Age, Aging, and Ageism in Book Publishing

Age is a factor in how the publishing industry sees authors' potential, but authors have a choice, too, to use age as an asset.

My publishing career took off at an edgy feminist press (Seal Press) whose best-selling title was Cunt (not on most grandmothers’ bookshelves). I was young and the authors were young. I acquired then twenty-nine-year-old Jessica Valenti’s first book, Full Frontal Feminism, when other publishers thought her voice was too raw, too unsophisticated, too . . . young. The (young) staff advocated for the book and won—and the book became one of Seal’s better-selling books.

Around that time, I wanted to acquire a memoir by a woman who had a gambling addiction. I recall some uncomfortable editorial meetings over that book because that’s when I learned the word “mediagenic.” This author was not mediagenic. According to our marketing team, she was haggard, rough around the edges, unattractive. Also, in her late sixties, old.

I’ve spent the majority of my publishing career working with women authors. My time at Seal Press taught me a lot about sexism, a lot about misogyny, a lot about double standards. (Valenti’s second book on Seal, He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut was about double standards.)  Working in publishing, at large, has also taught me a lot about ageism.

If authors wisdom and experience were meaningful to publishers, only older writers would get published. But wisdom and experience are just a sliver of what matters, and only in particular genres. Our culture is so geared on the outward-facing (social media, regular media—hence, mediagenic) that older writers trying to start their writing careers in their fifties or later enter the game at a severe disadvantage.

To spell it out, these are writers who’ve had full lives and careers that have not been centered on writing or authoring books. They don’t have already-existing, thriving author platforms. Building an author platform takes . . . forever. The sooner you start, the better. So older writers are arriving to the starting line late, and if you’re a woman, you get the double whammy of having to deal with a culture that dismisses and invisibilizes you. I know, it sucks.

Today, I’m at a pretty mature place in my career, twenty-three years in. I’m not old but I’m certainly not young. My publishing company, She Writes Press, is a women’s press, not as edgy as Seal was back in the day, but I carry those values with me. Many She Writes authors are older, by which I mean 50+. I love this. I’ve always loved it. As a memoir teacher and enthusiast, I value wisdom and experience. I know that an author’s capacity with social media and regular media and how mediagenic they might be doesn’t have any bearing on the book. That gambling memoir from Seal Press was one of the better written books we ever published; and yes, we acquired it, but not without a fight.

I’ve been aware of ageism my entire career, but I’m not immune to being ageist, either, however unwittingly. I got called out last week after my podcast interview with book agent Lisa Leshne aired. I exclaimed to her, “You’re not that old!” when she said something about being a Boomer. I didn’t see this as ageist until after it was pointed out to me. Lisa’s my age, and all I was thinking was, We’re not Boomers! It appears I’m invested in my status as a Gen Xer, but Gen Xers are the next Boomers, are we not? I share this story because the experience has had me thinking about ageism all week, and because I want to apologize to any of my Boomer authors and listeners. It was a good reminder to me to be more mindful.

We can’t escape aging. And no one can outrun it. In book publishing, as much as ageism is baked into the industry’s DNA, everyone loves an author who defies the odds. If you’re an older author, use it to your advantage. Embrace it and make part of your story. Because people are also madly impressed by success stories that involve anyone who falls outside of that sweet spot of thirty to sixty-five. If you’re an author under thirty, you’re a prodigy. If you’re older than sixty-five, you’re an example of what’s possible for all of us.

Writers, take heart. Age is a number. If you want to write, or if you’ve found writing later in life, what a blessing, and good for you. Don’t ever imagine it’s too late. I’ve published authors on She Writes who wrote debut books in their eighties. I met an author last year at a writers’ conference who was celebrating her one hundredth birthday (proudly old!). Wear your number proudly. Defy that twenty-five-year creative window we’ve been allotted. Fuck being mediagenic (unless you want to be). One of the best parts of aging is that we get to stop caring as much what other people think of us, and that goes for the industry, too.

Lessons in Chemistry is one of the best-selling books in the country right now, and author Bonnie Garmus published it, her debut novel, when she was sixty-six years old. And guess what? There’s going to be a next Bonnie Garmus. And a next one after that. I can’t wait to see who those authors will be. Maybe it will be you.