Did you know that there are less than thirty published authors under the age of 21?

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sensualgruv

New member
I did some research to understand why so many minors believe that they can be published in this day and age and I found that since publishing began in the U. S. and Europe there have only been 28 minors under the age of 21 who have been traditionally published out of the millions of books in print today.
Does anyone know why there are so few published minors?
Traditionally published means by a recognized publisher. Not self published. I don't think your 'friend' made the cut. I will post the list.
Teen/Child published authors
Nancy Yi Fan: Swordbird (published at 12 yrs)
Zlata Filipovic: Zlata’s diary (written 11-13 years; publ. 13))
Flavia Bujor: The prophecy of the stones (14)
Atwater-Jones, Amelia: In the forests of the night (14)
Alexandra Adornetto: The Shadow thief (14)
Sonya Hartnett: Trouble all the way (15)
* Catherine Webb: Mirror dreams (16)
*Francoise Sagan: Bonjour Tristesse (16)
*Robert Louis Stevenson: The Pentland Rising (16)
* SE Hinton: The Outsiders (17)
*Christopher Paolini: Eragon (18)
*Simon French: Hey, phantom singlet (18)
*Mary Shelley: Frankenstein (19)
*Helen Oyeyemi: The Icarus girl (19)
* Jack Heath: The Lab (19)
*Scott Monk: Boyz are us (19)
Published as adults
*Daisy Ashford: The Young visiters (sic) (written at 9; publ. 38)
*Anne Frank: Diary of a young girl (written at 13-15 years; publ.
posthum.
Craig Edgman, Teacher-librarian, for compiling this list
 
Well I'm 14 and I'm writing a book, I want to get publish before I hit my 18th birthday. But some reasons it might be hard for us to get published are:
*we're too lazy to write
*We don't have enough time to write
*publishers might not take us seriously
*our writing style is not really developed yet
*our stories might be too cliche and suck.

well that's the only things I can think of right now.
 
Because they haven't gained much experience yet, so their writing isn't as good as it could be. I hope to get something published in the future, but I doubt I will be under 21. However, if I was, then great. But it seems highly improbable. This isn't much of a surprise to me.
 
People under 21 can have a unique view of the world, and be skilled and talented in their way of expressing their vision. However, young people have not yet experienced such things as love and marriage, birth and death, heartbreak and loss. It takes time to acquire a broader view of life and the world, and to develop one's craft as a writer.

Also, most writers must earn a living and establish themselves in their careers before they can have the leisure and income to be able to dedicate themselves to their writing. Thus, writers are usually older (and hopefully wiser) when they finally earn the attention they deserve.

Civis Romanus
 
lots of writing comes from experience. i look at stuff i wrote a year ago and am appalled at how bad it is. i am sure it will continue over time.
 
Well, the only reason I haven't tried to get published yet is because I don't believe my writing is good enough. I plan on taking a few college classes and improving my skills so that when I do submit a manuscript to a publishing company, it's something that makes them pause and go, "Wow."

Other than self-criticism, some young authors might be afraid of receiving critique from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. From my experience, my peers don't always have best friends to read their stuff and tell them flat out that it sucks (as I did, and I thank her immensely for making me immune to constructive criticism). So, when a person does offer criticism, they stalk off muttering, "What does she know?" But getting a rejection letter from a publisher would make it official that there's things to improve on. People under 21 might not be mature enough to handle it.

I'm not sure I believe that there are only 28 minors published, though. Maybe there are 28 minors who have sold a bestseller, but I'm sure more than that have been published professionally.

Anyway, those are just my ideas. :)
 
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