A coaching client recently confessed to me that she fears she might be too old to launch her writing career.

She’s in her early 30’s. I assured her that she was not too old.

And neither are you.

A career as an author isn’t like professional sports, modeling, or becoming a pop star. You’re chances of hitting it big don’t decline with age. Rather, they improve because long-form fiction writing is a skill-set that takes many years to develop and perfect.

Much of the wisdom that informs great writing is gained through life experience. The more triumphs you experience and tragedies you endure, the better perspective you’ll have as an author.

Hemingway’s time spent as an expatriate, WWI ambulance driver, and Spanish Civil War combatant undoubtedly led to him writing masterpieces like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls respectively.

Reaching middle age isn’t a reason to give up on your dreams of becoming an author; it is reason to pursue them all the more vigorously.

If you do publish later in life, you won’t be alone.

Check out this list of authors who published their debut novels later in life.

Your pal in writing,

Kevin T. Johns, writing coach