Query/Cover Letter Question.

Metaphor · Jun 7, 2007

I am a younger writer (14), and I was wondering whether I should mention my age in my query or cover letter? I believe that my writing is of high enough standard to compete in the adult market, but was unsure whether me mentioning my age would put an agent off bothering to read my ms.

On one hand, I was thinking, "If an agent sees my age, they might be interested that a 14 year old was submitting a ms, and read on because they were curious. Also, they might consider my ms good for my age, and even though it must compete in an adult market, they might subconciously give me a better chance because of it. They also may even think that they could market a book written by a 14 year old quite well, and make a big thing about the age of the author."

However, the other side of my mind is thinking "They won't even bother to read it. They'll see my age and laugh at it. They won't take it seriously."

So, basically, do you think that I should write that I am fourteen on my query/ cover letter or not?

Thankyou for your advice

Popimoore

TnTexas · Jun 7, 2007

I'd say go ahead and mention it. If your age is going to be a problem for them (not sure what legal stuff we might be talking about here), they might as well know about it upfront.

Jedi Dad · Jun 7, 2007

I would mention it up front. Some places will nto take work from certain ages so it would get that out of the way first.

If the age is not a problem it could be an advantage if the writing is really above average for that age group.

Toothpaste · Jun 7, 2007

Actually I totally disagree. Don't mention your age. Why should they read your MS with anything that might colour their opinion like your age. Let the work speak on its own, if they like it, then share your age, and then they will jump all over it because that is a huge marketing tool (you may want to PM Maddy the Mad about this, she's got a top agent, and is about your age I think).

moondance · Jun 8, 2007

I think I would agree with Toothpaste. To be honest, knowing a writer is a teenager beforehand might actually prejudice me against the book. On a first, objective, reading, I would prefer not to know. Let your writing speak for itself.

Stijn Hommes · Jun 8, 2007

Jedi Dad said:
I would mention it up front. Some places will nto take work from certain ages so it would get that out of the way first.

Mention it if the agency has a policy about it, but otherwise, I'm with Toothpaste. Don't mention it upfront. It's more likely to prejudice the agent against you. Only when they want the book should you tell them about your age (you can't legally sign a contract without your parents). I'd also follow up on the idea of PMing any people of around your age who already have agents. They'll have the best tips.

Metaphor · Jun 8, 2007

Thankyou all of you for your valuable suggestions. I am still torn between mentioning, or not mentioning my age, and any more opinions would be greatly appreciated.

NiennaC · Jun 8, 2007

I don't think I'd mention it upfront, because like everyone else said, you don't want them to go into reading your story with an opinion already formed because of your age. But, I do think that before you sign a contract you should tell your age. I think they'd be peeved if you didn't.

It depends though, because I have heard people say it's a good idea to say something if you're younger. Maybe you should ask Nathan Bransford about it? He's the guest agent here now I think. Here's the link.

RLSMiller · Jun 9, 2007

I would mention it, but I'd leave it to the last paragraph, and just mention it in passing. I like to give agents a very general idea of myself to help personalize the query a bit. Your mileage may vary, though.

If you write a great, professional query/cover letter, by the time they get to the end and see "I'm 14 years old," they'll already have been impressed by your professionalism, and will be even more impressed knowing your young age. If the agent dismisses a fantastic query and a potentially fantastic manuscript based on the fact that the writer is 14 (or 17 in my case) then as far as I'm concerned I wouldn't want to work with that agent anyway.

The trouble is, most young writers that mention their age are usually a bunch of Paolini-wannabes who can't actually write well, but think their age will pave the way to stardom. Show them you can write in your query, and there will be no reason for them to doubt your writing because of your young age.

Plus, if you write YA or MG, then being a younger writer is definitely a potential advantage when it comes to marketing.

RainbowDragon · Jun 9, 2007

You could always try mentioning it on some letters and not on others, and see if there is any visible trend that develops. Good luck and don't let the rejections you're bound to get (like the rest of us) discourage you. You're starting earlier than most, you're bound to make progress day by day and year by year, if not sooner.

justpat · Jun 9, 2007

Don't mention your age in the query. It would likely just bias the reader against you. Later, if they like your work, then you can tell them.

johnzakour · Jun 9, 2007

I would be upfront and say my age only because being a minor there might be legal issues over if you can sign a contract without your parents permission. I would think an agent or a publisher would want to know this. But I could be wrong.

justpat · Jun 9, 2007

johnzakour said:
I would be upfront and say my age only because being a minor there might be legal issues over if you can sign a contract without your parents permission. I would think an agent or a publisher would want to know this. But I could be wrong.

I'm not saying you have to keep it a secret forever, just that there is no need to mention it until after the agent shows interest. Your parents will certainly have to be involved at some time.

johnzakour · Jun 10, 2007

justpat said:
I'm not saying you have to keep it a secret forever, just that there is no need to mention it until after the agent shows interest. Your parents will certainly have to be involved at some time.

If the agent is going to have to know anyways why not tell them up front?

I think the pros and cons of being 14 kind of break even. Pros: the wow factor of a 14 year old writing a novel. Cons: an editor or agent may look at it with a stricter eye. But still if the writing is good enough it doesn't matter.

The bottom line is good writing is good writing nomatter what the author's age.

So you might as well give the agent the entire story.

I've only dealt with two agents in my life (my literary one and my movie one) but I know neither of them were a big fan of surprises.

Just my 2 cents.

scarletpeaches · Jun 10, 2007

Yes, the agent will have to know anyway in the end but as has already been mentioned, why put a possible bias in front of them before they've read the book? Don't do anything that could prejudice the agent, whether you think it's fair or not. Doesn't matter what you think. You're only the writer.

johnzakour · Jun 10, 2007

You can play it either way, but if the writing is good enough it will succeed despite any possible bias.

You can't get pass the legal issues of a 14 year old signing a contract without a co-sign.

Like I said, I know my agents, they don't like surprises. I know my publishers also aren't big on surprises.

I would be upfront with my age. But that's just me. (My wife always says I'm not nearly subtle enough.)

TnTexas · Jun 10, 2007

johnzakour said:
You can play it either way, but if the writing is good enough it will succeed despite any possible bias.

You can't get pass the legal issues of a 14 year old signing a contract without a co-sign.

Like I said, I know my agents, they don't like surprises. I know my publishers also aren't big on surprises.

This is what I was thinking when I suggested being up front about it.

Provrb1810meggy · Jun 10, 2007

I'm debating the pros and cons myself.

My past two novels I didn't include my age, and I felt good about the decision, because when I got a personal rejection, I knew it was because of my writing not because I'm young.

Then again, I had a situation where I revealed my age later on and the agent didn't want to work with me. If I put my age in my next queries, maybe it would prevent such an incident.

Yeah, I know that wasn't any help at all...

johnzakour · Jun 10, 2007

Provrb1810meggy said:
I'm debating the pros and cons myself.

My past two novels I didn't include my age, and I felt good about the decision, because when I got a personal rejection, I knew it was because of my writing not because I'm young.

Then again, I had a situation that when I revealed my age later on, an agent didn't want to work with me. If I put my age in my next queries, maybe it would prevent such an incident.

Yeah, I know that wasn't any help at all...

Actually, you kind of made the point for the "pro disclose your age fraction". It's going to come out. You might as well save yourself and a potential agent some time and give them the facts up front.

I can't say this enough:

Good writing will sell no matter what the writers age.

Agents are NOT big fans of surprises.

gurnie · Jun 10, 2007

I wouldn't mention it. Just because us "old farts" are older doesn't actually make us more qualified to write adult fiction or non-fiction. Adults write children's books and I've never heard an older writer feel that he or she was not qualified to write a children's novel because they were under 18. Vice-versa.

Now maybe if your story follows a person that's under 18 and it would be a fresh look that us older persons might have, then that's different. I wouldn't mention my actual age though, maybe say "as an adolescent growing up in this present day, I feel I am qualified to speak upon the subject matter."

Besides your parents/legal guardian can co-sign any contracts. I signed quite a few contracts before I was 18, only difference was my parents co-signed the deal.

Wasn't S.E. Hinton 14 when she wrote the outsiders, and 16 when she published it? You should google her. She has been interviewed in the past, and I believe her query is somewhere on the internet. She atleast talked about the legal process of her getting her book signed at such a young age.

Dollywagon · Jun 11, 2007

Just thought I'd mention it in passing, apologies if somebody has brought this up before.
Browsing the Houghton Mifflin imprint Clarion this morning and they state in their guidelines that they have a policy against accepting subs from younger writers. This is in connection to children's books.
Maybe worth noting?

johnzakour · Jun 11, 2007

I'd be straightforward and tell my age up front and let the writing speak for itself. The idea of casually disclosing your age seems like a good one.

But what do I know? I'm one of those old farts who has been selling books, short stories, comic books and gags since before you were born. So my mind might be warped by now.

Metaphor · Jun 11, 2007

Well... There are lots of different opinions on this! At the moment, the amount of people saying "yes", and the amount of people saying "no" are pretty even. I like the suggestion of mentioning my age on some, and not on others. It seems like a sensible compromise.

greywaren · Jun 14, 2007

I'm with Dollywagon - I have noticed a lot of submission guidelines beg younger authors to not submit. I'm guessing it's not a legal issue, though -- I'm guessing it's because most 14 year olds aren't ready to be published. I know I wasn't - maybe my writing was passable but I am really glad that I didn't sell that first book.

If you're sure you want to go for it now (and have had some solid crits from people who DON'T know you or your age) then I would go for it -- and not mention your age. Let your writing sell itself and if it does, you can have the sweet feeling of having gotten ahead based on merit alone.

Feathers · Jun 18, 2007

Popimoore, i've read alot of stuff about this, and the conclusion i've reached it its alot like not mentioning writing credits if you don't have any. If you said, 'I am a fourteen year-old who is finishing eleventh grade', then it might work in your favor. Obviously an eleventh-grade 14 yr old is prospective. But if you don't have anything to back up your age, make it look positive, then you don't need to mention it in your query letter. If the editor liked the query and asked for some of your mss, then you could stick a little note about it in the cover letter. The editor has already recieved your writing, why not read it?
I think it is a moral thing, and has alot to do with opinion. I don't think it would be wrong to omit your age int he query letter as long as you planned to tell the editor the truth sometimes soon--but personally, I would stick it in there, just so he knows your honest.

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