How Old are Traditionally Published First-Time Authors?

Earlier this year, the Humber School of Creative & Performing Arts conducted a survey to find out how old the average prose writer is when he(she) publishes his first book through a traditional publisher. The survey did not include academic writers.

1,500 questionnaires were sent out last spring and 475 writers responded. Survey results show that the average age of a first-time published author is 42, which is older than the survey team thought it would be.

42, huh? Isn’t this the answer to the meaning of life spewed out by that super-computer in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Well, let’s face it; traditionally publishing your first book does provide one’s life with meaning, I suppose. And the Hitchhiker’s Guide came from the imagination of a writer, the late great Douglas Adams.

Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that the average age is only 42. I know of several writers who took about twenty years just to find a publisher for their first books. And I know of one writer who traditionally published his first two books this year at age 87.

My first traditionally published book, The Opposite of Dark, will be out this spring, and I’m 55, so, you see, there’s plenty of time for you aspiring writers out there.

If you’d like to see more about the study, including charts (although they’re too small to easily see on your screen) go to http://creativeandperformingarts.humber.ca/buzz/writers/?p=1197

My Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n