Retirement blog : Too old to be published?

You will know, if you’ve read this retirement blog regularly over the last six and a half years, that I have ‘a thing’ about publishing a book what I have wrote (to quote Ernie Wise). Whether it’s a book of these blogs or a compilation of the nearly 70 vineyard blogs or some as yet undiscovered literary masterpiece I’m really not fussed. It would be nice though. Admittedly, the chances of this happening are declining, as am I.

At 71 the likelihood of me becoming a famous author are becoming increasingly remote. Pity really I’m such a talented writer. I suppose many finer writers than I have similarly bemoaned their bad luck. Or that might just be a lack of talent. But as a writer you can’t imagine it’s the latter as one needs to have some blind faith in what one does otherwise why bother?

The statistics about the ages of well-known authors when they first had a book published is quite encouraging. At least that’s what I thought before I started writing this blog. Reading a couple of articles as research, I was somewhat disappointed to learn that the definition of ‘old’ publishing-wise was mostly in their 40s – Raymond Chandler, George Elliot, Annie Proulx (and many more) even the Marquis de Sade and, as we know, he had other interests. It turns out that what I once thought of as old now seems positively youthful. Now why is that I wonder.

So I did have to search the internet quite a bit to find an author who met my definition of old. Bertha Wood published Fresh air and fun: The story of a Blackpool Holiday Camp, at a 100. But I didn’t know of her. Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe published at 59. Him I did know. But he still wasn’t old in the sense I had hoped for.

I think there are others out there that meet the ‘old’ definition, but a brief scan didn’t reveal anybody very inspiring or even that old when they started. Oh well that was a bit disappointing in terms of my ‘you’re never too old to get published’ theory. If you know different, please let me know.

I did read somewhere that 12% of people say that they plan to write a novel when they retire. This information from something called Blinkbox, whatever that might be. It doesn’t say how many people go on and do it but it’s encouraging to know I’m not the only aspiring retiree / author out there looking to the written word to have a fulfilling retirement. Although I have to admit, as I did in a recent blog, getting published is no longer on my goals list, but it lingers like the smell of cooked onions.

Apparently what holds us oldies back is that publishers are reluctant to publish if the author isn’t on social media. And they reckon us oldies but goldies aren’t, on social media that is. So they don’t take us on. There was no mention in this article of the aspiring author having any talent just that they should be on social media. Hmm.

It’s not that I haven’t had books published before. Professionally my record of being in print is quite impressive or so I believe. But outside of my field, not a lot. Although I did have a book on the psychology of golf published and this was long before it became fashionable.

I’ve also mentioned, in these retirement blogs, my achievements in the Ebook world (two of them, a crime novel set in North Yorkshire – Dead Country, available on this blog and That Which Lies Beneath, a book of ghost stories, partially available on this blog. They’re probably both rubbish I haven’t read them for ages). Although any fool can get one of these published. Getting them noticed, and hence read, is another matter. But that, as you will see, is not the point in this blog.

Given I’ve written about this before, why, you ask, are you banging on about it again and now? Once again it was an article in the weekend papers (The Observer, 26. 1. 20) that sparked the idea. The article was about Debut Novelists and nothing very encouraging for the more mature, would-be-writer in it age-wise. They were all ridiculously young by my standards. While I’ve pretty much given up being interested in getting published I still have this sneaking interest in those who do. Even young people.

And one bit of the article rang a bell and hence this retirement blog. One of the authors, name of Naoise Dolan had a book published called Exciting Times. When she was asked the question ‘what is the best thing about writing?’ answered,

“When something miserable happens in your day to be able to think maybe I can work that into a story. It helps you make sense of everything else in your life.”

Spot on I thought. That’s one of the main reason (not quite the only one) that I write these retirement blogs. It’s a form of therapy. I wouldn’t wish for anything bad to happen but if it does then I have a) a motivation to write a blog and b) an outlet for my troubles. So in which case writing is not about being famous, or about making any money, but about keeping my retirement mental health in reasonable shape.

So I need to keep that in mind when I post these retirement blogs into the digital void with nothing but my readership figures to keep me externally motivated. Always be clear, if possible, in your own mind, what your reasons are for any given chosen action. After all at the tender age of 71 a person can’t afford to be careless in their reasons for what they do.

In conclusion then, writing isn’t just about being published and certainly not under the auspices of a commercial enterprise which values social media presence over any actual talent. But maybe that’s just the rationalising voice of a frustrated would be author.

PS. Sorry forgot to add an image to this blog, either I forgot because I’m so word oriented or I’m just senile? You decide.