Anno Domini

All the way through my journey of discovery through the world of publishing, I have been warned that I am too old. That the ceiling for new writers is forty, or even younger. Well, I have just been interviewed by a journalist, and she didn't ask for my age. My agent never asked, the editors at the two publishers that made me offers didn't ask. Admittedly, my picture doesn't suggest a youthful writer, and I'm certainly not hiding my age, but still. It turns out, it's the book they are interested in, after all. So, if you are any age at all, and are prepared to work at getting published, age should not be a problem. It's writing the right book that should be the focus.

The other reason I'm thinking about this, is the pension system will be different for people like me when I get there. I decided to look up when I would be eligible for, you know, an actual old age pension. Fourteen years time? I've just taken up a new career, it seems astonishing that I might get a bus pass in fourteen years time. Thirteen and a half years, actually, and my husband will get his the year before. I'll be living with a pensioner by 2025. Blimey. But I don't feel any different. OK, I creak a bit (my back has been bad since my late twenties, though, so I can't put that down to age). I can't say I'm enjoying the first stages of the menopause either, it's like PMS only for months at a time. But basically, I'm as childish and excitable as I ever was. I'm also planning to deliver three books this year, two already finished just needing polishing, and one in first draft waiting for its re-writes. If I worked up to my 'pension date', assuming I am able to sell any more books, I could easily deliver a couple of dozen books by the time the rocking chair beckons.

There's hope for all ages, then. Last year, some years after reaching retirement age, my father-in-law decided to write about his experience as an acclaimed cartoonist in children's comics, and I helped edit the book for him to self publish. The book is lovely, and a reminder that you can start your writing at any age. It's available from Lulu.