I’ve worked with many older writers over the years, and one of the things I appreciate most about writing is that it’s never too late to write well. With the recent success of Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, a runaway success by a 70-year-old debut author, it occurred to me that I’ve never written a post oriented toward my elders.

Here’s my advice for older writers.

Don’t sweat age discrimination

First and most importantly, like nearly every other industry, publishing absolutely suffers from “hot young thing” syndrome when it comes to young and attractive debut authors, but there’s actually quite a lot less age discrimination than it may seem from the outside.

After Theo of Golden started catching on after its self-publication, agents and publishers didn’t hesitate to try to snap him up. Frank McCourt published Angela’s Ashes in his late 60s, and Harriet Doerr published Stones for Ibarra in her 70s. Legendary children’s book author Jane Yolen was publishing books well into her 80s.

At the end of the day, particularly for fiction, agents care about the book. If you write a great one, they aren’t going to sweat your age. And you don’t need to mention your age in your query.

You must stay abreast of technology

It’s never been enough to “just be an author,” and publishers will expect you to conduct yourself professionally and do everything you can to promote your book. You don’t need to be wildly tech savvy, but you must understand some crucial basic computer skills.

You need a website, you need an email address you don’t share with your spouse, you need to be conversant in using Microsoft Word, and you need to know how to have meetings over Zoom and Google Meet.

Better yet, you should understand email thread etiquette. If your career hasn’t given you these skills, you may need to do some brushing up. Don’t stick your head in the sand on this stuff.

Writing and being edited can be a humbling experience

Every author is different, and I’ve worked with some older authors who were wonderfully receptive to feedback, but one dynamic I’ve noticed is that when writers have experienced quite a lot of success in their work life, they are sometimes not used to receiving direct constructive feedback.

It’s crucial to park your ego if you’re going to share your work.

There are few experiences more humbling than writing and pursuing publication, no matter how successful you’ve been in other walks of life, and digging deep from the start can help you prepare.

Consider self-publishing if you don’t feel patience for the long game

Publishing moves at a positively glacial pace, and these days it’s taking longer than ever. It could easily take six months or more to find an agent, six months or more to receive an offer from publishers, and it will likely be a year and a half to two years after you sign the contract before the book comes out.

The absolute best case scenario for a novel to go from query to publication is around two years. That’s as fast as it gets.

If you don’t feel like you have that kind of time, I’d strongly consider self-publishing. Once you have your book edited and have all the necessary files, publishing is instantaneous.

For many older authors I’ve worked with, life is too short to wait around.

It’s never too late

Writing is one of the absolute best pursuits life has to offer, and one of the best things about it is that it’s never too late.

Your writing matters. It may be intimidating to get started later in life, but you really can do it.

Any other advice you’d share? Let me know in the comments!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Art: The Voyage of Life: Old Age by Thomas Cole

This week! Books!

First up, in case you missed it earlier in the week, I want to hear from you! If you complete this quick survey, you’ll have a chance to win a $50 gift card to Bookshop.org.

Meanwhile, we’re edging well into summer, but I found some links for you to peruse.

the little games – David Moldawer, The Maven Game – How do artists press forward in the face of potential failure? Agent David Moldawer delves into the mysterious quality.

There Are More than Five POVs – Lincoln Michel, Counter Craft – Author Lincoln Michel bristles against the strict buckets of the five standard POVs and delves into approaches that defy easy categorization.

Short story prize clears winners of AI allegations after month-long review – Shahana Yasmin, The Independent – You may remember the Granta controversy, where several award winners were widely accused of being A.I.-generated? Well, an independent review that included reviewing the authors’ drafts has cleared them of using A.I. I’m sure this will totally end the controversy… (I personally think this just shows policing A.I. usage is inevitably a fool’s errand, and prize-winners are going to need to be judged strictly on quality regardless of the inputs).

How to Spot Scam Email Addresses – Victoria Strauss, Writer Beware – Unfortunately, an important skill for writers these days is being able to spot scam email addresses.

Faye Iosotaluno Joins Entangled as President, COO – Sophia Stewart, Publishers Weekly – An interesting hire by Fourth Wing publisher Entangled: Former Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno.

‘Theo of Golden’ Broke Every Rule in Publishing. It’s an Unprecedented Bestseller. – Pamela Paul, Wall Street Journal – How Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden rocketed from self-publication to millions in sales.

Colson Whitehead’s Big Score – Julian Lucas, The New Yorker – In my queue for the weekend, a new Julian Lucas profile of one of our great living writers, Colson Whitehead.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
2. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
3. Whistler by Ann Patchett
4. Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
5. Choke Point by Brad Thor

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Communion by JD Vance
2. The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
3. Strangers by Belle Burden
4. Stripped Down by Bunnie Xo
5. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe

Young adult hardcover:

1. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
2. The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
3. A Prince Among Pirates by Katie Abdou
4. Release Me by Tahereh Mafi
5. If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Wombat Waiting by Katherine Applegate
3. KPop Demon Hunters by Jessica Yoon
4. Unsettling Salad! by Aaron Reynolds
5. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• A guide to social media for authors
• Author survey! Answer a few easy questions for a chance to win a $50 gift card

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky and Threads

And finally:

See How These Artisans Are Recreating the Revolution – Lise Funderburg, New York Times – Amid an explosion of A.I. usage sucking the humanity out of online spaces, I really appreciated this look at artisans who are keeping old artistic techniques alive.

Have a great weekend!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Photo: The Huntington, San Marino, CA

The times they are a-changing, and I’m curious to hear what’s on your mind as a writer, what you need help with, and whether you’ve been dipping your toes in the A.I. waters for publishing advice and editing.

I’d be deeply grateful if you took this very short survey for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Bookshop.org! It should only take a few minutes.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

And, of course, the comments section is open for whatever happens to be on your mind!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Art: At an inn – Election in Ghent in 1830 by Jozef Geirnaert

The last time I updated this guide to social media for authors, it was 2018 and we were in the midst of peak “all authors need to be on social media full stop” conventional wisdom.

That’s no longer the case. Publishers have long accepted that even a massive social media following may not sell books on its own. It’s harder than ever to gain social media traction without the time dedication of a full-time influencer (though it’s still possible!), and a lukewarm social media presence isn’t really going to move the needle.

No author must be on social media. If you hate social media, it’s going to show and you’re better off redirecting your marketing efforts to other activities. The only must-have for authors is a website.

Still, if you’re game, social media can be a way to find your people, build anticipation for a book, and find your voice.

And it’s never too late to get started. Here’s how to do it and what we’ll cover:

1. Listen and learn
2. Pick your platform
   • The text-oriented platforms
     • X/Twitter
     • Facebook
     • Threads
     • Bluesky
   • The video platforms
     • TikTok
     • Instagram
     • Snapchat
3. Find your niche and provide value
4. Identify your pillars
5. Be genuine and have fun

1) Listen and learn

Gone are the days where big time literary agents were posting helpful advice and manuscript wishlists on Twitter. Unfortunately, social media these days is now awash with hyperbolic hot takes and breathlessly terrible advice, particularly on Threads. Social media is no longer a good tool for gaining helpful wisdom about the publishing industry.

As you’re dipping your toe in the waters, tune out the hot takes. But if you’re hoping to build an audience, it’s still important to first get a sense of what’s working on social media, who is getting traction, and what they’re doing to find their people.

Test out different platforms. Find and follow your favorite authors who are active on social media. Follow the remaining publishing experts. Follow influencers in other fields for ideas as well. Participate in discussions and get in tune with the zeitgeist.

You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll learn through osmosis, just by paying attention to what works.

Don’t necessarily imitate, it’s ultimately crucial to be yourself, but think about what the popular accounts are doing that contribute to their success.

2) Pick your platform(s)

In the early days of social media, this wasn’t even a step. It was just Facebook and Twitter. Now, however, social media has fragmented significantly, and you’ll likely want to choose a social platform or two to focus on.

These days, while there’s some overlap, the platforms are largely divided by text-oriented platforms (X aka the ghost of Twitter, Threads, Bluesky) and video-oriented platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat). The husk of Facebook lives somewhere in the middle, but I’m putting it in the text bucket.

Also, for the purposes of this post, I’m focusing on the core social media platforms, while leaving out other sites like YouTube, Substack, and Reddit, which have some features of social media but are more akin to web infrastructure than true social networks.

I’ll get into the specifics of the sites in a sec, but I’d argue your choice of platform should boil down to two key questions:

1. Which platform(s) do you enjoy? If you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to be good at it. Focus on the platforms that give you the most delight.
2. Where is your audience? Where are your potential readers spending their time? As much as you might like Facebook, if you’re hoping to reach a younger crowd, you’re not likely to find them there.

Now, here’s some site specific advice and follow recommendations.

The text-oriented platforms

X/Twitter

What it is: 280 character limited posts

The vibe: Chaotic, anarchic, MAGA-leaning, slop heavy, funny

Who’s there: This is fine die-hards, journalists, politicians, Elon Musk fans. Most publishing industry people departed en masse save for a few.

Tips

• Just post through it if you’re still there.

Publishing types to follow:

• Joyce Carol Oates – The grande doyenne of Twitter.
• Lincoln Michel – Astute writing advice and cultural commentary.
• Camryn Garrett – So good at Twitter she had a large following well before her first book deal.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• Brandy Jensen – Funny as hell.
• Seinfeld Current Day – Jery get iPad.
• Aaron West – Hilarious soccer commentary and more.

Facebook

What it is: The o.g. social network.

The vibe: A heady mixture of heartfelt updates from your social circle combined with slop to the moon.

Who’s there: A crowd that increasingly skews older, heartland vibes.

Tips

• As Instagram shifts to video, Facebook is one of the last places where photos still perform reasonably well.
• As your presence grows, you can consider forming a group to facilitate discussions and connection among your fans.

Publishing types to follow:

• Christina Lauren – One of the top contemporary romance duos has a strong page for their fans.
• Silent Book Club – SBC has leveraged the Group platform to strong effect and created a lively community.
• We Need Diverse Books – A wonderful organization, and very effective at sharing social media-friendly photos and graphics.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• The Huntington – You’re likely familiar by now with The Huntington because of my Friday photos, but they also have a lively Facebook page.
• J. Kenji López-Alt – The chef and cookbook author has a fun mix of personal and useful content, which authors could emulate.
• Men in Blazers – If you follow soccer you probably already know about Roger Bennett and Men in Blazers, but a great model for building a personal connection with your followers with constant sharing.

Threads

What it is: 500 character limited posts. Facebook’s attempt to clone Twitter.

The vibe: Algorithm heavy, rage-bait to goose engagement, the most unhinged takes imaginable.

Who’s there: Twitter refugees, brands, aspiring authors.

Tips

• Threads favors engagement, so hot takes, questions, and conversation sparkers tends to work well.
• Don’t be afraid to go niche with your posts. The algorithm will connect you to people interested in whatever you talk about.

Publishing types to follow:

• Kathleen Schmidt – A books PR specialist who posts helpful information about that side of the business.
• Moniza Hossain – A children’s book author who posts engagingly about all facets of the writing and publishing process.
• Kate McKean – One of the small handful of literary agents still posting helpful advice on social media.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• Derek Guy (the “menswear guy”) – Enjoyable niche commentary mixed with incisive wit.
• Padma Lakshmi – A mix of visual threads, behind-the-scenes, and political commentary.
• Kara Swisher – Love her or not, her takes are never dull.

Bluesky

What it is: 300 character limited posts. Another Twitter clone.

The vibe: Earnest, and a deserved reputation for being a bit humorless.

Who’s there: Liberal-leaning Twitter refugees, #TheResistance, publishing industry types

Tips:

• Bluesky’s post recommendation algorithm is very bad as of this writing, and most people focus on posts from the people they actually follow.
• Bluesky is the last social network that doesn’t down-rank links off the site, meaning you can share articles and posts without them getting buried by the algorithm.

Publishing types to follow:

• Victoria Strauss – Leader of the indispensable scam watchdog site Writer Beware.
• John Scalzi – Writer with a very lively following.
• Ron Charles – Former Washington Post book reviewer who posts his indispensable weekly newsletter.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• Darth – Hilarious photoshopped images and commentary.
• Jamelle Bouie – Astute and pithy political commentary.
• The Onion – The legendary satirical news site, still going strong.

The video-oriented platforms

TikTok

What it is: Short form vertical video

The vibe: Algorithm-driven, fad and meme heavy, intense theater kid energy

Who’s there: Short film masters, niche performers, hot takers

Tips:

• TikTok is not just about the videos, TikToks with strong engagement often have a lively comments section
• Authenticity is huge. It’s not really a place for inorganic self-promotion.
• You’ve probably heard about BookTok, but that large niche on TikTok tends to be more about bottom-up fan-driven enthusiasm than authors gaming the algorithm.

Publishing types to follow:

• Alex Aster – A famous case where an author pitched an idea directly to her followers, it went viral, and she landed a book deal, generating demand before the book even landed on shelves.
• Rebecca Yarros – The author of Fourth Wing has ridden the popularity of her books among TikTokers and built an engaging author feed that shares behind-the-scenes updates.
• Chloe Gong – Not only a very popular fantasy author, but a true TikTok natural.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• Taylor Lorenz – The indispensable tech journalist also has a popular TikTok feed.
• Cabagges – A stylish couple sharing recipes and travel.
• Francis Bourgeois – Kind of the epitome of TikTok, in my opinion. Built a huge following based on his unabashed, contagious love of trains.

Instagram

What it is: No longer about filter-heavy photos. Instagram in recent years has leaned extremely heavily into videos, divided between Stories (vertical videos that disappear after a day) and Reels (vertical videos that don’t disappear).

The vibe: It’s all about the #Influencers

Who’s there: #Influencers and micro-#Influencers. You’re increasingly unlikely to see posts from people you know.

Tips:

• The algorithm now heavily favors video, so think about fun, engaging videos and stories over photography.
• It’s very difficult (but not impossible) to send people to blog posts or articles. Instagram favors in-app engagement over driving traffic elsewhere.

Publishing types to follow:

• Tahereh Mafi – The wildly stylish bestselling author Tahereh Mafi has an Instagram page to match.
• Alexandra Bracken – A lively mix of behind the scenes and book promos.
• Ransom Riggs – Ransom combines his impeccable taste with his love of photography in a very cool mix.

Non-publishing types to follow:

• alextravel.s – After running a popular subreddit for many years, luxury travel adviser Alex of Alex Travels has dominated Instagram in just a few months with super engaging videos.
• Alana Lintao – An extremely funny and earnest young model who, to me, epitomizes Gen Z’s digital fluency.
• Johnny Hilbrant Partridge – Recently profiled in the New York Times, he built a wildly popular account satirizing the finance industry.

Snapchat

What it is: Ephemeral photo and video messaging combined with “Spotlight” (short-form public video scrolling) and “Stories” (ephemeral posts).

The vibe: Intimate, casual, conversational

Who’s there: Gen Z, younger millennials, close-knit friend groups, and Snap influencers.

Tips:

• Because snaps and stories disappear, there’s little pressure for perfection. Audiences expect authenticity (even more so than the other platforms), not a polished aesthetic.
• Much like TikTok, “Spotlight” posts can go viral and quickly build a following.

Who to follow:

• Candidly, I’m not really on Snapchat. If you are, let me know your favorite accounts in the comments section!

3) Find your niche and provide value

You don’t have to join and be active on every single one of these social media platforms, and in fact, you’ll likely go crazy if you try to do that.

Instead, focus on the social media platforms you actually enjoy. Better yet, if it’s important to you to build a following, think about the reason someone should follow you.

Most importantly: How are you providing value to your followers?

For instance, my following on social media has never really been about how witty or clever I am on social media. Instead, I’d wager most people follow me as a way of keeping up with my blog, which is my true social media “base.” That’s the real value I provide people.

Other people on social media are super witty and clever, some are master curators and share all the best articles, some people are very engaging and spark interesting conversations, some people are wildly stylish, some people have the best takes on popular reality shows.

At first: Experiment wildly. Try lots of different things. See what resonates.

Through time, you’ll find your niche. If you stick with it consistently for a while, converse with other people in your area, and you’ll soon find your audience.

4) Identify your pillars

Once you begin to find what works, there are two things that are helpful to consider:

• What are your content pillars? In order to help narrow down what you can post out of the world of infinite possibilities, it can be helpful to think of your content in terms of pillars. For instance, mine boil down to writing advice, publishing news, and marketing. As you brainstorm a content calendar, you can also think about how to repurpose content to play to the strengths of the various platforms.
• Where is your home base? I’ve always been reluctant to lean too heavily into social media because it means I’m dependent upon someone else’s platform, which can change character at any time (e.g. Elon Musk’s Twitter). I’ve found it valuable to have a blog and newsletter that are wholly my own, which is why this is mainly my focus.

I would strongly advise thinking about how you can build a direct relationship with your followers as much possible, in order to insulate yourself from the whims of billionaire megalomaniacs and the social media platforms they own.

Supplement any social media strategy with a newsletter, even a rudimentary one, so you can take your followers with you if your platform of choice changes.

5) Be genuine and have fun

If there’s anything I can leave you with it’s this: social media is social.

Seems simple, and… it really is. Social media is all about what you make of it. If you’re having fun, chances are your followers will have fun. If you’re not having fun, take a break! It’s okay! You don’t have to be there!

It’s easy to get sucked into metrics and your number of likes, but what ultimately matters is engagement. Are people talking back to you? And are you enjoying the experience?

I’ve met some of my best real life friends through social media, it’s become a guiding light at various parts of my career, and I’ve had a ton of fun.

I’ve long been a reluctant social media user, but I wouldn’t be here writing this post without it.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: April 2, 2018

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Art: Bal du moulin de la Galette by Auguste Renoir

This week! Books!

Has AI Already Killed How-To Nonfiction? Sales Trends, My Personal Data, and What It Might Mean for the Future – Tim Ferriss – Is A.I. already killing how-to nonfiction? The 4-Hour Workweek author Timothy Ferriss has experienced dramatically lower book sales in the past few years and sees prescriptive nonfiction as a canary in the coal mine for changes wrought by A.I. Is there going to be a market anymore for how-to blogs, prescriptive podcasts, and online classes as more people turn to A.I. with their questions?

Why “Book-Shaming” Won’t Solve the Children’s Literacy Crisis – Jessica Winter, The New Yorker – Hand-wringing over the quality of children’s books obscures the likelier reasons for the decline in children’s literacy: distracted kids raised by phone-addicted parents and under-siege librarians.

I spent $65 on two books. Is reading becoming a luxury? – Josh Rivera, USA Today – Are books more expensive than they used to be? By one measure, yes, they’ve risen roughly 25% since 2020. But historically, price increases haven’t kept pace with inflation and books are more affordable than they used to be. What has mainly changed is the perception of value with the rise of cheap e-books and heavily discounted print books.

How The Money Works – Kate McKean, Agents + Books – Agent and author Kate McKean breaks down how advances work, where the money goes, subrights, and how Publishers Marketplace reports deals. (Here’s my own version of this post).

Edits: A Survival Guide – Daniel José Older – Bestselling author Daniel José Older really hates editing, which makes his advice on how to survive the editing process particularly useful.

Feel alive in your creativity – Dan Blank The Creative Shift – Jumping off from nostalgia for a world where we had mastery over fixing the objects around us without needing proprietary tools and faced far less perpetual bombardment for our attention, Dan Blank sees the creative process as a place where you can regain a sense of control with the right mindset.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
2. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
3. Whistler by Ann Patchett
4. The Deal by Elle Kennedy
5. Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Strangers by Belle Burden
2. The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
3. View From the East Wing by Jill Biden
4. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
5. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

Young adult hardcover:

1. The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham
2. The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
3. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
4. If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
5. Release Me by Tahereh Mafi

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Refugee by Alan Gratz
3. Wombat Waiting by Katherine Applegate
4. KPop Demon Hunters by Jessica Yoon
5. Unsettling Salad! by Aaron Reynolds

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• Don’t over-engineer how the reader “hears” your words

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky and Threads

And finally:

David Hockney, Who Restored the Human Form to Art, Dies at 88 – Holland Cotter, New York Times – This week we lost one of the greatest artists of our times. David Hockney passed away at 88.

Have a great weekend!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

And if you like this post: subscribe to my newsletter!

Photo: The Huntington, San Marino, CA. Follow me on Instagram!