled about.

But then, it wouldn't be the end of the world to wait until you're 18 (18 is the age of seniority over there, right?) to make the arrangements binding, would it?

The general advice, BTW, is that a standalone is much easier to sell as your first novel, so you may be best off concentrating on that thriller.

[Novilia]

Yo,

Okay, I think you can sign a legally binding contract with a publisher as long as it is also signed by your parent or guardian. But I think while your a minor, all the money you make would be up for grabs by your parents so make sure they are trustworthy. The same thing may go for rights. Don't know.

[blacbird]

A couple of points. First, living in Hawaii is at worst irrelevant, and might even be considered a sales asset by some agents. Second, if you haven't already finished (really finished, like re-written 42 times, and then severely edited another 18 times) any book-length work, and you're already 17 or so, trust me, you'll be plenty old enough by the time you do get stuff ready to submit.

caw.

[DamaNegra]

You're young, you've got plenty of time to submit, edit and resubmit again. A word of advice: although the quality of a work has nothing to do with age, some people may think a work is non-professional without reading it just because it was written by an underage.

So you can always get a parent to submit that word under your name or something like that, I mean getting over the age thing is the easiest thing in the world.

[Tish Davidson]

There is absolutely no reason to mention your age in any query to an agent. In fact, to do so would be unprofessional. If an agent thinks he can sell the book, he'll represent it. If he doesn't think he can, then he won't. Age is one of the last things you need to worry about. As for the money being up for grabs by parents, there are a set of laws informally called the Coogin (sp?) laws (after Jackie Coogin, a child actor whose parents spent all his money before he reached majority) that protect professional children from having their parents grab the money. I suspect they would apply to minor age writers too. But you'd probably be of legal age (18 in the US) long before you saw much money.

[aruna]

Most over-18 authors don't mention their age when submitting. Why should under-18's?

[JerseyGirl1962]

As for the money being up for grabs by parents, there are a set of laws informally called the Coogin (sp?) laws (after Jackie Coogin, a child actor whose parents spent all his money before he reached majority) that protect professional children from having their parents grab the money. I suspect they would apply to minor age writers too. But you'd probably be of legal age (18 in the US) long before you saw much money.

It's Coogan. :) And the reason I know that is because I'm a movie buff of the 30's and 40's, and yes, I know some stuff about the silents. Jackie Coogan famously starred in a silent movie called "The Kid" with...Charlie Chaplin. And you're right, Tish, that after working from when he was five or six (give or take), once he became a teenager, he figured to enjoy his money...only to find his parents had blown most or all of it. He sued them, although I don't know if he received any compensation from them.

Whether this pertains to underage writers, I don't know; I know it pertains to underage TV and movie actors.

BTW, those in the U.S. may remember Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fenster in The Addams Family TV show.

~Nancy

[jst5150]

Michael Moorcock was 17 when he had his first stuff published. Keith Olbermann 18. George Lucas made THX at 22. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. I'm not sure age is not the issue. It's your manuscript and its publication depends on whether or not you're willing to make the extra effort needed to communicate and hustle from Hawaii.

As people from this board much wiser and more sage than I will say, it's all about your writing. If the writing is good, and you've got the right pitch (see the various and sundry threads about letters, synopses, etc.), and you can hustle, you should be fine.

And come to think of it, the postal service, UPS, FedEx and DHL all make daily runs from the 50th State. And I'd bet if you hooked it right, the publisher would be happy to see your stuff.

Best to you and let us know how we can help.

[Jamesaritchie]

Age isn't an issue. Talent is the issue. If you send an agent or editor something that's marketable, your age doesn't matter in the least, and can, in fact, be a selling point.

Ask yourself this. Which makes the best headline: Thirty-three year old writer sells new fantasy series to TOR" or "Seventeen year old writer sells new fantasy series to TOR."

The first headline probably won't even happen. The second headline will likely be picked up by most of the major newspapers in the country. And the bigger the publisher and the younger the writer, the more publicity will be generated.

Publishers love amything that generates publicity, and youth can be very good at generating publicity.

[arainsb123]

I'm fourteen. I don't mention mine in query letters, but when I got a request for the full manuscript, I told the editor that I was a minor. I eventually got a rejection letter that said it would be too complicated to publish someone my age, so I'm thinking it would probably be best to wait until the editor actually accepts the MS to tell my age.

[Jamesaritchie]

I'm fourteen. I don't mention mine in query letters, but when I got a request for the full manuscript, I told the editor that I was a minor. I eventually got a rejection letter that said it would be too complicated to publish someone my age, so I'm thinking it would probably be best to wait until the editor actually accepts the MS to tell my age.

I suspect the editor was either being kind, or you just picked the wrong publisher. Many teenagers have been published, and it does make for great publicity. They really don't care at all about age.

[triceretops]

Yes, I agree that a young age author would be astounding news AFTER the fact. There's no reason to state the age up front. If you're picked up by an agent or publisher, you might mention this then. Then such agent/publisher would be delighted to know they had such a young pony in the stable. And I'm talking about longevity here, as well as talent.

On the flip side I can see a 98-year-old agent exclaiming, "Wow, this book is Brilliant! And she's only 17! This is going to be a lasting relationship!"



Tri